Estela is one of the best restaurants in New York City, so simply bringing someone here is an act of love. When you walk through the entrance and up a half flight of stairs, you’ll feel like you’ve stumbled upon a secret spot where hot people go on dates when they want a place that feels distinctly New York. The space is dark (but not too dark), the music is loud (but not too loud), and the modern American food—with things like ricotta dumplings with mushrooms—is incredible across the board.

Eating at this tasting menu restaurant in Houston feels like dining at a new-age, minimalist resort spa. Tatemó’s dining room is lit by a few candles, so you can barely see anything, except your date across the table. Plus, paying in advance when making a reservation ensures you never have to do something as unsexy as fiddle with your credit cards. They’re only open for dinner on Friday and Saturday, so you'll have to plan ahead, which will undoubtedly score some extra brownie points.

Let us count the ways Bavette’s in Chicago is romantic. One, it’s the only dining room we’ll describe as “sexy” unironically—dark and windowless, with red leather booths, 1920s jazz, and suave servers. Two, the bone-in ribeye is the best in town, and sharing a piece of juicy red meat has been romantic since the invention of fire. Three, it takes months to get a reservation, and when that Resy alert pops up at 6pm on a Tuesday, you’ll be grateful for the privilege.

Even the best dates have some awkward silence and nervous laughter. But, if you go to My Loup in Philly, the pauses will be filled with great French-leaning food and Bruno Mars crooning in the background. Bring someone who has already won your mother’s approval here for dishes like fried soft-shell crab with a creamy hollandaise and a juicy strip loin with fava beans and potatoes. Plus, their dining room feels like an exclusive party inside of an old library.

Your special someone deserves a special view. Book a table at Empress by Boon, a Cantonese restaurant on the sixth floor of a San Francisco Chinatown building overlooking Coit Tower. Carved wooden panels, a tea lounge underneath a wood pergola, and a bright marble bar add to the palace-like feel of this place. When you sit down next to a massive window, the $108 prix-fixe dinner full of scallop and caviar rolls will be impressive enough to make your date forget about their stint on Raya.

The team behind DipDipDip is known for creating fun, vibey spots throughout Austin, so it’s no surprise that walking into this hot pot spot feels like entering a luxurious pirate ship filled with induction burners and sliced meat. Everyone here gets their own bowl of broth, so you can save your debate energy for figuring out which family you’re spending the holidays with. Order the Baller Omakase, where you’ll be treated to oysters before diving into pieces of short rib and Alaskan snow crab.

Kinjo Room in Atlanta makes us feel like we’re VIPs walking into an Oscars after-party that will be forever enshrined in celebrity lore and excellent sushi. Electronic-pop and artsy cover music play softly in the background, and the dimly lit room feels extra cozy with just 10 tables and a bar. You’ll have fun playfully fighting over the last bites of A5 wagyu beef and might naturally find yourselves looking at flights to Japan together before the server can drop the check.

With real candles, brick walls, and jazz playing at the perfect volume, Jass in Miami sounds almost like an AI-generated romantic restaurant. But there’s nothing pretentious about this place that’d make your date think you’re trying too hard. It helps that the Mediterranean restaurant serves good food, too. Order the clay pot of lamb, which comes encased in a dome of delicious brioche that your server will slice open at the table. And know that the live music usually starts around 8pm.

The Corson Building in Seattle is a great farm-to-table restaurant that comes in handy for every romantic relationship milestone. If it’s pretty early in the game but you want to lock this down, an a la carte meal outside on the beautiful garden terrace that overlooks wood nymph sculptures should help. Hand over a key to your apartment over albacore confit and braised short ribs. Maybe in a few years, you can propose at the end of a prix-fixe tasting inside the brick cottage-like dining room.

If “absurdly romantic restaurant” appeared in the dictionary, it would be next to a picture of Amour. This fancy French restaurant in LA is a paradise for any francophile. There’s a large back courtyard with ivy-covered walls, a dark dining room with tasseled lampshades, and a semi-private lounge with a roaring fireplace. The whole thing’s a bit ridiculous, but they get away with it because the food is solid. Get the pumpkin soup, steak tartare, and lobster tagliatelle.