4 Kansas City chefs share their romantic restaurant picks for Valentine’s
This Valentine’s Day, many Kansas City-area chefs and restaurant owners will be working away creating dishes for couples enjoying the holidays. But if they were lucky enough to have the night off, they’d be going to one of these hot spot eateries.
A handful of noteworthy chefs and owners from beloved restaurants shared with The Star where they think you should consider going for Valentine’s Day (and where they could be found if they had the time).
From sushi to pasta, Indian food to oysters, these chefs recommend a variety of local cuisines for date nights this weekend, or whenever you want to celebrate.
Leslie Goellner, owner of Antler Room and Anjin
Having experimented with Mediterranean and Japanese cooking at her own restaurants, Goellner is obsessed with sushi and can’t speak highly enough about Akoya Omasake, 106 W. 12th St., by chef Peter Hoang inside the Hotel Philips in downtown Kansas City.
Hoang’s restaurant seeks to offer an intimate and energetic take on Japanese omakase, utilizing both tradition and innovation.
“Akoya has just been so wonderful to us, and we have just really loved getting to know Peter, and I just want him to do well, and I love what he’s doing, and he’s trying new things,” Goellner said.
What does she order? Everything — probably too much. But she is especially interested in tuna.
“I love the omakase options, but I also just like to add on a bunch of other stuff, too,” Goellner said.
All of Hoang’s ingredients are fresh, Goellner said, the three chefs at the sushi counter are sweet. The general atmosphere is elevated, perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Akoya Omasake celebrated its grand opening in October. Reservations can be made here. The restaurant is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 11 p.m.
The other notable mention for Goellner is Of Course, 7753 W 159th St. in Overland Park, with chef Swetha Newcomb, which does a contemporary take on Indian food. Goellner aims to go to twice a year.
“Swetha is one of my favorite people ever,” she said. “She’s so so funny, and I love what they’re doing with the Indian influences on their food and I think I don’t know if it’s really nice that there’s something different that far south.”
Of Course is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Amante Domingo, owner and chef at Noka
Sushi chef Domingo — who loves supporting Kansas City restaurants — can’t think of a better place to go than Osteria Bianchi, an Italian restaurant blending the traditional Italian recipes and the modern American flair.
Chefs Josh Bianchi and Kelly Bianchi have worked at several kitchens across the country. Kelly, a Kansas City native, previously worked at local eateries The American Restaurant and YaYa’s.
Domingo has been to Osteria Bianchi about six times, and loves the family-centered atmosphere, including the Bianchi’s daughter who works there as well. The family, he said, has a lot of passion.
“Osteria is just unbelievable. I spend like three hours there eating, drinking. I truly believe in what they’re doing,” he said.
Their specials of the day are the best, according to Domingo, and what stands out to him is their pasta.
“All of their pastas are handmade, and I mean every single pasta,” he said. “They have a great wine list. I’ll order a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and eat four different kinds of pasta and every dessert that they have to offer.”
Osteria Bianchi, 9261 83rd Terrace, is open from Tuesday through Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 11 p.m.
Like Goellner, Domingo is also a fan of Of Course. He recommends the halibut cheeks (on last year’s menu and not available this year), as well as the smashburger (potato bun, ground angus brisket, American cheese, caramelized onion, garlic aioli, house biryani pickles, OC curry ketchup; $28).
“(Newcomb’s) take on contemporary Indian food is unparalleled to any restaurant I’ve been to,” Domingo said.
“Their cocktails, their desserts, everything is seamless,” he said.
Jasper Mirable Jr., owner and chef at Jasper’s Restaurant
Mirable is the head of the multi-generational Italian family eatery, Jasper’s Restaurant, shares the romantic tradition of eating with his wife after they close on Valentine’s Day at Waffle House.
“My whole life, getting off work after midnight, Waffle House is always open, so it became our go-to place and kind of a joke, and we’d sit across from each other, and I’d say, ‘Happy Valentine’s Day,’ and we’d just laugh about it,” he said.
Mirable and his wife order the same thing: crispy bacon, poached eggs, waffle and hash browns.
“We get there so late at night, we don’t get there till midnight or so, but it’s just pretty much tradition,” Mirable said, adding they’ve eaten there for decades.
But Mirable isn’t working Valentine’s night this year, so he and his wife will most likely be found at Parker Hollow, a new seafood and raw bar in Parkville.
The restaurant is run by James Beard-nominated chef Jonathan Justus and his wife, Camille Eklof. The two previously ran Justus Pharmacy, a famed restaurant in Smithville.
“I’m telling you right now, this place is, it’s hot,” Mirable said. “ It’s the place to go.”
Parker Hollow, located in downtown historic Parkville, 100 Main St., opened last fall and aims to blend historic charm with a coastal-inspired menu centered around sustainable seafood, along with creative land-based dishes.
The oysters at Parker Hollow, Mirable said, are top-of-the-line, especially the grilled oysters. Any of the seafood dishes are spectacular since it’s flown in fresh each day.
“Don’t skip the fisherman stew or the hanger steak,” Mirable said. “And finish dinner with his signature orange blossom olive oil cake with homemade gelato.”
Parker Hollow is open Tuesday through Saturday from 4 to 10 p.m.
Swetha Newcomb, owner and chef at Of Course
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Newcomb, recently awarded semifinalist for the James Beard Award and chef at Of Course, loves the intimacy a small restaurant has to offer, and likes to be transported to a different place. If out on Valentine’s Day, she’d pick a popular pasta spot in the West Side neighborhood.
“I’m gonna say Zero Zero,” Swetha said. “It’s super intimate in there, they’ve only got a couple tables so you really get to watch them make the pasta. It’s such an awesome experience.”
Zero Zero originally opened in 2022 at 1702 Summit St. For three years, Mitchell Fagan sold handmade pasta from the little brick storefront in the Westside neighborhood before he began offering full Italian meals last year.
“What we like to do with our dishes is really be able to point to a region and pay respect to that … but also have this Midwest flair where we’re also focusing on locally sourced ingredients,” Fagan previously told The Star.
Newcomb’s favorite dishes there are the Spicy Vodka Radiatori (stracciatella and parmesan; $21) and the Agnolotti (butternut squash, brown butter beurre blanc, aged balsamic, fried sage and toasted hazelnut; $24).
For dessert, Newcomb orders the Basque Cheesecake (cinnamon apples, cider caramel, vanilla whipped cream; $9). To pair with her meal, any wine that is orange.
“...You feel like you’re in Italy or somewhere else, because all the restaurants there are so small and quaint,” she said.
Zero Zero is currently reservation only and opens up spots a month prior. Reservations can be made here. The restaurant is open for lunch Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m.
This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 12:44 PM.
