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Whether you’re alone this Valentine’s or simply aren’t into candlelit dinners or romantic overtures, we’ve got you covered. Feeling bitter about love? Check out the Breakup Bar pop-up or the Sad Bastards Nite. Looking to connect with friends? How about a v-steam among pals or a top-tier cooking class? Over people in general? How about kicking it with goats instead? Check out these 14 V-Day events suitable for singles, friends, and casual couples.
Breakup Bar Popup
Embittered exes may find a respite from romance at Breakup Bar, a pop-up located next to Severance on Melrose. Here, guests enjoy a selection of snacks and desserts, including French macarons, baked Alaska, and a chocolate fountain that serves up to 12. Champagne can be sabered tableside, or guests can try one of the signature cocktails. They include the Cold Day in Hell (Amontillado & East India sherry, rooibos & chamomile tea, lemon, ginger), the Ghosted (Milk Stout, PX sherry, bitters, lavender foam), and the I Dealt With Your Parents For Years (Caperitif, lime, grapefruit soda, habanero bitters, black salt rim). Additionally, breakup films will be screened nightly, while a Wall of Broken Relationships invites guests to pen anonymous missives to their exes, creating a tableau of heartbreak over the pop-up’s two-week run.
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Where: 7276 Melrose Ave., Fairfax
When: February 1-14. Tues.-Thurs., 7-11 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 7 p.m. to midnight.
Cost: $20, includes one cocktail or a sparkling wine flight.
Bacchus Uncorked: Love, Loss, and Libations
The Getty Villa will host a tour of mythology’s most famous lovers including “the gods and mortals whose passions took them to Hades’s realm.” What could be more romantic than learning about love so fierce its celebrants literally went to to the underworld for it, huh? After the gallery tour, sommelier Giammario Villa will offer a tasting of wines from Southern Italy. The event complements the exhibition Underworld: Imagining the Afterlife, which remains on view through March 18.
Where: Getty Villa
When: February 9 & 16, 4-7 p.m.
Cost: $75, includes parking
Lucha VaVOOM
Every Valentine’s Day, Lucha VaVOOM puts on on a fantastic show, offering lucha libre wrestling, burlesque, vaudeville, comedy, music, and more. This year’s theme is Amor Prohibido (that’s “forbidden love”). In addition to a full lineup of masked contenders, other performances include music from Christeene, burlesque from MOSH and Michelle L’Amour, and more. If you haven’t yet encountered Christeene, you could watch the genderqueer artist’s very NSFW video “Butt Muscle.” Comedian Jeff Davis will host this wild ride.
Where: The Mayan Theater, 1038 S. Hill Street, DTLA
When: February 13 & 14, doors at 7 p.m.
Cost: $40-55
Lover’s Rock
Grand Park’s Valentine’s celebration is free and appropriate for the whole family. Dub Club DJs will play reggae tracks throughout the evening, while food trucks will supply snacks and desserts. Remember the night with a photo booth or participate in all-ages crafts for a small fee.
Where: Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Ave., DTLA
When: February 14, 6-11 p.m.
Cost: FREE
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The Institute of Culinary Education
If splurging on a fancy prix fixe dinner does not appeal to you, you can learn how to cook one instead. The Institute of Culinary Education in Pasadena is offering two cooking courses for two: New York steak and handmade pasta. Chef Richard Hanna will teach the former course, during which students will make a shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, New York strip with beurre maitre d’hotel (compound butter), creamed spinach, truffled mashed potatoes, and mini New York cheesecakes topped with strawberry compote. Chef Peter George will lead the pasta class, during which students will prepare pappardelle with Bolognese; burro e salvia (butternut squash ravioli with sage butter); tomato basil bruschetta, and shaved fennel and radicchio salad.
Where: The Institute of Culinary Education, 521 E Green Street, Pasadena
When: New York Steak on Feb. 14, 6-10 p.m.; Handmade Pasta on Feb. 15, 6-10 p.m.
Cost: $240/couple (Not that you have to bring a significant other; learning with a friend is fine, too!)
My Vintage Valentine
The historic Queen Mary’s My Vintage Valentine will conjure “old-world glamor” with a four-course dinner and a show. The event takes place in the ship’s Windsor Salon, where a love story will unfold over dinner via burlesque and vaudeville performances by Cirque Berzerk and Love in the Fire. Afterward, guests may stick around for cocktails and live music.
Where: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach
When: February 14, seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Cost: $125-135/person, drinks not included
The Ominous Marriage of Cupid & Psyche
Disco Dining Club always delights with lavish, decadent, themed dinners that repeat the mantra, “consume everything.” Partnering again with The Grim Wreather, DDC’s latest theme revolves around the myth of Cupid and Psyche. According to legend, Psyche is a mere mortal so beautiful that the goddess Venus becomes envious of her. She sends her son, Cupid, to shoot Psyche with an enchanted arrow and cause her to fall in love with a human monster. Yet upon seeing her, Cupid is so stunned by Psyche that he shoots himself and thus, falls hopelessly in love with her. Chaos ensues from there.
