Your last chance to book a table for two

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With only 24 hours to go, the tension's mounting. You can pick up chocolates, flowers and a card at the last minute (we won't tell), but forget to reserve a restaurant for Valentine's Day and it's the sofa for you.

So we've scoured the capital for restaurants that still have tables free for a romantic dinner. Whether you want classic or modern, extravagant or simple, romantic or quirky, you should find one to suit you and, more importantly, your loved one.

ROMANTIC
Bluebird
Hankies at the ready for Tinseltown-style romance at Bluebird in Chelsea, where they're rolling out the red carpet for Valentine's night screenings of classic love stories Breakfast At Tiffany's (6.30pm) and Chocolat (8.30pm). There's still some availability for a pre- or post-movie dinner in the restaurant, but failing that, £20 a head will get you a ticket, a glass of fizz and delicious canapés.
350 King's Road (020 7559 1000)

Ark
Voted one of London's top 10 most romantic restaurants, Ark, in Notting Hill, is keeping up standards with its Menu di San Valentino. Truffled taleggio cheese "love letters" with creamy morel sauce and a pink champagne and raspberry mousse from the £50-a-head menu sound perfectly dreamy.
122 Palace Gardens Terrace (020 7229 4024)

Langtry's
Chandeliers, mirrors and a marble fireplace conjure up romance in society belle Lillie Langtry's former Knightsbridge home. The four-course menu offers British classics like roast rump of lamb or beef fillet, with as much Perrier Jouët champagne as you want. £80 (£100 with pink champagne).
21 Pont Street (020 7201 6619)

WOW FACTOR
Sketch
That hard-to-please lover will be putty in your hands after dinner at Sketch in Mayfair, London's most original restaurant. It's three courses for £60 or four courses for £70 at the super-chic Gallery and in the quirkier Glade Bar. Chef Pierre Gagnaire's signature style will impress; the puddings are unmissable.
9 Conduit Street (0870 777 4488)

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
A serious foodie will be ecstatic to be taken to L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, in Covent Garden, London outlet of the world's most Michelin-starred chef. The £90-a-head menu shows off his genius in signature dishes like quail with foie gras and truffled potatoes, or lobster with spiced turnips.
13-15 West Street (020 7010 8600)

Pearl
Your lady might want a diamond, but she'll be just as pleased with Pearl. Chef Jun Tanaka's Holborn restaurant will wow with its glamorous interior decorated with more than a million pearls (count 'em). The cuisine is not to be sniffed at either - think langoustine carpaccio with mango and avocado and profiteroles with Baileys parfait. £120 per person.
252 High Holborn (020 7829 7000)

SPICE THINGS UP
Moti Mahal
If a bog-standard curry house won't please your picky date, make for the contemporary surrounds of Moti Mahal in Covent Garden instead. There you can enjoy a £38-a-head, four-course aphrodisiac menu including choices like chicken and saffron broth or sea bass with aniseed and ginger, all in view of the swish glass open kitchen.
45 Great Queen Street (020 7240 9329)

Kenza
With more than a hint of Eastern promise, Kenza's private dining offers the most secluded spot for seduction in the Square Mile. An Arabian feast, chilled champagne and a dozen red roses will be served in private candlelit alcoves before the entertainment - traditional belly dancing - begins. £400 per couple, including a luxury car to magic you home. Dinner in the restaurant itself is £60 a head.
10 Devonshire Square, EC2 (020 7929 5533)

Imli
You don't have to be minted to treat your Valentine to a good night out. At Imli, the Indian tapas specialists in Soho, £24.95 in your pocket gets you nine dishes - seafood and mango salad, and oven-roasted salmon with herb chutney among them - and a strawberry champagne cocktail on arrival and chocolate fudge cake to finish.
167-169 Wardour Street (020 7287 4243)

LAID BACK
Black and Blue
For something more red-blooded, try Black And Blue, the chilled-out steakhouse chain with branches in Belsize Park, Borough Market, Kensington, Wigmore Street and Gloucester Road. The côte de boeuf for two to share costs £25, so won't see you out of pocket. No reservations are being taken at all, so it's try your luck time.
blackandbluerestaurants.com

The Queens
Swap your little black dress for jeans and trainers and make for an approachable gastropub this Valentine's. The Queens in Primrose Hill is laying on a £37.50 menu for three courses, including a white peach bellini and the obligatory aphrodisiac, oysters. There's a vegetarian, seafood and meat choice for starters and main courses, giving you plenty to choose from.
49 Regent's Park Road (020 7586 0408)

VEGETARIAN
Portal
With all that steak and lobster it's not hard to see why vegetarian Valentines feel hard done by at this time of year. Farringdon's modern Portuguese restaurant, Portal, makes amends with its £65-a-head five-course menu of gourmet veggie choices like goat's cheese praline or mushrooms with truffle oil. Non vegetarian options are also available.
88 St John Street (020 7253 6950)

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