If you’re burnt out by the dating scene in NYC, you’re probably also burnt out on the idea of sitting through another three hours of overpriced drinks with a stranger, or even worse, soberly strolling the West Side Highway while you try to figure out what the acceptable amount of subtle arm-brushing should be.
If you wanna shake it up, give one of these a go for a first date to write home about.
Date Night at The Met
Every Friday and Saturday, the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts Date Night At The Met with drinks, live music, and special programming. NY residents “pay what you wish.”
Comedy Show
Catch a comedy show at one of these iconic NYC comedy clubs:
- Comedy Cellar (West Village)
- Gotham Comedy Club (Chelsea)
- New York Comedy Club (Kips Bay)
- The Stand (Union Square)
- East Village Stand Up Comedy
- Lost Dog Comedy (Bowery)
- Sesh Comedy (Lower East Side)
- Tribeca Comedy Lounge
- Dark Horse Comedy Club (Tribeca)
- Living Room Laughs (Turtle Bay)
- Rodney’s (Lenox Hill)
- Comic Strip Live (Upper East Side)
- Stand Up NY at Cafe Paradise (Upper West Side)
- Sheba’s Speakeasy Comedy Club (Midtown)
Pasta Making at Aunt Jake’s
The best pasta making class in NYC! For $60 per person, you get a 3-hour experience of authentic pasta making, and then a pre-fixe meal featuring your own pasta creation.
Get Your Fortunes Read
Grab your date and stumble into one of those $20 fortune places you always walk past but never have the balls to go into.
Maybe they’ll tell you if your date is or isn’t the one.
Or, more likely, you’ll have lots of stories and laughs to recap after the entire session is spent focused on your years long fake marriage.
Peruse an Art Gallery Opening
Check @thirstygallerina on Instagram for gallery openings in your neighborhood that week.
Many of them have free wine or beer!
Outdoor movie night
Grab a blanket and some snacks and spread out under the stars at one of these free Summertime outdoor movie spots:
Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy – Every Thursday, doors at 5pm/movie at sunset
Paramount+ Movie Nights in Brooklyn (rotating locations) – Every week from July 10 to September 15, doors at 6pm/movie at sunset
Paramount+ Movie Nights at Prospect Park – Every Monday at 8pm through August 12, doors at 5pm/movie at sunset
Movies Under The Stars (rotating locations) – Multiple dates. Check schedule here
Movies on the Water at Seaport Cinema – August 12 and September 23 at 7:30pm
Arcade Bar
I know this is kind of drinks, but drinks are definitely not the main event here.
Awaken your inner child and get gaming at one of these hot spots:
Swingers – Mini golf (Nomad)
Barcade (Chelsea, East Village, Williamsburg)
Ace Bar (East Village)
Route 66 (Fidi)
Wonderville (Bushwick)
Catch a free show at Rockwood Music Hall
Rockwood Music Hall in the Lower East Side is a small music venue that hosts the best up & coming acts in NYC.
There is no cover charge, but note there is a two drink minimum.
