Where To Go On A First Date In London

Is dating cool again? Recently, it feels like the conversation has shifted. Everywhere I turn, someone is saying “date here,” “date this,” “date that.” Something seems to have changed — people are back in the mood to meet someone. Perhaps I am a good case study, even I went on a first date in the last six months.

But here’s the problem: nobody knows where to go.

From bars to pubs to restaurants, it’s always a topic of conversation. Whether it’s someone exclaiming, “I just don’t know where to go!” or another saying, “I have finally found the best date spot!”, first dates are their own category of decision-making. It’s make or break. Do or die. So consider this a public service, a guide to going out on the first date, from someone who’s done the dating in all its failures and, against all odds, its glory.

Pubs

In my eyes, the pub is the safest bet for a first date. It’s casual, it’s cool, it’s probably a Thursday, and there’s enough stimuli to keep you both from entering a doomed, awkward silence filled by small talk and the weather (shivers). In my heart of hearts, the most comfortable state I may ever be in is tucked into a picnic table, clutching a half-full second pint, showing pictures to a semi-stranger of my dogs.

The George

Who would I be not to mention The George in London Bridge — my famed first date spot, the one I now tell all my friends to bring their Hinge dates. There are about 100 table scenes to decide on: a picnic table in the sun, a tavernous table in the pub room, a dinner table (gasp) in the dining room, or a balcony table overlooking the courtyard (recommend). It’s one of the oldest pubs in London, crawling with young professionals, lots to look at, lots of triggers for inspiration, and lots and lots of pints. If you’re lucky, you’ll close out the pub and end up at the kebab shop round the corner. Tempt fate.

Where: 75-77 Borough High Street, Southwark, Greater London
Website: www.greeneking.co.uk

The Duke of Wellington

The Duke of Wellington in Marylebone is an ideal spot for a post-work, frazzled-English-girl, “I’ve had such a busy day, so nice to meet you”, cool-girl, glass-of-white-wine-with-ice, date. Get the picture? This pub is infested with Europeans; if you don’t hit it off with who you came with, you might just join a group of bleached blonde Scandinavians to peel you off each other. Win-win.

where: 94A Crawford St, London W1H 2HQ
Website: www.thedukew1h.co.uk

The Grenadier

Now, if the above two feel a bit young, a bit too on the social side or the shorter side of 25, The Grenadier is probably going to hit the nail on the head. This is a pub tucked into a mews with little hidden pew booths and just enough people to make you feel anonymous, although still very much important to the storytelling of such a place. Arm in arm, kitten heels on cobblestone, clutching the sleeves of each other’s wool coats, a successful first date here will make you feel like you’ve just rewritten a very secret corner of London’s history. It’ll also make you want a cigarette, in a chic way though.

Where: 18 Wilton Row, London SW1X 7NR
Website: www.grenadierbelgravia.com

Read my full guide of the best pubs in London

Bars

Easily the crowd favourite, the bar is the ideal, cosmopolitan, Sex and the City spot for a first date. These days, though, it’s less dark lounges that we are all after, more dimly lit glasses of orange wine. As pretentious as that might be, it’s just how the city’s evolved. But don’t worry, I’ve chucked in my grungy naughties bar, too.

Le Beaujolais

I am very, very careful with who I share this information with, as Le Beaujolais is the perfect amount of full every Thursday and Friday night. There’s always just two spots left at the bar, or an outside seat under the heater. Always some niche celebrity in a ball cap. Always a young couple in that corner, a two-top between two wine-drinking French men in the other. It is the perfect date spot; in fact, this was introduced to me by a well-informed first date — good on him! Plus, it’s on relatively common ground in Soho, making for the perfect swift getaway after a “surprise” call from your flatmate who’s “going through something” that you must assist with.

Regardless of the outcome, you’ll probably never stop going here once you’ve found it. Take it from me.

Where: 25 Litchfield St, London WC2H 9NJ
Website: www.lebeaujolais.london

Jazz After Dark

If someone brought me here, I think they’d get a second date off the bat just out of the sheer realisation that they knew about it. This is the best live music in London, the most if-you-know-you-know spot (if I’m wrong about that, keep it to yourself). It’s where Amy Winehouse rose to fame, and where the best jazz I’ve ever heard rings down the bar. It’s cosy, small, and definitely a place to go if you know the other is invested in music. My key tip, La Beaujolais FIRST, Jazz After Dark after a successful first bottle.

Where: 9 Greek St, London W1D 4DQ
Website: www.jazzafterdark.co.uk

The room Amy Winehouse wrote Back to black in: the corner of Jazz After Dark

Stable Wines

Obviously, the not-so-humble wine bar was going to end up somewhere on this list (there will be more), and if that’s your thing, then great! You have probably been on many first dates. Stable Wines is a great choice if the person you’re meeting is someone you’ve never met before, but definitely flirted with over text. A dungenous, sexy, secretive place with earthy, organic wines and teenie, teenie tiny small plates. My first date tip? Skip the food, get glasses of red wine, call it if you ever get bored, but end with a chocolate mousse if that moment doesn’t come.

Read my full Stable Wines review

Where: 344a Essex Rd, London N1 3PD
Website: www.stablewines.com

Restaurants

The revered and feared dinner date. Our anxious-avoidant, distrusting, 3-second attention spanned pea brains couldn’t fathom such a thing for a first date. I lay down my sword, I am them. But there are plenty of brave soldiers out there who want it, they want the bonding, the commitment, the free meal right off the bat. I applaud the confidence from the sidelines.

Giacco’s

Now for the first-date-wine-bar with someone you probably do know, Giacco’s in Finsbury Park. I went here the other day, not for a first date, but boy was I looking around, trying to figure out who was on one and who wasn’t. The kitchen is rotating, meaning it’s different every time you visit, making it exciting, fast-paced, and with lots to giggle about. I would absolutely recommend sitting at the counter in this context, fiddling with the stem of your sparkling-red-filled wine glass. It might be bold, but there’s nothing like sharing food to discern compatibility.

Where: 176 Blackstock Rd, London N5 1HA
Website: www.giaccos.bar

Crisp

The answer is no, I never thought I would be calling a pizza place sexy, but Crisp is! Sue me! And for some reason, it screamed great first date to me. It’s dark, there are candles, exposed wood, wine cellars, and the nostalgic, intimate, almost vulnerable act of slamming a pizza. Plus, there’s no better way to bond than over a pint whilst in a queue. By the time you’re down there, you’ll already have rose coloured lenses from the two-hour pub sesh. Cheers.

Read my Crisp Pizza review

Where: 24 N Audley St, London W1K 6WD
Website: www.crispmayfair.com

Hausu

Nothing like a bit of an edgy Peckham small plates restaurant that’s heavy on the cocktails and the “listening bar” concept. As much as those kinds of descriptions do sometimes sound like nails on a chalkboard to me, Hausu was actually quite good, and the whole time I was there, I thought: solid place for a first date. Definitely a spot for strong drinks, though. Perhaps lined with a shared plate of pasta. Maybe find some live music after?

Read my Hausu Peckham listening bar review

Where: 11a Station Wy, London SE15 4RX
Website: hausulondon.co.uk