Vancouver restaurants for your first date
First dates can be nerve-wracking. You’ll definitely need a little sustenance to calm that nervous stomach (and perhaps a drink or two). These places will help you ease into the evening — or afternoon — taking care of food and drinks so you can focus on what’s important: securing the second date. [Image credit: iStock.com/gilaxia]
Alibi Room
157 Alexander St, Vancouver, BC V6A 1B8Whether you decide to meet there or arrive together, ease and comfort is guaranteed at this laid back Gastown craft beer mecca. If you’re both into the hoppy beverage, you’ll have plenty to talk about while perusing the extensive list of ever-rotating taps on offer. Aside from the draw of delicious beer and tasty food, communal tables make the place lively and its popularity means you’re bound to run into someone you know — always helpful on that first date if you need a little back-up.
Vancouver Urban Winery
55 Dunlevy Ave, Vancouver, BC V6A 3A3Hip, sophisticated and set in a gorgeous heritage building, Vancouver Urban Winery is the perfect place to test your culinary compatibility. Small plates are ideal for sharing, so embark on your first round of mutual decision-making and opt for four or five plates between the two of you. Their FreshTap system of wines means wines by the glass are ripe for the tasting (try a flight or just go glass by glass), always a good lubricant for the first-date jitters.
Capstone Tea & Fondue
1429 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6G 1C1Touching hands in the popcorn bag at the movies, gazing at each other over a shared milkshake, there’s a reason first-date clichés exist. Food is the perfect excuse to bring people together. Why not take this to the next level with a date for fondue? Choose cheese with fruit, bread and pastries, or for a dessert date, chocolate with fruit, cookies and pastries. Either way there’s something romantic and sensual about this 1970s tradition. And uniting over melted chocolate is never a bad thing.
Big Lou's Butcher Shop
269 Powell St, Vancouver, BC V6A 1G3Your date’s on a sunny Saturday in summer? Ride your bikes to Big Lou’s Butcher Shop on Powell and ask for one of their custom picnic baskets. For $38, they’ll pack you two a delicious spread of charcuterie, pâtés, cheeses, seafood, bread and cold drinks all in your own little basket with plates and cutlery. Take it down to nearby Crab Park for a special view of the North Shore and the busy port and enjoy a romantic lunch en pleine air.
Dark Table Restaurant Inc
2611 4th Ave W, Vancouver, BC V6K 1P8For the slightly more adventurous (and for a great first-date story for down the road), head to Dark Table. Here, you will dine in complete darkness, relying on your other senses for a memorable meal. Choose your dinner in a lighted foyer and then be led by blind servers to your table. Taste, touch, smell and sound are heightened to fascinating effect and there will be lots to talk about as you try to decipher your meal. Hold hands to keep your bearings.
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