In honour of Valentine's Day, FASHION editors across the Canada choose their favourite places to go on a date.
Adriana Ermter, acting associate beauty editor
“I’m a single gal right now so I’m all about the first date, which is hard to get romantic over. So it would have to be amazing he-musta-pulled-strings-for-these seats at a Leafs or Raptors game where we can talk comfortably and be entertained at the same time. A chili-cheese hotdog and draft beers are an absolute must, but going to a wine bar like Crush or Jamie Kennedy following the game would make for a great finale. Who knows, if he plays his cards right he might even get lucky...with a second date!”
___________________________________Shown: The famous fries at Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar. Photography by Mary Elizabeth Armstrong.
Jacquelyn Francis, executive editor
“One of the most romantic places I’ve been to is the ‘whispering wall’ on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, just overlooking the Ottawa River. It was the middle of winter and my boyfriend and I were on a marathon walk in the snow when he took me there. The structure is a memorial to the former Upper and Lower Canada, and the curved concave wall creates an unusual acoustic tunnel. My boyfriend told me to sit on one side, then walked over to the other, and despite being more than 12 feet apart and the bitter Ottawa wind rustling up around us, I could hear him perfectly whisper, ‘I love you.’”
___________________________________Photography courtesy of Ottawa Tourism.
Michelle Bilodeau, associate managing editor
“My boy has taken me to some of the nicest restaurants in the city, including Centro, Six Steps and Brassaii. But the most romantic moment we’ve had in Toronto was doubling on his bike late one summer night to get home from work. I felt 16 again.”
___________________________________Shown: Centro restaurant.
Kate MacLennan, Western editor
“I’m a real outdoors gal, but since my first choice—a guy flying me to the west coast on a chartered flight, going surfing, then hitting Long Beach Lodge for a pint of really yummy draft beer and the best fish and chips ever—isn’t in the city, here are my other picks:
Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver is a great date place (and great first kiss place!), especially if you take a picnic and a bottle of wine.
My boyfriend and I went to Blue Water Café and Raw Bar in Yaletown for our first official date (we were friends way before that). The food was amazing and the service was nothing short of exemplary — servers were on top of things but not in your face at all, which made for a seamless experience. It felt like we were the only ones in the restaurant even though it was packed.
This is going to sound strange, but summer concerts at Burnaby’s Deer Lake or in Stanley Park are also super romantic. You’re outside, and there’s great tunes and fabulous nature all around you.”
___________________________________Shown: Long Beach Lodge. Photography courtesy of Long Beach Lodge Resort.
Jennifer Campbell, assistant editor/research
“I like Bar Mercurio [in Toronto]. It’s not super fancy, but it’s appropriately candlelit and there’s nice wine and good food.
Toronto Island can be romantic, especially if you escape the crowds and go for a bike ride. It sounds odd, but I love to bundle up and go in the winter. It’s totally desolate and the little Rectory Café is open on Saturdays so you can go warm up after a snowball fight.”
___________________________________Shown: Toronto Island's Rectory Café.
Malwina Gudowska, Alberta reporter
“There are a handful of romantic restaurants to go to in Calgary. River Cafe is awesome because it's in Prince's Island Park so you have to park quite a ways away and walk through the park to get to the restaurant. They also have an amazing patio.
Cilantro and The Living Room (both on the trendy 17th Avenue) are also big hits with the dating crowd. The Living Room is in this old house and it's quaint and charming and very warm—perfect for a date. It too has a great patio with two outdoor fireplaces.
Another place I would recommend is The Ranche. It's in Fish Creek Park and you can take a stroll around there afterwards. It's heavily wooded, so there's lots of privacy, if you know what I mean!
Another favourite date idea is to go out to Bragg Creek and walk around the Elbow River.
I've heard that in Edmonton, the Cafe Select (the one downtown) is really nice, and that New York Bagel Cafe has a nice little courtyard in the summer months...[it’s] more of a European style cafe.”
___________________________________Shown: Mussels at Cilantro.
Viia Beaumanis, features editor
“I like Splendido on Harbord [in Toronto]. It’s elegant, indulgent, and feels like a treat—an address you’ll wear lovely shoes to. It’s properly lit, quite dim (there’s nothing like too much lighting to make dinner perfectly unromantic). As well, it has arguably the finest cuisine in the city, a great wine list, and a flawless staff of servers and barmen. Nothing’s ever amiss.
On Avenue, Sotto Sotto has a suitably cavernous grotto appeal, all stone walls and low ceilings. A romantic little corner table there is always good.
Around the corner at Ave and Dav, Joso’s, a classic cozy address, offers similar intimacy along with fantastic seafood—plus the owner has ornamented the place in nudes (art) so the atmosphere is fitting.
The penthouse bar at the Hyatt, at Avenue and Bloor, is old world charming for après dinner drinks, as is the upstairs bar at Bymark. Colborne Lane has glamour, good food and good lighting, all nice for a chic night out. More casually, the Niagara Street Café is lovely and offers nice wine, as the owner is a sommelier. Try Kultura on King, for tapas and drinks on the main floor, or the bar at Starfish on Adelaide, for oysters—the very best in town.”
___________________________________Shown: Champagne at Splendido.
Rebecca Tay, Vancouver reporter
“I love Miraj Hammam for one of their couples massages/treatments– it's the ultimate in relaxing, not cheesy at all, with lots of privacy and, seriously, an oasis on busy South Granville.
For restaurants, I really like Mistral — it's right by Lumiere and Feenies so it often gets overlooked but their food is amazing. Authentic French cuisine, great service, not too formal, not too informal, not pretentious at all – which can be a total date mood killer!”
___________________________________Shown: The Sultana Lounge at Miraj Hammam.