“Dinner’s great…Yeah, Lovely”

It's almost here! (Sadly this article isn't about the upcoming Six Nations weekend - although Murrayfield is going to be the focus of my adoration this Saturday.) No...accept it: Love is in the air every 14 February - but apparently, so is denial.

New research this year found that 38% of Brits have faked satisfaction on Valentine’s Day, often to spare their partner’s feelings after disappointment with dinner plans. Nearly 30% admitted to being genuinely underwhelmed by their partner’s meal choice - and still said otherwise just to keep the peace.

Let’s be honest: that feels very Northern already.

Expectations vs Reality: Forget candlelit gazes - up here romance often starts with a shrug and a side order of chips.

Other data shows that:

• 49 % of Brits plan to dine out on Valentine’s Day in 2026, but restaurants are predictably slammed and pricier than usual - diners are spending more and spending longer hunting for tables.
• A major market analysis predicts Valentine’s spending across the UK could hit around £1.6 billion this year (Eh?) - but many consumers are hunting for discounts and value deals.
• Surveys show shoppers are keeping budgets tight - with more than half planning to stay in rather than dine out, and many choosing modest home celebrations over splashing cash. (Decant your PotNoodle into a bowl - and garnish with those dried herbs that you've had in the cupboard since 2019.)

So while some are booking prix fixe menus (I have no idea what they are...but the Guardian is on about it) at romantic restaurants, others are thinking “mate, we could just as easily get a decent takeaway.”

And that’s not just anecdote. In the UK overall:

• 35 % of consumers plan to cut back on Valentine’s spending entirely this year.
• Nearly two-thirds are actively seeking discounts or offers on food and drink around the date.

Which explains why February 14 can feel like a festival of:

• pre-booked restaurants with chaotic service
• half-hearted ordering decisions
• and the occasional exhale of relief when the delivery arrives instead

Valentine's Logic. Northern Style: In the North, we’re excellent at two things:

1. pointing out when something is overpriced
2. quietly eating a burger and claiming it was a vibe

Marks & Spencer customers, for example, are expected to stay in with Valentine’s “Dine In” meals this year - over 80 % say they plan to celebrate at home.

That sentiment makes a kind of sense when the alternative is:

• expensive restaurant menus
• mini-arguments about portion size
• and the annual ritual of saying “I’m stuffed” while eyeing the pudding cart with suspicion

It even intersects with the strangely earnest UK trend of sending apology cards on 16 February - as Brits scramble to make up for expectations that didn’t live up to reality. (Apparently.)

The Half-Price Burger Hypothesis: Meanwhile, one brand is leaning into the gap between expectation and fulfilment, offering half-price Royale burgers delivered on Valentine’s Day itself.

We’re not here to shill. But there’s a truth here worth noticing:

Dinner doesn’t have to be lavish to be satisfying.
Sometimes it just has to fulfill.

That’s not cynicism - that’s sarcastic, food-centric pragmatism.

So let’s summarise the mood for a very Northern Valentine's Day:

• Nearly 4 in 10 Brits admit they’ve said they enjoyed a meal they didn’t - we can imagine the eye-rolls.
• Restaurants are seeing double-digit spending increases - and double-digit price tags to match.
• Many couples are staying home, cooking or ordering in instead.
• And some will spend the day with friends, or just enjoy quietly being fed without a surcharge.
• For others - the 'Big VD' will be the metaphoric straw that fractures the dromedary's spine - and you can have as much Six Nations (going forward) as you can take

In other words: love might be complicated, but dinner shouldn’t leave you hungry.

And if you’re in the North thinking:

“I’ll see you at half-time, bring chips”
- well, you’re probably not alone.

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