If you enjoy talking softly while watching the serene scenes of a saltwater bay, take your sweetheart to table 111 in the Balboa Room of McKenna’s on the Bay. There you will find an atmosphere that makes it easy to talk the language of love.

A chartreuse carpet of elegantly curled floral designs caresses the floor. The room is quieter than other portions of the restaurant, and just walking into it makes you feel like you’re in for something good. The dim lights enhance that mood, and even the chairs, with their curved arms and legs, seem to whisper romance.

Table 111 is the centerpiece of a secluded booth, instantly recognized by the large, mahogany-framed mirror on its wall. In the dim lights of the evening, you might even think the mirror is a window on the bay, but the bay sits just beyond the room’s other side, just past the wall made entirely of huge windows. Ease yourself onto the soft, dark, plush banquette and push your back up against its back — it seems to wrap itself around you.

Feeling relaxed, you notice the soothing sights of the beige tablecloth, purple napkins, and small vase holding colorful flowers. The candle with its gently swaying flame adds comfortableness to the already romantic ambiance, and the sounds of gentle jazz flowing from hidden speakers make something dance inside you.

Just then perhaps a boat with its own secret destination drifts across the bay, while you decide on the wine and contemplate the menu options. McKenna’s staff loves to cater to the wishes of lovers. Tell your hostess that it’s a special occasion, and she will have the chef do something wonderful — just for the two of you. If you go on Valentine’s Day, you can order Chateaubriand for two, rose champagne, and a sweetheart’s dessert.

“Lovers come to McKenna’s any time of the year,” says manager Debbie Haggar, “but we go all out to make the night totally romantic on Valentine’s Day.”


Tantalum — even the name suggests desirable things hidden beneath the surface. It’s actually a rare, hard metal with a very high melting point. It’s also a derivative of Tantalus, the son of the Greek God Zeus and a nameless nymph.

Tantalus, a mortal king, was invited to dine with the gods, but he stole ambrosia from their table and brought it back to his people. For that he was condemned to spend eternity tantalized by fruit he could not eat and water he could not drink.

Tantalum Prime Steak and Seafood Restaurant has a pan-Pacific motif with its furniture and décor imported from Indonesia. Most of its tables are in the wide open dining room, but there is a little section tucked between the bar and the bay windows with a few tables set aside for those who cherish privacy. That’s where table 84 waits for you in a booth facing Alamitos Bay. Woven bamboo and Indonesian teak latticework adorn the wall behind its plush, tan ostrich-leather banquette, and the seat cushions are covered with deep red velvet. The decorative pillows give the booth a boudoir look and are large enough to lean on. An Indonesian clown figurine sits on the ledge behind the banquette, adding to the exotic ambiance of the room.

The dim lights, tabletop candle, and authentic-looking palm trees next to the booth give you a sense of being outdoors on a South Pacific island on a balmy night. The background music — nouveau jazz often featuring flutes and drums — awakens slumbering passions, while the still water of the bay just beyond the windows fills the evening with a sense of tranquility. In this lovely setting, you can hold your honey’s hand while enjoying the simple beauty of a sunset, a boat floating gently by, or palm trees swaying in the wind.

Tantalum always offers aphrodisiac-inspired cuisine, but really caters to lovers’ desires on Valentine’s Day, providing exotic dishes like escolar (the fish of love) and a special sweetheart’s dessert designed to get you where you want to go.


Fora’s entire dining room is an intimate space that seats no more than 40 people. The dim lights and soft piped-in music serve as a reminder that this place is not just about food. Everyone seems to know that. Even when the place is full, you don’t have to talk loud to carry on a conversation. But if you really want a spot where you can exchange longing gazes and loving phrases, ask for table 34. It’s in the rear section of the dining room, close to the wall and behind a partition.

Ease into the leather-upholstered chairs and look around the room. The cream-colored, hand-textured walls and recessed ceiling create the illusion of spaciousness. The exquisite paintings hung here and there remind one of cafés in Northern California’s wine country. Miniature chandeliers add majesty to the ambiance. The small lamps with amber shades that are mounted on the walls and the little flower vases complement your soft whispers.

