Some places to go and things to do on St Valentine’s Day in the Marylebone area

What do we know about Saint Valentine?

The answer to that really depends on what you read and want to believe. Rather than go through all the information (some of it conflicting), we have decided to focus on what we think are the bare bones of his legend.

It appears he was martyred around 400 AD. The Roman emperor Claudius II had him beheaded for marrying Christian couples against his orders. This led to St Valentine becoming the patron saint of lovers all over the world.

However, St Valentine is also patron saint of beekeepers and epilepsy. We think others should be added to this list. St Valentine should be the patron saint of florists, greeting card manufacturers and those people who make shiny helium-filled, heart-shaped balloons. And, if there was a guild of babysitters, we would suggest they too should have St Valentine as their patron saint. We have no actual proof of this, but suspect the demand for babysitters goes up on February 14th.  All of these people owe a lot to St Valentine.

There is no record of St Valentine living in or visiting Marylebone. But this doesn’t mean people in and around Marylebone cannot celebrate the saint’s day on February 14th, and here are many things loving couples or singletons can enjoy in the Marylebone area.

They say the best things in life are free, and it is free to stroll through Marylebone and take in some of its interesting architecture and visit some of its churches. A couple could do worse than strolling hand in hand through Marylebone on St Valentine’s Day.

A romantic meal

Of course, many couples opt for the romantic meal in a restaurant. The ones where the owner has  turned most of the lights off to create a “romantic ambiance” when he is actually saving money on his electricity bill and charging you for the privilege of straining your eyes trying to read the menu.

Instead, why not head to Marylebone Lane and step into The Golden Hind? This renowned eatery serves the best fish and chips in Marylebone.

There can be nothing better than battered cod with a generous portion of chips to make the romantic date sizzle, (and you will have the advantage of actually being able to see your partner).

To the east of Marylebone, in Fitzrovia, there is a restaurant whose history will help to break the ice if the conversation begins to dry up. The Attendant in Foley Street serves what they call home-style breakfast, brunch and lunch daily up until 4pm. They serve their own blend of expresso coffee and use organic, mild and loose leaf tea from the Rare Tea Company. It has a chequered history, starting life in 1890 as a Victorian toilet. It closed in 1960 and has been refurbished using the original urinals as a coffee bench. Now you cannot get more romantic than that, can you?

If music is the food of love: play on

Who said that? Was it Shakespeare? If it was the Bard, then he had his finger on the button. Music definitely can oil the wheels of romance. How many hearts have been won over by a balladeer singing to his beloved? And there is only one place in which this can be done: a karaoke bar.

The Lucky Voice Karaoke bar in Soho lets people hire a private room where friends can sink a few beers and belt out their favourite songs. If you are single, why not invite some single friends? Who know what could happen when the vocals start…

Robbie Williams’ Angels is a great one for the chaps, and anything by The Carpenters for the ladies. (We would advise against anything by the Wombles). In fact, if the Wombles are one of your favourite groups, I would keep that a secret until you are well into a relationship.

There are plenty of restaurants, bars, pubs and bistros in the Marylebone area where couples or singletons can go searching for a romantic St Valentine’s Day.

However you choose to celebrate St Valentine’s Day in Marylebone, spare a thought for the man who made this day possible.

Without Saint Valentine there would be no funny-shaped balloons and no reason to send sentimental cards to someone you love, or hope to love.

So take time out to raise a glass to the man who made it all possible.

It’s what he would have wanted.