The New Romantics

Looking for a date venue that doesn’t involve alcohol or a three-course meal? Ashley Gummerson explains why you’ll find love in a third-wave café

- Ashley Gummerson

Whether you’ve been matched with a date by an app or set up in the old-fashioned friend of-a-friend manner, it’s important to find out if you and your potential partner are on the same wavelength quite quickly. You don’t want to realise they’re wrong for you in the first 10 minutes and then spend the rest of the evening – and a big wodge of cash – in an expensive restaurant, counting the minutes until you can get away. The perfect solution? A coffee shop date.

Googling “dating in coffee shops”, throws up over two million results (“4 Tips On Coffee Shop Dating”, “5 Reasons Coffee Shops Are Better Than Bars”). So if you’re considering – or even fantasising about – meeting a life partner in a cosy neighbourhood independent or taking your significant other on a romantic café date, you’re certainly not alone.

There are many reasons coffee shop dates are great. We at Caffeine find the heady aroma of brewing beans whips us into a frenzy – we have to remember not to sit right next to the grinder – but even if you’re not quite as passionate as that, speciality coffee gives you something to talk about. And beside, cafés are made for friendly conversation. There’s definitely a lot less pressure there than sitting across from someone you barely know in a fine-dining restaurant, trying to find common ground.

And don’t make the mistake of thinking that cafés are only for the start of a relationship. Couples who have been dating or married for years can enjoy romantic coffee dates. With the variety of venues and products on offer these days, it’s a great way to experience a new atmosphere or try a new brew or food.