Best Valentine’s Day movie meals 

For hungry lovers seeking celluloid inspiration, we’ve got you covered: these are nine meals you should enjoy on Valentine’s Day straight from the movies.

Nora Ephron once said she “made a lot of mistakes falling in love, and regretted most of them, but never the potatoes that went with them.” 

There’s a divine power to eating something delicious with another person; as your senses align, inseparable memories are formed that last as long as you can taste. It’s not unlike watching a film with someone: if you both give yourself over to it without pretense or prejudice, your souls can feel like they’ve intertwined. 

Whether it’s a meal eaten or a movie enjoyed, you always remember who you were with. As a medium, cinema is perhaps the perfect medium to communicate the steamy, mouth-watering romanticism of food – and it’s where you should be looking this Valentine’s Day. 

Spaghetti and meatballs (from Lady and the Tramp)

Disney

It’s arguably the most iconic image in the history of animated movies: a scruffy mutt and elegant spaniel sit down for dinner together, obliviously slurping the same spaghetto to the point they kiss.  

If you make spaghetti especiale at home, make sure you go “heavy on the meats-a-ball” – we’d also recommend CraigsList’ing an accordion player. 

Where to watch: Disney Plus

Grilled cheese (from Chef)

Open Road Films

It is impossible to watch Jon Favreau making a grilled cheese sandwich in Chef without feeling an immense eruption of hunger; the liberal, delicate application of cheese, the second-perfect precision on the griddle, the Studio Ghibli-esque oozing onto the plate. 

He may make it for his son, but as Anyone But You showed, it’s the ultimate unshowy meal: it requires near-zero culinary skills, and it’s almost guaranteed to be great. 

Where to watch: Starz

Bruschetta (from Julie & Julia)

Sony Pictures

Any plate from Julie & Julia could be eligible (okay, maybe not the aspic), but Julie’s humble bruschetta is the standout. It stands apart for two reasons: firstly, unlike most of the recipes she makes, this doesn’t come from Childs’ book – it’s four slices of fried gold straight from her heart. 

Secondly, it’s irresistibly uncomplicated: buy some fresh bread, a selection of ripe, juicy tomatoes, and with the addition of oil, seasoning, and herbs, you’ve got finger food to die for. Chris Messina gorging as he effuses, “This is good!” says it all. 

Where to watch: On-demand

A slice of pie (from True Romance)

Warner Bros.

Do you know what’s romantic? Going somewhere later than you usually would, everything’s a little quieter, lights twinkle under a night sky you never see, and you feel more alone – but not lonely. 

In True Romance, Clarence meets Alabama at a kung-fu triple-bill, and they emerge onto the grit-carpeted street and frosty air with nowhere to go. “Would you like to go get some pie with me?” she asks, and the scene moves to Rae’s (dimly-lit, neon-radiating) diner. 

“Cause baby, anywhere the wind blows, I will follow you. It seems that in my life, I still believe in dreams.”

Where to watch: On-demand

A burger and a $5 shake (from Pulp Fiction)

Miramax

It’s Valentine’s Day, so why not treat yourself – we should all know how “pretty f**king good” a $5 shake tastes. 

In Pulp Fiction, Vincent and Mia live the dream: when they go to a restaurant, they get a booth in the shape of a car, where they eat a burger and drink a creamy vanilla milkshake before shimmying onto the dance floor. You may need to settle for an ordinary table, but there’s no better way for a couple to spend an evening (as long as you’re happy risking cooties). 

Where to watch: Max

Street food (from Crazy Rich Asians)

Warner Bros.

Food isn’t just a romantic connection; it’s a spiritual one. In Crazy Rich Asians, Nick and Rachel arrive in Singapore and head straight to the Newton Food Center, taste-testing every stall in sight; they eat laksa curry, chilli crab, cheng tng, and more. 

This recommendation is less about the specific dishes, though: they’re steeped into the city’s culture with its smiling, hard-working folks. Good grub, good people; whether you’re alone on Valentine’s Day, on a date, or with friends, you can’t go wrong with street food. 

Where to watch: Hulu

Steak dinner (from In the Mood for Love)

Criterion

The cinematic canon of steaks is an embarrassment of marbled, perfectly cooked riches – but In the Mood for Love goes beyond satiating your eyes and making you hungry. 

Wong Kar-Wai earlier said it was originally titled “A Story About Food”, and one dinner scene explains why: the meal represents the strength of what’s unspoken. True love, in this movie, means never having to ask for a dab of mustard with your meat. 

Where to watch: Max

Chocolate cake (from The Matrix Reloaded)

Warner Bros.

Everything in The Matrix is designed to elicit a calculated response; it’s just a matter of whether you’re willing to close your eyes to that truth or escape to the real world… where you’ll eat gruel from mess tins. 

In other words, why bother with the red pill when you can eat a slice of chocolate cake that literally gives you an orgasm? “First, a rush… heat. The heart flutters… is it the wine? All that matters is the feeling is itself.”

This Valentine’s Day, choose your own “causality.”

Where to watch: Max

Pasta Aglio e Olio (from Chef)

Warner Bros.

This is it, the peak of all movie food: in Chef, Jon Favreau rustles up an aphrodisiac plate of pasta, super-charged with olive oil, garlic, fresh chilli flakes, and parsley. 

Scarlett Johansson watches on intently from the bed, gazing in sensuous hunger; it’s possibly the most seductive (and seduced) anyone has ever looked on-screen. If only we all felt the “oomph,” she lets out when she tastes it. 

Where to watch: Starz

All of these movies are also available to watch on-demand via Amazon Prime and other platforms.

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