According to folklore, poet Tom Moore left Bermuda in a hurry amid hue and cry over his love affair with the beautiful wife of a colleague.For months until his abrupt departure from these shores, Moore and Nea Tucker would sit under their favourite calabash tree in a Bailey’s Bay jungle, hiding away from the rest of the Island while he compiled his romantic collection ‘Odes to Nea’.But did Moore ever ask a chef to hide a diamond ring inside his lover’s chocolate mousse as an elaborate finish to an exquisite meal on Valentine’s Day?Probably not, which is why not even Thomas Moore himself could hold a candle to some of the romantics who’ve dined at the restaurant still bearing his name two centuries on.Italian owner Bruno Fiocca believes Tom Moore’s Tavern’s enchanting atmosphere can melt the coldest of hearts, from the winding pathway connecting the restaurant to the road, to the quietly cosy dining rooms and fine attention to detail from his staff.It’s helped make February 14 arguably the biggest night of the year for Bermuda’s oldest restaurant.“Imagine what it is like to be arriving at this restaurant for the first time,” said Mr Fiocca.“You enter the driveway and you have this winding road, with trees at the side, and you are thinking to yourself, ‘Wherever am I going?’“Then, all of a sudden, 200 yards later, you see this wonderful home, and you say, ‘Wow.’ Inside, we have crystal glasses, Mia Chandeliers, silver ... it’s really very elegant.“I went to a restaurant last week and paid $180 and got no tablecloth, no bread, no water brought to the table. At my restaurant, you get water and tapenade as soon as you arrive, and petits fours to finish. We do that little bit extra.”Mr Fiocca anticipates a busy couples only evening on Valentine’s Day as the Tavern reopens following its annual closure for repainting in January.Many will be returning guests, lured back by the romantic surroundings which have produced numerous memorable moments in Mr Fiocca’s 28 years as owner.“Every couple of years somebody proposes on Valentine’s night,” he said.“Sometimes they ask me to put their table in a secreted place, in a booth, away from everybody.“Sometimes, I am told to bring a dessert like chocolate mousse with strawberries, and inside the dessert they want the chef to put an engagement ring.“One time, I watched myself as the lady ate the dessert with the ring. No, she didn’t eat the ring and, yes, her answer was ‘yes’.“But the best place to put the ring is the glass with the champagne. It looks good. She starts to drink the champagne and at first she doesn’t realise.“Then she sees the ring inside with all the bubbles, and it sparkles and looks good. And then she cries.“That has happened a few times here. One time, a couple got engaged on Valentine’s Day, and then they came back here to get married a few months later. They still come back for their anniversary.”While Mr Fiocca puts his own romantic nature down to his Italian roots, Tom Moore’s Tavern gets much of its charm from its history.Built in 1652, it still contains all the original interior cedar from the days it was known as Walsingham House after its builder Robert Walsingham, a coxswain aboard the Sea Venture.Thomas Moore, the Irish poet, was a frequent visitor to the property after arriving in Bermuda in 1804 as Registrar of Vice-Admiralty to the Court.Stories vary on Moore’s alleged relationship with Nea Tucker, and it’s not clear exactly who she was; some say the Governor’s good-looking wife, others the attractive spouse of a colleague.However, the calabash tree under which they were said to sit, about 200 yards from the house, remained in place until it was uprooted during Hurricane Emily, and has since been replanted.Nobody knows for sure why Moore suddenly departed for Virginia after just three months in Bermuda.“Maybe the people did not like his friendship with Nea Tucker,” speculated Mr Fiocca.Inside the restaurant the Nea Tucker Room, the Calabash Room and the Admiralty Room are long-lasting tributes to the Tom Moore story.To get into the loving mood at next Thursday’s Valentine’s dinner, Mr Fiocca recommends pan seared scallops with a tomato bisque, followed by a grilled beef tenderloin, finished off with a coconut souffle.“That will get you in the mood,” he said. “If it was me, that’s what I would pick, because it all tastes so good.”But asking which wine should accompany his choice of meal prompted only a shake of the head from the restaurateur.“Not wine,” he said. “It has to be champagne.”