With a revolving door of new and exciting date night activities happening in our beloved city of Melbourne, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed - so we’ve done the hard work for you and created a definitive list of the best and most unforgettable date activities to try in and around the city (you’re very welcome).
1) Sip on a Drink While Competing in Darts at Ballers Clubhouse
Ever played competitive darts under ambient lighting, beverage in hand? Now you can! Ballers Clubhouse in the CBD acts as big kids playground (complete with dart booths, pimped up ping pong tables and shuffleboard courts) and impressive bar (75 beer taps, thank you very much) all rolled into one.
While the adults only playground may be visited by long term couples seeking a place to flex their competitiveness, the high energy, self dubbed ‘supervenue’ acts as a conversation buffer for early stage dates, too - between your first unexpectedly competitive darts session and your seventh, you’ll feel the date jitters and dreaded awkward pauses fade away (or at least be drowned out by the boisterous noise around you).
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2) Sit Along the Yarra with a Takeaway Spread
Going on a date doesn't need to mean getting dressed to the nines for a night on the town. It can mean (and should mean, at least once in your life, because it’s irrevocably delightful) setting up shop by the Yarra River and ordering a feast from Uber Eats.
If it’s a first or second date you’re venturing on (and you’re feeling the dreaded pre-date jitters), enlist the help of Spotify for some quiet background music - this will help drown out any possible awkward lulls in conversation, a well as increase the ambiance of the date by tenfold.
Hot Tip: Amble onto Swanston for a cheeky crepe or ice cream after dinner, if you're feeling fancy.
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3) Feel Very Trendy at Waxflower, a Wine and Vinyl Bar in Brunswick
There are some things in life that feel unashamedly hipster - and a Brunswick wine bar/ vinyl store hybrid is indubiously one of them.
Not only does Waxflower exude coolness (and exude coolness it does), this minimal and unassuming north side vinyl bar serves as the perfect backdrop for a dreamy, laidback date night.
If the impressive drinks list incorporating both local tap beers and specialty wines isn’t enough to get you and your partner down to Brunswick (stat), perhaps the rotation of local DJs and dramatic surround sound system (turning the venue into a self proclaimed “listening space” - because of course a Brunswick vinyl bar was going to pride itself in its over the top acoustics) will be.
4) Get Your Cultural Fix at NGV
While it’s become an unassuming staple of late (don’t believe those who say it’s overdone), on every Melbournian’s date bucket list should be a trip to the National Gallery of Victoria.
The NGV is a favourite of lovers of culture and lovers of unique activities close to the city and its many bars alike, and with a free staple exhibition, you’ll be having a cultural and cost effective night out.
5) Throw a Double Date Dinner Party with Another Couple
Looking for a double date situation that doesn’t feel rigid and overly planned? Throw a casual dinner gathering, a dinner party if you will, with another couple.
Whether you decide to opt for a potluck -in which the other couple will bring a dish to the gathering (we like this option because it’s less work and also more food; a classic win win situation)- or prefer to instead prepare the night’s meal by yourself (all the whilsts praying to the food gods for good fortune) is up to you.
To increase the date-ness of your dinner evening, we recommend dimming the lights, lighting some candles (sticking candle sticks into empty wine bottles seems to garner consistently positive responses, while simultaneously being the easiest decoration hack, possibly ever) and playing some gentle background jazz music.
Feeling anxious organising a dinner party? Check out how to ace your hosting duties with our Top 7 Ways to Make Your Dinner Party a Success.
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6) Embark on a Mystery Picnic, a Giant Food Scavenger Hunt
As far as picnics go, this one takes the cake (subtle food related pun intended).
Likening itself to a giant food scavenger hunt, AmazingCo’s Mystery Picnic Date involves you and your partner solving clues and riddles, the answers to which lead you to collect picnic pieces from boutique food stores in the area. To finish the day off, you’ll both be led (again, through solving a clue) to your scenic picnic spot where you’ll munch on your goodies.
