Break free from your ‘Netflix and chill’ rut and reconnect with fun date night experiences perfect for you and your boo. Studies have shown that experiencing something new together is a great way to bring you even closer, plus it’s a lot of fun! No matter if you want to enjoy a show, wander through a magical world of lights, or try your hand at creating an edible masterpiece, Pop Style TV has found something for everyone and at every budget! After all, what partnership wouldn’t benefit from shaking things up with these date night ideas that are anything but ordinary.
Try Your Hand at Making Pasta
Located on the Upper East Side, Aunt Jake’s is a charming Italian restaurant known for their homemade pasta, made fresh daily. The dinner at Aunt Jake’s is always special, However, if you’re looking for a truly memorable date, take one of their pasta making classes.
For only $55 per person, you can try your hand at making homemade pasta, but that’s not all. You’ll also be served a three course dinner after your class, and of course leave with boxes of fresh pasta to take home!
You’ll start by putting on an apron and gathering around a long table, while learning how to make a basic pasta dough. While mixing together flour and eggs, they’ll take your drink order for those who want to enjoy a glass of wine or cocktail while cooking (please note that drinks aren’t included). Next, instructors will guide you through how to make different pasta shapes from farfalle to fettuccini. The class is packed, but everyone is there to have a good time.
Then sit back and enjoy a three course dinner where you can sample some pasta made by the pros. Finish the night off with a sweet treat and leave with not just memories, but also fresh pasta to enjoy the next day and pasta making knowledge to relive your date night over and over again!
Aunt Jake’s offers classes seven days a week.
Date Night Cost: $55 per person
1555 2nd Ave, New York
Immerse Yourself in Light
Take your time walking around winding paths through a six acre exhibit right on the water.
Field of Light is a free art installation at Freedom Plaza where you and your special someone can stroll through 18,750 fiber-optic steamed spheres that subtly change color. Designed by British artist Bruce Munro, who is best known for his large-scale light installations, which have been featured in cities worldwide. Munro aims to “evoke emotion with his use of light on an environmental scale.”
Tickets are complimentary at fieldoflightnyc.com, there are also standby tickets on sight too if you weren’t able to snag one ahead of time! Be sure to check out this exhibit before it’s over on April 30th!
Date Night Cost: FREE
Freedom Plaza
686 First Avenue, New York
Bake a Cake Together
Christina Tosi’s famous Milk Bar is known for it’s creative flavors and unique desserts like Cereal Milk Soft Serve Ice Cream, Compost Cookie, and Milk Bar Pie. However, no dessert is quite as iconic as their Birthday Cake, with it’s unfrosted sides, loads of sprinkles, and crunchy cookie-like crumbs.
You’ll work together to bake… or rather assemble, Milk Bar’s famous Birthday Cake (no actual baking required.) This fun class teaches you how to build a cake from start to finish. You’ll both start off by tying on one of Tosi’s signature headscarf bandanas and donning an apron and gloves. Next you’ll learn to cut the cake into perfectly round layers and soak them to keep it from drying out and frost them. You’ll have a lot of fun learning the tricks of the trade, all while snacking on the leftover cake scraps (can’t let perfectly good cake go to waste!)
You’ll then work together with the rest of the class to turn the “leftovers” into their famous birthday cake truffles (they’ll actually give you fresh cakes to turn into truffles for the class, but it’s a great way to transform any scraps at home… that is, if you don’t eat them first!).
Everyone in the class leaves with a custom Milk Bar Birthday Cake they put together and decorated themselves, a bag of truffles and a lot of fun memories.
You will love the smaller class sizes, fun decked out room and engaging instructors, make it a truly sweet date night. Classes are available on Resy. Be sure to look them up at milkbarstore.com to learn more.
Date Night Cost: $125 per person
1196 Broadway, New York
Enjoy Live Theater
With so many amazing productions to check out, from comedy to dance, New York City Center is the place to be. However, their Encores! series is celebrating 30 years this year and one not to be missed!
Encores! revitalizes American musical theater classics, with limited run productions and star-studded ensembles. This season they’re re-introducing three productions to excited audiences; Once Upon a Mattress, Jelly’s Last Jam, and Titanic.
