Hot Valentine’s offers for dining in

A romantic Valentine’s date with your beloved may be the only option for many…

…but for those who want to escape the schmaltz of dining out – or whose nightly routine consists of soothing teething babies or putting small children to bed several times! – it might not be so easy to pop out for a romantic dinner à deux . So the drinks business has rounded up some of the booze and meal deals currently available on the high street for tomorrow’s big day to help you dine in at home easily.

Marks and Spencer may have axed its popular ‘Dine In for £10’ deal, but it has rolled out a Valentine deal which includes a starter, main course, side and dessert complete with a bottle of fizz for £20. Dishes include seabass fillets, slow-cooked port shoulder, succulent rump steaks with peppercorn sauce and a classic coquille St Jacques, with Conte Pruilli Prosecco or an alternative selection of wines and non-alcoholic options.

Meanwhile Tesco and Waitrose are vying for customers’s attention with some similar £20 deals. Waitrose matches M&S’s offer, but had the addition of a second side dish and a box of chocolates – which will also set you back £20. Its booze options include Les Dauphins Cotes du Rhone Villages, Champteloup Sauvignon Blanc, and Prosecco.

Meanwhile Tesco appears to be the only supermarket to include a half bottle of Champagne in its Valentine meal deal as an alternative. It is offering shoppers a 37.5cl bottle of Tesco Finest Premier Cru Non Vintage Champagne (rrp: £11.00), as an alternative to its   Prosecco Valdobbiadene Docg. Other still wines in the Finest range included in the deal include its Monteforte Pinot Grigio, Montagne St Emilion, or the Cheval De Mer Mediterranean Rose to accompany the choice of eight main dishes.

Prosecco features heavily on the menu at Asda this year too – from the bottle included in the £15 meal deal to the the heart shaped Pink Prosecco Butter to have with your steak. Its £15 meal deal includes a starter, main dish, two sides, dessert and a drink to suit most tastes. Main dishes include Beef Wellington, Pork Belly & Apple Hoglets, Portobello Mushroom & Lentil Gratin, with wine options including a selection of its most popular lines, including Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec and Cabernet from its Extra Special range, along with Yellow Tail, Prosecco, Extra Special Cava, a non-alcoholic Nosecco or Camden beer.

As part of its romantic line-up, Morrisons has revealed a heart shaped steak for Valentine’s day this year, along with a Prosecco and strawberry crumble. But it fairly extensive £15 Valentine meal deal – which comprises a starter, side, main, dessert, wine or chocolates – includes more than the seemingly obligatory bottle of Prosecco.

Wines included in the deal include The Best South African Sauvignon Blanc (RRP: £6.75), The Best Prosecco Spumante £7.50, The Best Marques De Los Rios Rioja Reserva (RRP: £7.50), The Best Pinot Grigio Rose (rrp: £7.00), A Wm Morrison Merlot, or or a four-pack of Peroni (£6.00) or Peroni Gluten Free (RRP: £6.47) for the beer lovers.

Discounter Aldi has revealed its bargain £7 Valentine three course meal deal – and although wine is excluded from the line-up, the retailer has suggested pairings to go with each of its Specially Selected meals, such as a Specially Selected Exquisite Australian Shiraz (rrp: £5.79) to go with beef wellington or steak, a Specially Selected Exquisite Touraine Sauvignon Blanc (rrp: £5.69) to accompany its salmon fillets, or its best-selling Veuve Monsigny Champagne Brut NV (rrp: £11.49 for 75cl) and all things pink – Veuve Monsigny Champagne Rosé (rrp: £16.99), Giotti Spumante Rosé (rrp: £5.99, 75cl), a low ABV Sparkling Rosé Blossom (£2.99, 75cl) and its new Beaujolais Rosé 2018 (rrp: £5.99, 75cl).

Although you’ll have to live in the US to take advantage of the ultimate Valentine’s mash-up – a chocolate flavour wine called Petit Chocolat wine speciality – which is currently retailing in the retailer’s US stores. (Unless you still have some Rubis Chocolate Wine left – a Spanish Tempranillo ‘fortified’ with “premium”chocolate flavouring, which the UK arm of the German discounter brought back for the festive period).

Although The Coop’s £8 meal deal doesn’t include wine, the retailer is highlighting its Coop Irresistible Prosecco and Coop Irresistible Rosato Spumante as the ideal drink for the big day, retailing individually for £8, or £10 if you throw in a box of Lindt with the Italian fizz.