Tickets are all inclusive and feature a five-course meal from Chef Laurent Quenioux; themed cocktails from Happy Hour Agency and table wine from Disco Vino; oysters from Hama Hama and caviar via East Boston Oysters; post-dinner coconuts from Coco Lily; immersive theater, live music, and dance performances; gift bags, and “late night perversions” from North Hollywood adult toy company Doc Johnson.
Where: A secret location in West Adams
When: February 14, 7:30 p.m.
Cost:$250/person
The Things We Do
Nothing says ‘I appreciate you’ like going steaming with your best pals. The Things We Do at ROW DTLA is offering a Gal-entine’s Day special during which guests may enjoy a V-Steam session and, concurrently, a Cryo-Cloud facial. V-Steams, as you may know, achieved notoriety when lauded by Gwyneth Paltrow. Their devotees claim the process helps with cramping and libido.
Where: 787 S. Alameda St, Suite 100
When: Feb. 1-28
Cost: $125/person, call 213-278-0358 for reservations
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Không Tên
Vietnamese restaurant Không Tên will offer two specials for Valentine’s Day. Through the month of February, couples who matched on any dating app will receive 50% off drinks provided they can show their server or bartender their phones and prove their love connection. On Valentine’s Day, singles who sit at the bar will receive 50% off drinks all night. And maybe, just maybe, those singles will meet one another.
Where: 11520 Pico Blvd., West L.A.
When: Through February
Cost: No cover
Cinespia Presents ‘True Romance’
Cinespia presents 1993’s romantic crime caper True Romance, in which Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) and call girl Alabama Whitman (Patricia Arquette) work to free Alabama from her heartless pimp, Drexl. Things go awry when Clarence realizes a bag he grabs at Drexl’s brothel isn’t full of Alabama’s belongings, but a lot of cocaine. The night will feature photo booths, DJ sets before and after the film, and full bars with signature cocktails.
Where: Los Angeles Theater, 615 S. Broadway, DTLA
When: February 14, doors at 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $30-$80
Sad Bastards Nite
For communal brooding, check out Sad Bastards Nite at Bar Henry. There will be music. Genres listed include death rock, synth, folk, soul, esoteric, 90s, and indie, which is an admittedly diverse list. However, all songs spun will unite in a single theme of melancholy. In honor of the especially sad, anyone who can prove a recent tragedy—including job loss or divorce—will receive a free drink. The event is held in memory of Nacho Nava, co-creator of Mustache Mondays, who passed away in January.
Where: Bar Henry, 1228 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park
When: February 13, 9 p.m.
Cost: Free with RSVP
A Very Vaudeville Valentine’s
Drunken Devil presents A Very Vaudeville Valentines’s on Saturday, February 9th. This bawdy, 1930s-era burlesque brunch will feature Valentines-inspired performances, interactive characters, and an aphrodisiac-infused brunch menu with items including double chocolate pancakes, lox crostini, mushroom and potato hash, sweet and spicy bacon, and more. Your ticket will include brunch and the show, while beer, wine, cocktails, and bottomless mimosas can be purchased for an additional cost at the bar.
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Where: Brack Shop Tavern, 525 W. 7th Street, DTLA
When: February 9, 11 a.m.
Cost: $50-$120
Sensuali-tea
Couples and singles alike are invited to Madcap Creative’s Sensuali-tea, which will explore how to connect to your own sensuality via a tea ceremony. This is an interactive workshop in which each participant will be invited into a private, candlelit loft for a tea ceremony, guided meditation, and a discussion on using plants for wellness. Each guest will also create their own personal “love potion” using herbs and aphrodisiac plants. The workshop is led by Toska, a witch, artist, and herbalist who hosts the Sex Magic Podcast. Madcap Creative is an all-women entertainment company that “takes fetish performance out of the darkness and into the candlelight.”
Where: Private venue in DTLA
When: February 7, 7-9 p.m.
Cost: $30 (materials included, but bring your own mug)
Valentine’s Goat Hike and Picnic
Who needs romance when you have goats, arguably one of the cutest mammals of all time? Angeles Crest Creamery invites guests to take an hour-long, gentle hike in the San Gabriel Mountains with their goats, as the animals leisurely graze to their heart’s content. The hike will include a talk about the goats, their seasonal behavior and foraging, and sustainability. According to the organizers: “Shepherding dairy goats in the San Gabriel Mountains is an experiment in developing a low-input dairying system by matching the appropriate animal to the available forage and using ancient techniques like shepherding not normally practiced in the United States. I’ll share what I’ve learned from the land and the herd 3 years into the project.”
Where: Angeles Crest Creamery, 19830 Big Pines Hwy, Valyermo
When: February 16, 11 a.m.
Cost: $25 (bring your own picnic lunch & drinks)
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