O BVIOUSLY, all St Valentine's Day plans were made weeks, nay months, ago. Surely, nobody reading EG on the Friday before the holiday of amore would possibly have left it until now to book a table or concoct a romantic scheme.

It's so preposterous a notion that we here at EG can't even fathom it. And yet, what the heck. As a sort of mental exercise, let us offer a few tips as if there were people out there who maybe hadn't thought to buy flowers or plan anything. Again.

Browns, the newest addition to the Nottingham restaurant scene, is announcing itself with a pair of St Valentine's Day options. The classy bar and brasserie with an excellent line in cocktails and 1920s decor is doing a Valentine's Brunch. It runs until noon from today until St. Valentine's Day. For £22, two people can get a choice of traditional breakfast, Eggs Benedict or Florentine, or a smoked salmon and fresh strawberries number. Oh, and there's Champagne, Bucks Fizz or a Bloody Mary.

They're also offering a three-course £29.95 dinner menu featuring a selection of cocktails, mains including four-bone rack of lamb or Lobster Tagliatelle, and desserts including Eton Mess and creme brulee.

Browns is located at 20 Park Row, next to Nottingham Playhouse. Book on 0115 958 8183.

For more on Browns, see Weekend magazine in tomorrow's Post.

Chino Latino looks like one of those places where ridiculously attractive people are always ripping each other's clothes off in scent adverts. Although in real life, they will probably ask that you refrain and take it to the adjacent hotel.

For the day of romance they're offering a special seven-dish menu with champagne reception for £65 per person. Options include ginseng broth; king prawn, scallop and oyster tempura; ceviche platter with crab and guacamole rice paper roll, mackerel with wasabi mayonnaise, marinated salmon in yuzu and jalapeno dressing; smoked unagi and saffron nigiri with foie gras sauce, Duck Gyoza with kumquat and coriander dressing; roast monkfish with passionfruit miso, chilli and basil sorbet; lamb loin noisettes with mint and teriyaki glaze; cherry assiette with Turkish delight, cherry short cake, cherry sorbet, or black forest gateaux.

Ooooooh.

And it's always useful to have a hotel attached to your restaurant. Between February 10 and 19, the Park Plaza is offering a Be Mine, Valentine deal which includes one night in one of the hotel's "superior" rooms, a bottle of champagne on arrival, a full English breakfast and a late check-out time of 2pm starting from £109.

Book for the restaurant on 0115 947 7444. Book for the hotel on 0115 947 7200.

If you want to get out of the city, you'd do well to head to The Sanctuary in Upper Saxondale. The stylish yet cosy restaurant's doing a three-course menu for £29. The menu includes goat's cheese mousse with black olive shortbread, roasted pepper and tomato jam; and crab, avocado and tomato tian baby leaf salad, spiced red pepper mayonnaise; chargrilled lamb steak with fondant potato, aubergine caviar, buttered fine beans, tomato and tarragon jus; oven baked salmon fillet with crushed new potatoes, pak choi, chilli and lime beurre blanc; mushroom, leek and spinach cannelloni with garlic ciabatta and rocket salad; and desserts.

Then there's this, which comes to us from the fine people at Everards Brewery. They have, they tell us, "paired up with cupid" to concoct a Valentine's offer involving that most romantic of all beverages, real ale.

You can buy any Everards case or gift pack – the night's looking more romantic already, eh? – and get a free Tiger Best Bitter T-shirt.

That's right. The Something More Comfortable you slip into can have the name of an East Midlands ale on the front.

Now, to take advantage of this offer, you have to book today. You can do it at their online shop at shop.everards.co.uk, or at their shops at Fosse Shopping Park (Junction 21 of the M1) and Rutland Vintners in Langham.