Dining Out

The romantic dinner is one of the most reliable weapons in any self-respecting dater's arsenal, but just because it’s tried and tested doesn’t make it any easier to pull of with style. ‘So, dinner next Friday?’ may be four easy words to say when setting up your next rendezvous, but you’ll be regretting every last one of them if you don’t do your homework before hand. Swanky or simple? Shout the bill or split it? Dress to kill or keep it casual? Cure your confusion with our top 5 tips to getting it right on the night.


1) Where to go
Picking a restaurant is hands down the hardest part of the dining out experience as it reveals a lot about your taste, style and expectations for the evening. A first date at the local Thai takeaway doesn’t exactly say rockets and rose petals, while a table for two at Tetsuyas is enough to scare all but the most sophisticated singles from the scene. As a rule of thumb, don’t pick somewhere you wouldn’t go yourself: a reservation at the latest over-styled opening in town will certainly get your date’s attention, but if you need the waiter to translate every course, your date is going to die before you get to desert. Choose somewhere you feel at ease but with just enough cool factor to keep things interesting – you also want just enough background noise to soak up any awkward silences, but not so much that you’ll have to shout your sweet nothings across the table. As a last resort, you can always ask your date to pick the place instead.

2) What to wear
To a large extent the place you pick determines the wardrobe you’ll wear for the evening. If you went by our advice above, then evening gowns or top hats and tails are right out the window, as are thongs, boardies, beach dresses and bikinis. Work wear can be another turn off, so maybe try losing the jacket and tie and upgrading your shirt before you step out the door. Suits can be quite dashing, but for a first date they can be a bit more formal then friendly. For the ladies a little modesty goes a long way. A flash of flesh is always welcome, but you probably want to keep your date’s attention off your chest for at least the first half of the evening. Stick to seasonal colours and contemporary cuts and you can’t go wrong.

3) What to order
‘Just a salad’, 'I’ll have what she’s having’, ‘the most expensive thing on the menu’ – these are just a sample of the things we trust you won’t be ordering on your first meal out together. Guys like to see girls who like to eat, so picking politely at a salad and batting your eyelids is a bad idea; girls like guys who know what they want, so don’t default to your date’s choice to show how much you are alike; and nobody is ever impressed when you order the most expensive item on the menu, so don’t do it. Some more ‘don’ts’ are ordering for your date, skimping on starters and stopping conversation when the steak arrives. A big ‘do’ is shared dishes like sushi and tapas – they’re great fun, giving you plenty of tastes to share, things to talk about and openings to touch fingers over the fried goyza.

4) The conversation
Once the ordering is out of the way it’s back to the real meat of the evening, the conversation. Don’t fall in to the bear trap of being the restaurant boar, snearing at the wine list or salivating over the parsnip foam. Your date’s opinion should be as of much importance as your own even if you hand out Michelin stars in your spare time. Obviously you’ll be wanting to make a good impression on your partner, but sticking to stories where you saved the day, got the girl or made a fortune on commission is flat out dull. A little fallibility goes a long way and showing you can laugh at yourself goes even further.

5) Time to pay
Equality in a relationship is a beautiful thing, but diner dates are different stories. Simply put, if you’re a guy and you’ve asked a girl out for a first meal together, you should be prepared to pay the full whack. If your pocket can’t quite take the hit, then head somewhere cheaper – it’s that simple. Ladies, you should always refuse the offer, but only once. If your date is a proper gentleman, he will insist and that will be that. If he wipes his brow with relief and accepts, then you might be better off booking a table for one next weekend.