More and more couples are making Fora a regular haunt. Its atmosphere is certainly one of its draws, but it’s more than how the place makes lovers feel. Owner/chef Hans Till has earned a reputation up and down the West Coast as one of the finest preparers of French cuisine, but he knows that couples on a date want to focus on each other more than on the food.

“To help them with that, I have a tasting menu that you can order with or without wine, every night,” he says. Of course, the regular menu with appetizers, salads, complete dinners, and desserts is always available too, but many couples opt for the tasting menu with four courses and optional matching wines.

The tasting menu changes every night, but Till says he has something extra special planned for Valentine’s Day. “You don’t have to figure out what you want, and even your wine is selected,” he says. He takes care of the food and wine. You take care of each other.


La Traviata’s interior looks like an Italian opera house from the 1800s. Indeed, it is named after the famous opera of the “wandering woman.” All of its tables are wonderfully suited for a romantic dinner, but one stands out among the rest: table 5 in the smaller of the two dining rooms.

Walk through the archway that leads to the smaller room and immediately two elegant chandeliers suspended from the high ceiling catch your eye. The rose-colored curtains — drawn gracefully in bow shapes above the large windows — add a Mediterranean flair to the room and make it seem as if you have walked onto the opera stage itself.

Actually, the entire restaurant is an opera stage. Friday and Saturday nights, live operatic singers, accompanied by piano, perform for patrons. Occasionally, a singer will walk by the tables while sweet melodies of love flow wondrously from her lips. If you are celebrating a birthday, anniversary, engagement, marriage proposal, or any other special event, tell the hostess and she will arrange for singers to come directly to your table to serenade you and the one you love. Other weeknights, a solo pianist performs.

Table 5 is round, with a linen tablecloth and two mahogany armchairs upholstered with exotic simulated leopard skin. Just beyond its window lays the shrub-lined patio of the Wilmore Building, adding a pleasing visual touch to the experience. From that table’s vantage point, you also have an excellent view of the live potted plants, mahogany wall treatment, and opera house column rising along the wall.

La Traviata serves “Nouveau Italian cuisine with a California twist,” and its wine list has won Wine Spectator magazine’s Honor of Distinction. The restaurant staff is famous for being knowledgeable and attentive, but never imposing.

“We do everything possible to make people feel at home,” says proprietor Mario Nasab. He adds that special dishes, desserts, and decorations are planned for Valentine’s Day.


You can wine, dine, dance, and romance your sweetheart while enjoying panoramic views of the Long Beach coastline in The Sky Room. For more than 80 years, this restaurant on the top floor of the historic Breakers Hotel has drawn couples from near and far. Restored to its original splendor a few years ago, The Sky Room brings patrons back to the 1930s and '40s Art Deco era - also known as the Golden Age of Hollywood. If you are looking for a modern-retro supper club reminiscent of the types of clubs shown in the movies of that era, go to The Sky Room.

Once there, get your evening off to a good start by having a drink and an appetizer in La Cantina del Cielo, a rooftop terrace above the main restaurant. This lounge resembles a Mediterranean villa, complete with arches, earthy colors, Spanish tile, and doors made of rustic wood and wrought iron. Its terra cotta fountain and eagle’s nest view of the coast add to its Old World ambiance. Table 2 is the best terrace vantage point. Bring coats. Even with the heaters on, you may get chilly.

When you’re ready for dinner, go back downstairs. If you want the most romantic spot in the house, ask for table 20 in the Deja View Room. Adjacent to the main dining room (which has live music and dancing), this secluded section is quieter, making it easy to tell your sweetheart how much you care. The room’s gold-colored ceiling and soft red lighting fill the air with romantic possibilities. Table 20, which is in a plush booth, has the best view. The Pike, Rainbow Harbor, The Lions Lighthouse, and Parkers’ Lighthouse are all in plain view. At night, their lights and those of the boats and offshore islands create a mystique that can’t be beat.

The Sky Room menu is an eclectic assortment of dishes from around the world, and no matter what your preferences, you’ll find something good. Special dishes are planned for Valentine’s Day and three days following.