Best Date Night Restaurants in San Jose

We had a beautiful experience yesterday at Alpina/Terra! Our meal was fantastic: we started with a hot cheese fondue and housemade focaccia, followed by an authentic Italian dish called canederli, which I’m pretty sure you can’t find anywhere else. We also had an amazing polenta with American Wagyu wurstel. Since it was our Valentine's dinner, we ended our meal with the special dessert, which was absolutely delicious. Our server, Joseph, took great care of us. We’ll definitely be back!

The food is excellent. Everything was well prepared. Service was excellent. One thing to note, the side dishes are enormous. You should either order a half or be prepared to split it with one or two other people. Another thing, if you order a glass of wine instead of a bottle have them bring it immediately. It is quite cold and it takes a while for a red to warm up to the point where it can be fully appreciated. The rack of lamb has 7 ribs. Be prepared to split it or take some home. Doggie bags were quite common. Another neat trick, their prepared drinks come with dry ice on the glass. It keeps the liquid cool but it does not dilute the flavor as it melts. One last thing. Be prepared for an expensive experience. Two of us with drinks, 2 glasses of wine, 2 half appetizers, 3 half sides and 2 main courses ended up with a bill over $550 including tip. Worth it for special occasions but a lot for any kind of regular thing.

It was nice. Small table. I felt the selections were less than other places I’ve been. The salad bar wasn’t much that I wanted and the hot food station options were not desired either, white rice, tilapia and a couple other side dishes I wasn’t interested in. The meat that was served was excellent - every piece was mouth watering…. their signature drinks were also amazing. I definitely got my fill and for the price you should. It was nice but there are other places closer to home I’ll go to for a little cheaper with more options I like. It was Valentine’s Day and my honey is a Taurus so I thought it would be cute to dine there.

We went for Valentine’s lunch. The lunch menu, though lean, was more than adequate in choices. There was a branzino special that was fantastic. The Caesar salad and garlic bread appetizers are a must and the portions of the appetizers are enough to share between 3-4 people. The also have a “mercato”, a small shop that has panettone, sweets, oil, condiments and wine, all imported from Italy. I will definitely go back to try their dinner menu. The staff is great and service is excellent.

This place is so aesthetic with mood lighting, high ceiling, and a buzzing atmosphere. Service from Makaela was top notch fantastic on Galentine’s (2/13)! We need more people like her. Cocktails were good. I got the Crimson & Clover (refreshing) and my friend got the spicy Tree of Life. Food was plated beautifully and the only complaint was saltiness for the pasta, pork chop, and mushrooms. We let them know. Flavors were delicious aside from that. They serve complimentary amouse bouche (savory cone with steak tartare & caviar that day), a palate cleanser to sip on (chilled honey citrus liquid), and even mini waffle bowls filled with chocolate ganache. So many nice surprises! We ended the night with sweet, hot n freshly fried loukomades beignets with honey, nuts, and angelaise cream hand poured table side. Excellent experience!