Coquille Saint-Jacques in Paris. Oysters in New Orleans. Silky stuffed pasta in San Remo, Italy. A sizzling dry-aged steak in Brooklyn. And in Williamsburg, Virginia, best known for its Colonial heritage … jugged hare and marrow pudding? These five cities saw the highest jump in restaurant spending on Valentine’s Day, with Williamsburg posting a 513% increase. That’s a lot of marrow pudding. Rounding out top 10: Castel Gondolfo, Italy, best known as the summer residence of the Pope; Cape Town; San Antonio, Texas; Quezon City, Philippines; and Cologne, Germany.

Does size matter? Looking more deeply into spending data at New York City restaurants, it’s clear that smaller restaurants felt the love from diners. Independent restaurants saw a 70% increase on Valentine’s Day over the rest of the week, roughly twice the boost enjoyed by big chains. What’s bigger is the appetite: The average individual check rose nearly 29% at smaller venues, versus only 3.5% at larger restaurants.  

Florists are the real MVPs of Valentine’s Day, with spending blooming regardless of country, from a 632% increase in Germany to nearly 1,000% in the U.S. But a deep dive into spending trends discovered that desires vary widely. In France, gifts tended toward the traditional, with candy and chocolate spending rising 109%, followed by cosmetics (presumably perfume) up 47%. In Italy, the Romeos sought out molto bling, with a 237% boost in precious jewelry sales (and a 74% increase in photography services, hmmm). In Japan, candy stores saw an 81% spike — and a 55% lift in art supplies. There was a spike in more experiential spending in the U.K., with movie theaters showing a 138% increase and live theater a 60%​ boost. And in Germany, well, let’s hope the fräuleins aren’t prone to seasickness: Spending in the boat leasing and dealer category rose 157%. 

The top cities for Vlentine's Day chocolate sales were almost entirely in Europe — London, Rome, Warsaw (the center of Polish chocolate-making), Milan, Zurich, Turin (home of gianduja, Italy’s most iconic chocolate), and Krakow. The sole outlier? The Big Apple in a box of European truffles.