Evening · 7 ideas · easiest first
A first date
A good first date has two features: a natural end point, so a bad one is over in ninety minutes, and something to do besides stare at each other, so a good one has room to breathe. Dinner has neither. Everything below has both. Ordered from the lowest commitment, a drink with a clock on it, to things that need a bit of a plan.
Happy hour at a place with a real menu
Two drinks and three small plates at a restaurant you'd never pay full price at.
- Cost
- $20–30 per person
- Best when
- Weekdays, 4–6 pm, sit at the bar
- Cheaper
- This is already the cheap version. Bar seats usually get the deal; tables sometimes don't.
- Skip it if
- You want a long dinner. Happy hour ends and the prices double.
- Bring
- A friend who's off by five.
Mini-golf, badly
Eighteen holes, a windmill, a scorecard nobody trusts. The ideal amount of competition for a first date.
- Best when
- Weekday evenings, under the lights
- Cheaper
- Weekday rates are a few dollars less; some courses do two-for-one early in the week.
- Skip it if
- Either of you takes golf seriously.
- Bring
- Nothing. Putters are included and all equally bad.
A flight at a brewery taproom
Four small beers, a long table, dogs under it, and a food truck outside. Low stakes.
- Cost
- $12–18 for a flight
- Best when
- Weekday evenings or weekend afternoons
- Cheaper
- Taprooms pour their own beer $2–3 cheaper than bars serving the same thing.
- Skip it if
- You don't like beer. Most taprooms have one cider and one wine, and that's it.
- Bring
- Cash for the food truck. Some are card-only, some the opposite.
First Friday gallery walk
A dozen galleries open late, free wine in plastic cups, and art you can argue about on the sidewalk.
- Best when
- The first Friday of the month, 6–9 pm, in most cities
- Cheaper
- Free, including the wine. Dinner after is where you spend.
- Skip it if
- You need the art to be good. Some of it is.
- Bring
- Walking shoes. It's a loop of a mile or two.
An arcade bar
Pinball, old cabinets, a beer in a cup holder, and a first date where nobody has to maintain eye contact.
- Cost
- $10–20 in credits plus drinks
- Best when
- Thursday nights, before the weekend crowd
- Cheaper
- Set a credit budget at the door. Many run free-play on a slow weeknight.
- Skip it if
- You want to talk. It's loud by design.
- Bring
- Quarters, if it's that kind of place.
A board game café
A flat cover, a wall of games, a staffer who'll teach you one, and coffee or beer at the table.
- Cost
- $5–10 cover plus food
- Best when
- Rainy afternoons and weeknights
- Cheaper
- The cover is the whole price; stay four hours if you want.
- Skip it if
- You can't lose gracefully. There are witnesses.
- Bring
- Someone patient enough to read rules out loud.
A comedy club showcase
Four comics who know what they're doing, a dark room, and ninety minutes where it's rude to look at your phone.
- Cost
- $15–30 plus a two-drink minimum
- Best when
- The early show, Thursday to Saturday
- Cheaper
- Early shows are cheaper than the late set. Order the minimum as soda water and it's $8.
- Skip it if
- You get picked on easily. Sit in the back.
- Bring
- A reservation. Good rooms sell out on weekends.