by Visit Middle Georgia
Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love and a reminder to take time to be romantic and spend time with your spouse or significant other. Most couples will be looking to go out for some form of a date or dinner. In Middle Georgia there are a myriad of options to choose from. There is also the age-old dilemma of husbands asking their wives where they want to eat dinner. Fellas, if you’re waiting for Cupid to hit you with an arrow and matchmake you to the best restaurant for a Valentine’s Date Night, don’t bother. We‘re not a mythical, near naked baby, with a bow and arrow, but we do have list to help you narrow your restaurant choice down. Guys, take charge and pick a restaurant, make reservations ASAP, and don’t forget the chocolate and flowers. Our Valentine’s Day gift to Middle Georgia men (and to Middle Georgia women who’s men don’t have a clue) it’s our:
Best 10 Restaurants in Middle Georgia
for a Valentine’s Date Night
10. ‘Orlean’s on Carroll Street – Perry, Ga
Providing a “southern take on Cajun cuisine”, ‘Orleans on Carroll Street is a trendy choice for a Valentine’s Date Night. The restaurant is located in Historic Downtown Perry, but ‘Orleans looks, tastes, and feels nothing like Middle Georgia. The restaurant’s decor invokes a chic, artistic, aesthetic that’s reminiscent of a metropolitan art gallery. The food, an eclectic mix that will take one’s taste buds on a Cajun and creole ride through Louisiana and Gulf Coast staples. A fancy choice that doesn’t bust the wallet.
9. Pond Restaurant – Warner Robins, Georgia
From the “bayou” to The Pond. No. 9 is one of Warner Robins’ most underrated restaurants. One of only a few restaurants in Middle Georgia offering a pond or lakeside view, The Pond offers great patio/outdoor seating in a Villa style atmosphere. Their ginormous windows in the main dining area offer a great view to Wilkinson Lake aka “Leisure Lake” and gives the inside of the restaurant a big sunroom feel. The menu offers a wide mix of American classics and the prices are more on the fine dining side of the spectrum, however, with the quality of the food and scenic lakeside views, you get your money’s worth. Pro tip: If you are looking for a really good meal to fill you up, but would like to be frugal, order a bowl of the Creamy Steak and Potato Soup. It’s $11, is sufficiently filling, tastes phenomenal, and is more like a Mississippi Pot Roast with potatoes. Also, the private dining room would be a great reservation spot for a Galentine’s Day dinner. One of the more scenic restaurants on this list.
8. Bent Axle Neighborhood Grille – Gray, Georgia
(Credit: Bent Axle)
One of the cooler, more rustic, and Americana- esque restaurants you’ll find anywhere in the state, is Bent Axle Neighborhood Grille. Located in a converted old gas station, and utilizing repurposed, recycled car and truck parts as furniture and decor, this youngish restaurant is helping put Gray on the culinary map for Middle Georgia. Serving up burgers, comfort food, and pub-style fare, Bent Axle’s food is easy on the taste buds. Nothing wild, crazy, eccentric or rough. This isn’t “50 Shades of Gray,” it’s just multiple, good tastes of Gray. It’s love in the form of a cheeseburger dipped in jalapeno queso. That’s as crazy as it gets and we’re here for it. We consent.
7. Kinjo Kitchen – Macon, Georgia
Kinjo (Credit: Explore Macon)
This upscale Asian fusion eatery serves small plates, sushi, ramen, and Korean fried chicken. On the corner of Second Street and Poplar, Kinjo Kitchen kickoffs the beginning of “Restaurant Row”, a string of restaurants, pubs, and taverns on Second Street in Downtown Macon. However, it uniquely stands out from its competition and neighbors. Contrasting against the stereotypical burger establishments Macon is known for (albeit they did participate in 2024 Macon Burger Week) Kinjo offers something for the more sophisticated cuisine connoisseur. Gourmet, authentic ramen. Ramen doesn’t have to just be what you eat when you are broke and/or in college. Let Kinjo show you the real deal. Tip: It cost more than the stuff on the store shelf.
6. La Bella Morelia – Macon, Ga
Mexican restaurants are a dime a dozen in Middle Georgia. However, when it comes authentic Mexican cuisine, Macon’s La Bella Morelia stands apart. Located on Mulberry Street in downtown, this Valentine’s Date night option is not one you have to mull over long. If you are wanting yummy, juicy, birria tacos, or deliciously trendy Mexican Street Corn, well then it’s a quick decision. Pick the Mexican restaurant with the beautiful name and food to match.
