Valentine’s Day is confirmed as one of the most beloved occasions for Italians to celebrate love, and the restaurant remains the preferred place to experience this special day.
Dining out as a couple is the most popular way to celebrate the romance inherent in the Valentine’s Day holiday. This is confirmed by data collected by TheFork, the leading online restaurant reservation platform and the European leader in restaurant management with TheFork Manager .
Key data: bookings and trends
In the first three weeks of 2025, reservations made by couples-that is, tables for two-accounted for 58 percent of the total. Interest in restaurants also continues to grow in the run-up to Valentine’s Day: from 2022 to 2024, the number of restaurants where reservations were made by couples for February 14 increased by 38 percent.
This trend reflects a general increase in demand, with bookings for the holiday growing 46 percent between 2022 and 2024.
Customer behavior also reveals an increasing preference for quality experiences. In 2024, restaurants with ratings above 9 doubled bookings compared to 2022. In parallel, gourmet and starred restaurants registered strong interest, confirming that Italians like to indulge in exclusive gastronomic moments for special occasions such as Valentine’s Day. In particular, for restaurants in the Michelin and starred selection, the growth in bookings since 2022 is +37%.
Romantic dinners and new trends
According to a survey conducted by TheFork with more than 2,000 respondents, half of the respondents say they will dine at a restaurant on Valentine’s Day. The majority of Italian couples prefer intimate and romantic restaurants to celebrate Lovers’ Day (41 percent), followed by gourmet and sophisticated venues (15 percent) and trendy and modern options (7 percent). However, a large portion of users (36%) declare themselves flexible, choosing to celebrate love simply with a good dining experience, without a particular style preference, perhaps starting with a nice toast.
