Food chains with Valentine's Day specials from White Castle to P.F. Chang's DUMPlings

Amanda Wallace , NorthJersey.com
·5 min read

With Valentine's Day coming up all of the couples, gals, and pals are planning their big night out.

When you think of a traditional Valentine's Day dinner you probably think of steak and potatoes, wine, and a candle lit table. But over the years, fast food restaurants and popular chains have hopped onto the love boat with Valentine's Day specials, deals, and dinners.

White Castle Valentine's Day

One of the most notable Valentine's Day chain dinners is at White Castle ... what's more romantic than that?

Since 1991, White Castle has become Love Castle on Valentine's Day, turning their dining rooms into fine dining restaurants with hostess seating and a full table service where guests order their famous sliders off of a menu.

If you and your honey are interested in making a reservation, they are available now on opentable.com. You can check out the White Castle website to see which castles are participating near you. There are at least 15 participating locations in the North Jersey area.

Does a cozy at-home Valentine's Day dinner sound more like your speed, but you don't want to miss out on Love Castle? You can purchase a Love Clutch, the "perfect meal for 2" which includes 10 cheese sliders, 20 chicken rings, and a sack of fries. These can be purchased from participating White Castle locations from Feb. 10 to Feb. 18.

If sliders are not your thing, there are plenty of options for Valentine's Day specials from other fast food and chain restaurants.

Valentine's Day lunch and dinner specials at chain restaurants

  • Participating Chick-fil-A restaurants are offering heart-shaped trays through Feb. 24. Customers can choose between 30-count Chick-fil-A nuggets, 10-count Chick-n-Minis (during breakfast hours), 12 chocolate fudge brownie halves or six chocolate chunk cookies to fill up heart shaped trays. Check your local Chick-fil-A or the restaurant's app to see which locations are participating near you.

  • Panera Bread is launching its double bread bowl that will be available from Valentine's Day through Feb. 28 and, according to their website, "creates the perfect #PaneraDate to celebrate with your significant other of BFF" because "what is more romantic than sharing soup?"

  • QDOBA rewards members can get a free entree with the purchase of an entree and a drink on Valentine's Day.

  • You can't go wrong with a classic heart shaped pizza on Valentine's Day and as New Jerseyans we know that there is no shortage of good pizza options. So, if you would rather support local businesses the chances are that your local pizza shop will probably make a heart shaped pizza for you on Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day drinks and dessert

Now that we have lunch and dinner covered, there are plenty of options for a sweet treat or drink to indulge in after your romantic dinner.

  • If you weren't lucky enough to get your hands on an Applebee's Date Night Pass, you can still take advantage of their Valentine's Day drink specials or "Smoocho Sips" which include a $4 Mai Tai mocktail, $5 Tipsy Cupid, and $6 Blue Moon Belgian White.

  • Starbucks released two new Valentine's Day drinks including a chocolate-covered strawberry creme Frappuccino and a chocolate hazelnut cookie cold brew.

  • As always, Dunkin' released the Cupid's Choice doughnut and Brownie Batter doughnut as well as other heart-shaped doughnuts and festive sprinkles. Dunkin' also re-released the pink velvet flavoring and the signature Pink Velvet Macchiato.

  • Krispy Kreme also released heart-shaped Valentine's Day doughnuts which include cake batter, chocolate Kreme, strawberry and white Kreme, and cookie dough flavored options.

  • If you would rather go the ice cream route for dessert, Baskin Robbins is offering its Love Potion flavor, a combination of white chocolate and raspberry flavored ice creams with raspberry-filled chocolate flavored hearts, raspberry swirls, and chocolate chips. For a shareable dessert you can get the heart-shaped Crazy for You Cake which can be customized with your favorite cake and ice cream flavors. If you order through the app or online using the promo code LOVE, you can receive $3 off any cake purchase of $20 or more through Feb. 15.

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Single or recently broken up?

Whether you are chronically single, recently became single, or don't celebrate for other reasons, we know that Valentine's Day is not the most exciting day for a lot of people.

Restaurants know that too apparently, and some are doing Valentine's Day specials this year for the single people.

P.F. Chang's is offering free "DUMPlings" this month for anybody who recently broke up with their significant other. New singles can text 855-697-6181 with CHANGSDUMLINGS and their breakup story or a screenshot to receive instructions for a free six count of pork or shrimp dumplings.

In select locations around the country, Pizza Hut is offering "Goodbye Pies" that will help you break up with your significant other or say goodbye to an ex.

No matter your romantic situation or feelings about Valentine's Day, most people like food. So, get out there and take advantage of the specials and deals that are being offered this Valentine's Day.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Restaurant chains with Valentine's Day specials in 2024