5. Grits Cafe – Forsyth, Georgia
Forsyth has the prettiest southern-style square in Middle Georgia. The crown-jewel of that square, the Monroe County Courthouse. However, another prime jewel adorning what is Downtown Forsyth, is Grits Cafe. Grit’s is one of the long-time staples of the Middle Georgia food scene and was an early influence and reason for why Visit Middle Georgia came into existence as a food news, culture, and restaurant review publication. Offering fine Southern dining in an dimly-lit intimate restaurant, seated on a romantic and beautiful town square, Grit’s is the epitome of what a Valentine’s Date Night restaurant and scene should look like. For appetizers get the Fried Green Tomatoes or Grits Fritters. Our favorite entree, the Seared Maple Leaf Duck Breast. They have desert there, but a romantic stroll across the square to SCOOPS for ice cream is another option. Pair this dinner with 1 or 2 nights stay in a yurt in High Falls State Park or in a Holloway Cottage in Indian Springs and now you’re Valentine’s Date Night planning genius.
4. Kudzu Seafood Company – Macon, Georgia
Touted as “The Coast of Middle Georgia,” Kudzu Seafood Company is serving up the best Gulf Coast seafood in the area. If you’re tired of the usual run-of-the-mill franchise restaurants and are looking to shake it up with something unique and different, then head to Kudzu. They have a wide array of menu options sure to please the seafood lover and to appease the non-seafood eater. As if their fantastic food wasn’t enough, the best part about KSC, may be their locale and rooftop area. Located in historic Downtown Macon and situated on the beautiful and ever-popular, Poplar Street, Kudzu is in the Middle Georgia epicenter for dining, social, and night life. Their rooftop dining and social area offers the best rooftop view/restaurant sightlines of any restaurant in Middle Georgia.
3. Yollah Social Kitchen + Garden – Macon, Georgia
A personal favorite of ours. You can count on one hand, the number of restaurants in Middle Georgia that are Latin Fusion. You can count on one finger, the number of restaurants that are Latin fusion and that are this “fuego”! Only Yollah. Tucked away in the gap between Mercer’s Campus and Downtown Macon is this unassuming, hole-in-the-wall, pearl of a restaurant. Their open “social kitchen” layout adds to the vibrant and bustling ambience that serves as the perfect backdrop for their masterpiece menu. With colorful dishes like the Elote, Cuban Cigars (Shredded Pork Belly in Fried Wontons), and Paella, owner Dawn McCullar’s has created the perfect blend of Latin offerings to send your taste buds and flavor palate dancing like their out on a night in Havana.
2. Oliver Perry’s – Perry, Georgia
Oliver Perry’s is named after the City of Perry’s namesake, naval officer, Oliver Hazard Perry. However, this tiny, fine-dining restaurant, is making a name for itself based off its’ reputation for phenomenal, hand-crafted entrees and “intimate settings.” One patron, Christina H., gave Perry’s a 5-star review saying, “I recommend this restaurant for those who enjoy an intimate setting with a sophisticated small-town feel.” If you’re considering OP’s for a Valentine’s date with your special someone, or for any dinner occasion, it will require a reservation. The prices are reasonable and expected for this quality style of food. According to the eatery’s website, they measure their prices as, “$$$.” Starters and small plates average out at $17 and entrees range from a $22 burger to their $50, Braveheart Filet Mignon. To blow your date night restaurant pick and your taste buds “out of the water”, pick Oliver Perry’s.
We hope you have loved our restaurant recommendations so far. However, if you are like us, heart waiting with anticipation for No. 1, well, wait no longer. Here is our Best spot for the Best 10 Restaurants in Middle Georgia for a Valentine’s Date Night!
1. Deano’s Italian – Dublin, Georgia
Italian food may just be the most romantic type of food. Think Lady and the Tramp unknowingly sharing a spaghetti noodle and kissing. Or maybe it’s the lovely Italian-themed music that typically plays over candle-lit dinners. Artists like Andrea Bocelli, Il Divo, and even cover songs like Michael Buble’s sizzling samba number “It Had Better Be Tonight”. Whatever it is, be it the food or music, if you’re looking to pick both the best Italian place and the best restaurant in Middle Georgia for a Valentine’s Date Night, it had better be Deano’s Italian in Dublin. This brick-accented, rustic space in Downtown Dublin, Georgia is a big favorite among locals from all over the region. People drive out of the way to dine and enjoy the ambience at Deano’s for graduation dinners, birthday parties, and even engagement proposals. So, deeming Deano’s Valentine’s Day worthy, makes perfect sense. They’ve got amazing choices from wood-fired pizza, chicken cacciatore, eggplant parmesan, and a terrific tiramisu, just to name a few.
You really can’t go wrong in choosing any of the restaurants on our list, but if your asking us to pick the best, we say, “Deano’s Italian.” Also, if you’re still looking to get your loved one a Valentine’s Day gift and make dinner reservations, we say, “Fa Subito!” Dine well Middle Georgia, and Happy Valentine’s Day.
Visit Middle Georgia 