If You’re Feeling Romantic
If you want a classic restaurant date night in Oxford, you’re spoilt for choice. But, I beg of you: don’t go to a chain restaurant this Valentine’s Day if you can avoid it. At best they are comfortingly familiar, chains lack memorability, especially compared with the lovely independent alternatives this city has to offer.
For French or Italian cuisine - the two MVPs of date night food - try Pierre Victoirein Jericho or Gino's Spaghetti House in Gloucester Green, respectively. Both offer a cosy, intimate venue as well as a thoughtful, sumptuous selection of dishes that won’t break the bank. As does Taberu, on Cowley Rd, a neat little Japanese restaurant that excels in both sushi and ramen.
If you want to go all out, book Gee’s on Woodstock Road - a dreamy glasshouse of a venue with a charcoal grill and wood-fired oven. The food is upscale, Mediterranean-inspired fare, and expertly cooked.
If you’re after a more relaxed but still glamorous vibe, try The Alchemist(worth breaking my own rule about chains for) atop the Westgate shopping centre. They’re known for their wild and creative range of cocktails, but the food is also excellent - think elevated gastropub options like Katsu curry, black battered fish and chips, and steak. Their Surf N Turf was the best thing I ate last year.
For a chill but no less delicious vibe, try longtime Oxford favourite Mamma Mia- for arguably the best pizza in the city. Mamma Mia has branches in Summertown and Jericho, the latter of which is just across the street from the Phoenix Picturehouse and a smattering of great cocktail bars - Love Jericho, Freud, Angels, Raoul’s - making for an effortless evening.
Finally, Sandy’s Piano Bar on King Edward Street (just off the High St) is a sleek little venue that serves great cocktails and live music nearly every night. If you’re celebrating at the weekend, don’t miss their weekly open mic night.
If You Want to Be Playful
If classic dinner-and-a-show options are leaving you feeling a bit uninspired, why not try something a little wackier? Junkyard Golf at the Westgate has all the neon and dark thrum of a club, with top 40 hits and creative cocktails, and three courses of crazy golf.
For another fun party vibe, head to the Hollywood Bowl at Kassam Stadium just outside of Littlemore to knock some pins, sip milkshakes and goof around at the arcade. There’s a Vue Cinema next door as well.
If you’re celebrating at the weekend, book yourself and your date in for a cosy afternoon of pottery painting at Unique Creations in Merton. For a different cosy vibe, grab afternoon tea at the College Lake Nature Reserve.
The Varsity Club atop the Covered Market offers a stunning view of central Oxford and an abundance of drink options. Go in the afternoon to reminisce, or in the evening to tear up the multi-level dancefloor.
If you’re celebrating with an animal lover or looking for an adventure on a different scale (pun intended) Crocodiles Of The World is sure to delight. The UK’s only crocodile zoo will let you get up close to these weird little (and not-so-little) critters.
Lastly: just pick a random gig for a band neither of you knows and go. A friend of mine has had many amazing nights by doing this, and there’s an inherent thrill in sharing a brand-new experience with someone. And of course, you’ll find plenty of options via our gigs page.
If You Want a Cheap and Cheerful Celebration
We’re in a cost-of-living crisis, and it’s entirely reasonable to resent random expenses - including corporation-mandated romance. But you don’t need to splash the cash at a glitzy venue to celebrate your relationship. So if there’s someone you want to make feel special, take heart: the things that make a date memorable - novelty, fun - are also available in your living room.
Grab a box of Lego or a jigsaw and the dumbest movie you can find on your streaming service of choice. The ambient activity will tide you through the boring bits of the movie where you’re not shouting exasperated comments at the screen - drinking game optional.
Hit up the YouTube tutorials and learn a new dance together in the comfort, and - crucially for most of us - privacy of your own home. Go cheery and goofy with a choreographed pop song, or lean into the romance with a waltz or tango. Or go to a life drawing class together (there’s several low-cost local options on our courses page).
Head to the shop together. Buy a nacho kit or pizza base, and go crazy with the toppings. Or make fondue - there’s something inherently flirtatious about dipping morsels of food in molten cheese or chocolate. Keep up the DIY shenanigans with a pack of gingerbread people and icing pens. If you find cooking a faff, pick a cocktail to make from scratch instead. Once assembled, savour them over a rude limerick writing contest. Loser makes the next round.
The sun will begin to set at 5.17pm on February 14th. Meet up to watch it, preferably with hot food and from a big hill. The castle mound next to Oxford Castle and Prison offers great views of the surrounding city - you can purchase the entry code for a quid. Alternatively,Curious About Oxford offer downloadable self-guided tours with a treasure hunt theme, for less than a tenner.
If You Despise Cupid's Arrow and the Cherub it Rode In On
Ultimately, Valentine's Day is what you make of it. Sure it's a corporate cash grab, but it's also an excellent excuse to spoil and celebrate your loved ones. And if even the thought of that exhausts you, then it sounds like you need to direct that love inwards. Don’t make any crazy big purchases - the emotional hangover won’t be worth the tiny surge of dopamine.
But perhaps buy a nice box of tea and an intriguing paperback (we love indie Gulp Fiction for their range and prices). Maybe fill a mop bucket with Epsom salts and hot water and soak your feet. Wear your brightest item of clothing to work, it will lift your spirits and project self-confidence.
Go to the barber or hairdresser, even if it's just for the wash and style, and enjoy being tended to (you can’t go wrong with Youngman’s and Popham, respectively). Play wildlife photographer and take dramatic closeups of austere branches or budding plants in your local park. Sing or lip-sync the wildest eighties power ballad you can find.
Grab another single friend and a cheap bottle of wine and watch the bleakest realist drama or most disturbing horror film you can find with them: it will bond you two and provide some perspective.
Essentially: take the time to do something that truly recharges you.