Fancy restaurants are the preferred setting for romance because they allow diners to touch each other's kneecaps beneath tablecloths and carve meat into the shape of potential baby names. Ensure a robust love life with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of upscale fare and drinks at Ivy in downtown Wheaton.

Ivy's executive chef Brian Goewey has assembled a menu of sophisticated cuisine made from fresh, premium ingredients. Start the gastro-revelry with the creamy greenery of spinach-and-artichoke dip, which comes paired with parmesan crisps ($10.25), or kick things off with calamari partnered with garlic butter and a blend of hot peppers ($10.50). A quartet of pastas, including butternut squash ravioli ($15.95), assists in quelling boot-shaped cravings, while steakhouse burgers ($11.50) help protein addicts get the meat monkey off their backs without risking fork-related injury. Double-hoisin pork-chops ($21.50), Kona-coffee-encrusted sirloin ($23.50), and gorgonzola lamb-chops ($27.95) all add to the mouth-powered flavor symphony. A lunch menu is also available, enlisting an expanded selection of sandwiches to keep chewing muscles from atrophying during daylight.

Ivy's name comes from the layer of verdant ivy covering its façade, under which lies a separate layer of creamy milk-chocolate. The building was originally a chapel, so its interior has stained-glass windows and a stately cathedral ceiling to provide an elegant accompaniment to the menu's treasures. A lush outdoor patio space gives plein-aire potato artists room to work.

Reviews

Ivy was featured in the Daily Herald, and it gets a four-star average from Yelpers and a 4.5-star average from Yahoo! Locals:

• Ivy boasts the largest patio in Wheaton, seating 90 people outside, [co-owner] O'Gorman said. – Kim Mikus, Daily Herald
• Outstanding!!! Impeccable service, delightful food by an out of this world chef, and a wonderful aura combine to create a very tasteful dining experience. – sam, Yahoo! Local