Discover 30+ Meal-based date ideas
Meal-based date ideas are not only for foodies and amazing chefs. Exploring new cuisines and new flavours can be a great new experience for everyone. Especially if you do it together with your partner. A romantic date night dinner with great food and drinks can be a go-to date for everyone. We have come up with a list of meal-based date ideas to spice up your dates and make them even more special. The range varies greatly - from a simple baking contest of a muffin to preparing a full-blown fancy dinner for each other. We got something for everyone!
Rooftop Picnic
Find a rooftop with a view (or your own balcony) and enjoy a sunset picnic. Free if you pack your own meal. Add fairy lights for ambiance.
Cheese-Making Workshop
Learn to make mozzarella or ricotta cheese. Cost: $50-$75 per person. Bonus: Enjoy your homemade cheese with wine afterward.
Drive-In Movie Theater Night
Check schedules for drive-in theaters in your area. Arrive early to secure a good parking spot and bring blankets or chairs for comfort. Pack your favorite movie snacks and enjoy a nostalgic movie experience under the stars from the privacy of your car.
Roadside Diner Tour of Classic Eateries
Explore nostalgic roadside diners or iconic eateries known for their comfort food and retro ambiance. Order regional specialties like burgers, milkshakes, or homemade pies. Capture the vintage charm with photos and share your favorite finds with friends.
Local Food Truck Festival Road Trip
Check local event listings for food truck festivals or food markets featuring a variety of cuisines. Plan a route that allows you to sample different trucks, from gourmet burgers to international street food. Bring cash and an appetite for culinary adventure.
Visit a Local Festival
Check out local festivals or fairs. Enjoy food, music, and activities unique to your area. Entry fees vary, usually $10-$20 per person.
Cook a Meal from a Different Country
Choose a country and cook a traditional meal from there together. This cultural and culinary date is budget-friendly, depending on the ingredients.
Potluck Dinner Party
Host a potluck dinner with friends, each bringing a dish from a different country. This social and culinary date is inexpensive, depending on what you decide to cook.
Chocolate Making Class
Learn to make delicious chocolates from scratch in a hands-on class. This sweet experience costs around $50-$75 per person.
DIY Wine Tasting
Visit a local winery or wine shop and pick up a selection of inexpensive wines to taste at home. Pair them with a variety of cheeses, fruits, and chocolates for a budget-friendly tasting experience. Get a DIY winemaking kit online for about 60$
DIY Cooking Challenge
Challenge each other to create a delicious meal using only ingredients you already have at home. Get creative and see what culinary masterpieces you can whip up together. If you aren't creative chefs, maybe let the other for 5-10 minutes to browse online on recipe blogs.
Food Truck Frenzy
Explore the local food truck scene and challenge each other to try new and unique dishes from different trucks. Get a notebook or open the notes app on your phone to rate your favorites and enjoy a budget-friendly feast on-the-go.
Mystery Picnic
Prepare a picnic basket with assorted snacks and treats, but keep the location a mystery until you arrive. Make sure to select a place with both sun and shade, and check if the ground is dry enough for a picnic.
Midnight Snack Adventure
Plan a late-night adventure to explore the city's best spots for midnight snacks. Whether it's a 24-hour diner, a food truck hotspot, or a hidden gem known for its late-night eats, indulge in delicious bites under the stars.
Cooking Class with a Twist
Take a cooking class together, but with a unique theme like sushi rolling, pasta making, or chocolate truffle crafting. Learn new culinary skills while bonding over delicious food. Cooking classes go from 30$-100$ depending on location and cousine, you can find something that will fit your budget.
Food Truck Frenzy
Hunt down a food truck festival in your area and sample a variety of cuisines from different trucks. Challenge each other to try something new and unexpected, like a gourmet grilled cheese or Korean BBQ tacos
Dessert Tasting Night
Set up a dessert tasting station at home with a variety of sweet treats like chocolates, pastries, and cakes from different bakeries or dessert shops. Rate each dessert and discover your favorites together - you can even do ratings for look, taste and price/quality ratings.
Gourmet Picnic
Ditch the traditional picnic fare and pack a gourmet spread instead. Think artisanal cheeses, charcuterie, gourmet sandwiches, and decadent desserts. Find a scenic spot to enjoy your feast together.
Cocktail Mixology Class
Sign up for a cocktail mixology class and learn how to craft your favorite drinks together. Experiment with unique ingredients and techniques to create custom cocktails that reflect your tastes. The mixology classes go for about 100$ per class.
DIY Food Tour
Create your own food tour by visiting several hidden gems or hole-in-the-wall eateries in your city. Discover new flavors and cuisines as you explore different neighborhoods together.
Progressive Dinner
Instead of dining at one restaurant, plan a progressive dinner where each course is enjoyed at a different eatery. Start with appetizers at a cozy cafe, move on to mains at a trendy restaurant, and finish with dessert at a charming bakery. Use Yelp or Tripadvisor to get places with good ratings.
Farmers' Market Adventure
Spend the morning exploring a local farmers' market, sampling fresh produce, artisanal cheeses, and homemade treats. Then, head back home to cook a meal together using your market finds.
Mystery Ingredient Cooking Challenge
Pick out a few mystery ingredients from your pantry or local grocery store, and challenge each other to come up with a delicious dish using only those ingredients. Get creative and see what culinary masterpieces you can whip up together!
Try geocaching
Go on a treasure hunt using GPS coordinates and discover hidden treasures in your area. You never know what treasures you may find!
Go to a poetry reading
Find a place where you can watch poetry reading. Find your favourite poem as well and read it to your partner.
Bike around town
Firstly, you have to create the route - try pretending you are tourists at your own city and figure out which sights you would like to see.
Take a hike
If you are the adventurous type you can take a more challenging hike, but if you would prefer a cozy walk try looking up some family friendly trails near you.
Do a pub crawl
Try out some underground bars or hidden pubs and find their most interesting tap beer or cider.
Play board games
You can have a whole evening of board games! Start simple with a Jenga game and finish off with a more strategic game such as 7 wonders.
Go bookstore hunting
Name the genre of book you like to the other person. Based on your answers you should pick some books for each other!
Go hiking
What can be more relaxing then a hike together in nature. Try birtwatching and try to identify some plants if you can
Hit the beach
Try to find the a hidden beach close to you. Don't forget sunscreen and some refreshments! No beach available? Try out the park nearby
Treat yourself
Treat yourself with a spa day. Get some face masks, scented candles, calming music and give each other massages!