7) Feeling a Little Adventurous? Go Rock Climbing in the Heart of the CBD
Up for an adventurous date? Pay the kind folks over at Hardrock Climbing in the CBD a visit, and give the giant, 16m tall climbing wall a go (first time visitors are given a quick intro lesson, so you’re in good hands).
Follow it up with a short tram ride (or 10 minute leisurely stroll) to Lygon Street, and plonk yourselves in the ever so cosy Heartattack and Vine wine bar for a vino and antipasto platter.
8) Stay In with an At Home Date Night
Seeking a no fuss date night that can be done without even leaving the house (because sometimes nights in truly are better than nights out)?
Enter AmazingCo’s At Home Date Night, where you and your partner won’t even need to leave the couch to have a romantic night in. Throughout the course of the experience, you and your date will make your way through multiple activities, challenges and games, all detailed in your digital date night guide - perfect for those seeking a cosy night in, sans Netflix.
9) Sip on a Coffee While Surrounded by Preloved Records at Alley Tunes
As far as coffee dates go, you’ll be hard pressed to find a cafe better (or cosier) than Alley Tunes.
Situated approximately eight steps from Glenferrie Station, the beloved -and at this stage, institutional- coffee shop/ record store hybrid is a before work hotspot for professionals, and lunch time hang of students from neighbouring Swinburne University alike. More importantly, its homely interior (reminiscent of an 80s movie record store) makes for the perfect, low key and cosy coffee date venue.
We recommend making yourselves at home in the outdoor seating (perfect for people watching), bringing a card or board game along, and perusing the vinyl lined store afterward.
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10) Flex Your Artistic Skills with a Paint and Sip Night
The pretense of a paint and sip date night is easy and fairly self explanatory; throughout the date, you’ll be wielding a paintbrush in one hand, wine (or alternate beverage of choice) in the other, letting your creative juices (and hopefully conversation) flow.
While countless paint and sip workshops and venues have materialised across this fair city of ours in recent years, we think it’s easier to just do yourself. Set up shop in a garden or nearby park (ensuring you bring all painting supplies needed with you), pour the vino and get cracking. While there’s no saying what object or phenomenon will present itself as muse on the day, we recommend both attempting to paint each other, then doing a grand reveal of your majestic creations afterwards.
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11) Have a Masterchef style Cook Off
Preparing a home cooked meal for your date is indubiously romantic and personable - but going head to head and competing in an epic cook-off battle is more fun.
A cook-off is as simple as it sounds - you and your partner decide on a dish, set a stopwatch to a specified time, then spend the night (each) crafting that same meal before subsequently deciding on the winner. Ramp up the romance factor by lighting some candles, popping open a bottle of vino and playing some dinner night tunes.
12) Take a Day Trip
Thinking it’s time to extend date night and take a trip somewhere with your significant other? Lucky for you, Victoria is inarguably home to its fair share of scenic, coastal and regional towns.
If your knowledge of our state’s backyard is lacking, make yourself acquainted with our Top 20 Day Trips from Melbourne.
Wondering what to do on your weekend away? AmazingCo’s Mystery Weekends serve as the perfect end of week escape - you and your partner will spend the day taking part in a Mystery Picnic (where clues and riddles will lead you to collect gourmet items from boutique food stores in your chosen region), before making yourselves at home in a cosy accommodation.
13) Do your Ears a Favour and Pay a Visit to a Jazz Club
There’s something inarguably fancy about jazz bars- be it their often subterranean, basement locations, dim lighting or plushy armchairs- making these haunts the perfect date venue.
While actually liking jazz music is recommended, even those who are impartial to the genre will get swept up in the atmosphere.
Wondering which jazz bar in Melbourne to visit? Paris Cat Jazz Club in Fitzroy is a local favourite, while those fond of jazz injected with a Latin influence will gravitate towards Vamos (also in Fitzroy).
