- New Toast data suggests steak is the top Valentine’s Day order, with sales nearly doubling compared to a typical Friday.
- Desserts and pastries also spike for the holiday, along with wine orders.
- Hot dogs, meanwhile, are one of the few items that actually drop on Valentine’s Day.
Roses are red, violets are blue… what’s more romantic than a steak for two? Apparently nothing! According to new data from restaurant tech platform Toast, steak is the Valentine’s Day MVP.
Toast analyzed U.S. restaurant data from Valentine’s Day last year and compared it to a typical Friday night. Steak sales jumped 99 percent, the largest increase of any menu item. And honestly, I’m not too surprised. I love a perfectly seared filet on a special occasion, and red meat just fits the holiday, which is obsessed with a red-and-pink vibe.
One meat that’s not getting any love, however, is hot dogs. (I know there’s an inappropriate joke in there somewhere). Hot dog sales dropped 10 percent on Valentine’s Day.
Another menu item couples aren’t skimping on for the holiday? Dessert. Toast found desserts and pastries saw a 53 percent increase in orders, proving that this romantic occasion really is the sweetest of them all.
And romantics are splurging on wine when dining out, too, with sales up 38 percent—more than any other alcoholic beverage. Because if you’re doing steak, a bold glass of red wine is kind of the whole point.
Now that we know what to order, who’s taking me out—and where are we going?