If there’s one thing the surveys and our own experiences are showing us, it’s that we are even more interested in dining when we go for a date than we have been ever before. It’s easy to be complacent though and assume that a dinner date is pretty standardised. The truth couldn’t be more different. Keep things interesting by trying different types of meal and setting. Here’s our suggestion for your first eleven dates.
- Actually, we’re going to cheat here – try doing something different for your first date, don’t make it a meal at all. Weekday drinks or heading out to an activity together are both more interesting and easier to bail out of if you suddenly realise it just isn’t working.
- Sushi, Thai or Tapas – these are all good second date meals. They’re a bit different so your chances of looking a bit cooler are higher, they’re pretty light on the stomach and there aren’t so many lingering flavours to ruin any kissing.
- Italian – ah, now for your third date you’re talking more of a commitment with richer food and a whole more romantic atmosphere. By now you can be taking your time with a more expensive and lingering meal to base your date around.
- Something cheaper – quite often by now your partner will be looking to pay for a meal, so suggesting something really expensive is not the way to go here. We’re not talking going to a McDonalds or something, but maybe a gourmet burger place for something a bit more freeform.
- Mexican – strong alcohol and food that can give an automatic excuse for accidentally farting make for a great fifth date meal.
- Home Cooking – this is a great chance for one or the other of you to show off your skills in the kitchen. If you’re both keen cooks, think about making the meal together as part of the date if you want to switch it up a bit, but try not to accidentally poison your date through being overambitious.
- Brunch – either following a sleep-over, or as an excuse to spend the whole day together, a brunch is a good light alternative to a dinner date.
- Something healthy – if you’re following our meal plan, you’ve likely been eating some pretty rich food along the way, so before you go piling on too many pounds make this suggestion. Your partner will very likely agree, so you can both feel virtuous with the salads – at least for one meal.
- With friends – by the time you’re on a ninth date, you’re really starting to show there’s some longevity to the relationship. Time to drag them along to that Sunday brunch or the Saturday night gathering where you can all stuff your faces and have your friends reveal all the embarrassing moments you’ve been hiding.
- Somewhere you’ve been before – by now you’ve almost certainly got a pretty good idea about what you both like as a couple, so use that and pick something you’ve both really enjoyed.
- Ribs – by now you’ve seen each other devour all sorts of things, and if you’ve survived this long, then you might be ok for the mess and destruction of all things steakhouse, whether it’s ribs, chilli burgers or buffalo wings.
Now you can never complain that you’ve no idea what to eat – just follow this plan and you can enjoy your dates and the progression of your relationship with one less thing to worry about.