Once Upon a Mattress is the uproarious take on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Princess and the Pea.” In the show, the less than elegant Princess Winnifred (Sutton Foster) is paired as a potential bride for the timid, babied Prince Dauntless (Michael Urie) against the wishes of his mother, Queen Aggravain (Harriet Harris). To prove that the unlikely princess is not worthy of her son’s hand, the Queen dreams up a clever test and hilarity ensues.
Sutton does a fantastic job in the role, showing off the range of her talents, from her innate musicality to physical comedy, alongside the rest of the amazing cast.
Jelly’s Last Jam tells the story of jazz through the eyes of Jelly Roll Morton (Nicholas Christopher), the self-proclaimed inventor. This fun show features amazing dances and the role of the Hunnies is reprised by the three original cast members; Mamie Duncan-Gibbbs, Stephanie Pope Lofgren and Allison M. Williams. The show also features Billy Porter as Chimney Man and Joaquina Kalukango as Anita, among many other stars.
Titanic takes you on the maiden (and sadly final voyage) of the iconic ship praised for being unsinkable. This show is operatic in style and won five Tony Awards including Best Musical when it originally premiered in 1997. The show features Captain EJ Smith (Chuck Copper) and an array of staff and passengers coming from different backgrounds played by Bonnie Miligan, Brandon Uranowitz,Ramin Karimloo, and Eddie Cooper, “whose dreams of America were dashed in the Atlantic.”
New York City Center’s production quality is top notch, with performances that will have you laughing and crying and songs that will easily be stuck in your head. The majestic theater itself is gorgeous, only adding to the fun of a night out enjoying live theater.
In addition to amazing productions, they also offer community nights, where you can come early to mingle with the cast and also ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter nights, so that everyone can enjoy live theater.
Each show only lasts for two weeks, so be sure to get your tickets right away to avoid missing out. Visit nycitycenter.org to learn more about Encores! and all of New York City Center’s events and performances. Are you a student or under 35 years old? Be sure to check out their student rush and Access Club for the chance to enjoy live theater for only $23 or $28 per ticket, respectively.
Date Night Cost: $23 (for student rush), $28 (for under 35), or $45 (and up) per ticket
New York City Center
131 W 55th Street, New York
Awaken Your Inner Foodie at Market 57
Why sit down at one restaurant, when you can sample culinary delights from some of NYC’s best! Check out Pier 57’s Market 57 for fantastic food with a stunning view, right on the water. On a nice day head upstairs to their rooftop park, a wonderful green space to relax or to have a picnic made up of treats from the market below.
Housing over a dozen minority and women-owned kiosks, as well as out-posts of beloved pop-up concepts, Market 57 has something for everyone! For fantastic dim sum without trekking down to Chinatown, check out Nom Wah (which has been selling delicious steamed buns, dim sum and pastries downtown in NYC since the 1920s!) Due Madri is serving up some seriously delicious Italian meats by the Butcher Girls. For seafood, The Galley by Lobster Place features lots of favorites from their restaurant as well as new creations just for Market 57 patrons. And if you’re more in the mood for Thai, do not sleep on Zaab Zaab! Plus on a warm day be sure to grab a milkshake from Black Tap Craft Burger and Beers, their Tamarind Chile Cocoa Churro Crazyshake is worth braving the long line for!
Additionally, you have to visit Good to Go by The James Beard Foundation for fast-casual yet highly gourmet, creative dishes. They’re innovative chefs offer lots of grab and go dishes that you might find on some top restaurant’s menus, the perfect place to take the foodie in your life!
And if you’re up for exploring food even further while you’re there, book an experience through Platform by The James Beard Foundation, where they host a changing array of talks, dinners, and cooking demos from top chefs all across the US.
Date Night Cost: Varies
Pier 57 – 25 11th Ave, New York
Explore an Enchanted Botanical Garden
Discover another world after dark at Astra Lumina where the Queens Botanical Gardens transforms into a mystical world of spiralizing dancing lights, lanterns and orbs, which you can explore at your own pace.
Created and presented by Moment Factory and fever in association with Secret Media Network, Astra Lumina is a celestial experience where you can connect with the stars while here on the ground. Full of “lustrous lights, cosmic visions and astral song,” the exhibit combines the beauty of nature with mesmerizing lights and stories.
