Valentine’s Date Ideas Downtown Chic Moms

Last week I finally had the chance to get together and catch up with my new friend and all around cool NYC mama Mary, of Downtown Chic Moms. Now when I say “catch up” I of course mean a very quick chat between gymnastics, work meetings, school drop off, school pick up and the chaos of a typical morning. Considering she’s the new up and coming go to on all things for moms in downtown New York City, I was curious to see what she had planned for Valentine’s day with her husband of 13 years (!). We quickly realized she is a planner and I am not… hahaha! Paul and I like to do things last minute when it comes to dates. Usually, we book a sitter and run out to wherever comes to mind. We’re not big on reservations and we love the action of sitting at a bar to eat. Below are a few of my favorites for a last minute date with no reservations but delicious food. And if you find you can’t quite fly by the seat of your pants you have to check out Mary’s amazing (3 day!) date she has planned for her man here.

Be sure to check out our video discussing Mary’s very planned romantic V-day celebration vs. my very unplanned date thoughts on IGTV.

Favorite Restaurant Bars for Date Night

L’Artusi, Amazing food and open kitchen for entertainment. Be sure to go earlier than you plan to eat (aka not starving) so you can put your name in at the bar and wander around to another cozy West Village bar for a fun drink while you wait. It will probably be about 45min wait but so worth it!

The Clam, Our favorite neighborhood cozy spot. The bar has a full menu and the most delicious seafood. If you’re lucky you may get a beautiful snowstorm that makes for the perfect New York City backdrop through the all glass windows surrounding the restaurant.

Morandi, The Bar is fairly large so it’s never a long wait to find a seat and the meatballs are worth treking through a snowstorm for!

ABC Kitchen, What I love about this place is that there are two bars, so you can almost always find a quick seat with a full menu and not have to wait too long.

Gramercy Tavern, Fancy Schmancy (but delicious food) but without the white table cloth and stuffy dining room. The bar serves the full (critically acclaimed) fine dining menu so you can have an amazing meal but a more low key vibe if super fancy isn’t your thing.