For sure, Valentine's Day may be a cheesy "Hallmark Holiday" and an unparalleled suicide trigger for romantic no-hopers around the world. But it can also be an excellent excuse to treat yourself and a loved one to a nice meal. So rather than grousing about what a pointless drag the whole thing is, we've decided to actually embrace Valentin Nap, with a look at some of the VD specials being offered by a few of the restaurants currently gracing our "Top 33" list of top Budapest eateries. We'll be updating this feature up until the last moment with new offerings as we uncover them.

Café Bouchon: The only VD special this year is a Valentin napi eperkülönlegesség, or Valentine's Day strawberry specialty. But given the intimate relationship between strawberries and love/sex, it might be good enough.

Le Bourbon: Le Meridien's French restaurant offers a four-course VD feast starting with cold smoked duck breast bruschetta with goose liver and "bird salad" leaves. This is followed by your choice of steamed monkfish tail on a butternut squash risotto with a "chlorophyll coulis" or an orange and ginger glazed breast of chicken with coriander julienne vegetables and potato soufflé. Then comes "romantic cake" with raspberry crème brulée, and caramelized rose petals, and chocolate mignardises and caramel strawberry. The price is Ft 10,000 per lover, including a glass of sparkling wine and a single rose.

Chez Daniel: Being both run by an actual Frenchman and located on "heart street" (Szív utca), it's no surprise that Chez Daniel would go all-out for VD. And by all-out, we mean all-out: they actually have two complete menus, one for the ladies, and one for the men. Meanwhile, the Frenchness of the whole thing is underscored by the fact that the two menus are only provided in French and Hungarian, which means we're going to give them to you only in English.

For the women, the meal starts out with mussel soup with saffron pistils, and then eases into what we think is a steamed fish "duo" on a bed of soja sprouts with lemon and ginger sauce. Then it's on to "Cupid" skewered chicken - which may be this - with fresh coriander and potato purée with Avignon olive oil, and finally a cheese platter and fruit "bavaroise" or mousse, depending on which language you are translating. Meanwhile, the men get csicsókák with truffles, filet of perch on a bed of leeks with meunière sauce, leg of lamb in tapenade pastry with vegetables provençale, a cheese platter and chocolate mousse. The wine special for the night is (you guessed it) Saint-Amour, from the Domaine du Clos du Chapitre. A bottle of the vintage 2005 is going for Ft 4,900. Don't worry if this sounds like too much food, because you don't need to order it all. The charge for three courses is Ft 4,500 and four courses is Ft 5,800, while the full five-course Monty is Ft 6,900.

Gresham Kávéház: The three-courser offered at the Four Season's upscale "coffeehouse" starts with sweet spices-crusted tuna tartar with green mango and chili salad, then hits a veal chop with Mediterranean vegetables, "folded" ravioli and Pecorino sauce, and ends with seasonal berries and Marsala sabayon. It costs Ft 12,900, including roses and chocolate truffles.

Óceán Bár and Grill: Budapest's leading seafood lovers' restaurant seems to really love Valentine's Day, because their VD menu is valid all week. Chef Giuseppe Mosti offers a menu for Ft 10,990 consisting of marinated sea scallop with leek compote and tomato fondue, prawn and porcini mushroom soup with marjoram and asparagus, lobster tail and sea bass filet in a lemon-scented gratin, with sweet mashed potato and a crustacean sauce, and red fruit bavaroise with caramelized endive and vanilla sauce, better known in Hungarian as vörösgyümölcs bavaroise karamellizált endíviával, vaníliamártással.

Pampas Argentine Steakhouse: There is no special VD menu at Pampas, but in keeping with tradition, female diners get their desserts free of charge.

Salaam Bombay: Our (current) favorite sub-continental restaurant in town also has a special VD menu. It starts with Goan shrimp 'n fish soup and salad and canapés, then moves on to a "kebab feast," beef Kerala style, several side dishes, assorted bread, and almond rice pilaf. The price is Ft 9,000 for two lovers, or one very committed lover of Indian food.

Segal: One of the more recent additions to the Top 33 promises a "divine dining experience" for Ft 12,000 a head. It starts off with black tiger shrimp sautéed in basil-orange sauce, then moseys into pan-fried duck breast with polenta pasta in celery cream and spicy warm tomato salad before hitting you with Saint-Maure goat cheese with quince pürée and finally green tea and white chocolate ice cream with fresh strawberries. They recommend making reservations "as soon as possible" because seating in the intimate restaurant is extremely limited.