Start your journey at the Astra Archway before winding through the starlight lanterns and falling stars. Next, stop and stare at the cosmic choir, as the lights dance in-sync with the music before continuing onto the cosmic trail, which then gives way to the astral genesis and a multimedia movie in stellar vision. Be sure to walk through the Stardust rays, one of the most interactive displays where the lights move and dance around you.
The perfect date for those looking to bring some heaven to earth. Plan to spend around 90 mins walking through at a leisurely pace and interacting with each area. Check out astralumina.com for more information.
Date Night Cost: $31.50 per person
Queens Botanical Garden
42-80 Crommelin Street, Flushing
Indulge in a Wine and Chocolate Pairing
Visit MarieBelle’s, the cutest little chocolate shop, filled with delectable confections artfully decorated with whimsical designs, including iconic NY landmarks.
While you could take some treats to go, for the ideal date, we recommend reserving a space at their Cacao Bar for a Chocolate and Wine pairing. Each pairing comes with 4 wines and 4 chocolate ganaches filled with bold and delicate flavors ranging from passion fruit to lavender. To accompany your pairing, you’ll also enjoy mini grilled cheese sandwiches and grapes which enhance the experience, as well as surprise samples of their various other treats like their super delicious milk and white hot chocolates.
This is the perfect day date and we highly recommend it for anyone looking to escape the bustle of the city. You’ll feel like you’re on a European vacation while leaving your daily stress behind, while savoring wines and chocolates. Be sure to pick up a box to take home with you as well!
Date Night Cost: $65 per person
Cacao Bar by MarieBelle
484 Broome St, New York
Take a Shot at Creating a Masterpiece
Part target practice, part spin art, and a whole lot of fun, Shot of Art is unlike any date you’ve been on before.
If you’re looking to get creative or just to shoot some BB guns and let the paint fall as it may, you’re bound to have a memorable night. Fire away at paint-filled balloons in the colors of your choosing to create your own one-of-a-kind masterpiece. They’ll supply protective gear to keep your clothes from getting splattered, but the real fun is in the creation.
However, to really show off your creativity, in a bit calmer of a setting, try their pouring technique where you learn how to make art by pouring paint and moving it around a canvas, (rather than shooting at it!) You’ll mix paint, water, glue, and can even add some silicon for texture. Like Jackson Pollock’s famous style, this is another form of action painting, creating artwork sans paintbrush. “How chunky or how meticulous they will be depends on your moves,” explains manager Natalie. “We can express ourselves through colors; express our feelings and emotions or we can simply put on canvas something that we’d want to see on our wall (to go with our decor or simply to make us happy) .”
After tilting the canvas back and forth, spreading the paint around in a pattern you’re happy with, and the team will go over your painting with a blowtorch to add another dimension to your work. This experience is where you can really bring out your inner artist and it’s so easy anyone can do it!
Looking for the ultimate date night? Try their ArtBoom experience where you’ll make two masterpieces, trying out both techniques! For the most unique art experience in town, check out ny.shotofart.com.
Date Night Cost: $60 – $195 per person
28 West 36th Street, New York
Enjoy a Dessert Omakase Experience at ChikaLicious
After years working at high-end restaurants such as Gramercy Tavern and the Dining Room at The Ritz-Carlton, chef and owner Chicka Tillman established ChikaLicious Dessert Bar in 2003. This intimate 20-seat restaurant focuses only on the best part of the meal… dessert!
For a truly fun experience, try their 3-course dessert Omakase. Described as, “American desserts, french presentation with Japanese tasting portions” each dessert is hand-crafted in front of your eyes with lots of love.
When you sit down, you’ll be asked to pick one plated dessert and then the chef will surprise you with an array of petit fours and a mini palate cleanser, as well as other fun surprises. Chef Tillman and her team artfully balance flavors and textures from buttery shortbreads to innovative ice creams, and everything is delightful!
At only $26 per person this fun dessert night is more of a steal than a splurge!
Date Night Cost: $26 per person
203 E. 10th Street, New York
Sparkling Success of Le Grand Courtage