My special fella and I recently celebrated our first date anniversary. It's been a year of fun, wine, and absurdity. It all started at Izakaya 2-F.
Izakaya 2-F has been one of my go to spots for dates and happy hour with friends. It's the upstairs sibling of Daikaya (one of the best ramen spots in DC). Izakaya offers an amazing sake and whiskey list. Their wine and beer list is also nothing to sleep on with a well curated selection that pairs well with the dishes or alone. I've never been disappointed with a drink there, food, or service. It plays well as a first date due to it's location and offerings. I find if a date is going well, you can order dinner or put your name downstairs for ramen. However, if you and your date aren't clicking, you can easily and quickly close out and move on. Being in Chinatown means, you have three different metro lines, buses, and several other places to drown your sorrows or celebrate that bad date ending.
Church Key is a spot that a friend recently reminded me about and it makes perfect sense. They are an award winning beer bar, but they do have a spectacular wine and cocktail list. They have plenty of dishes to share and if you go on the right night plenty of seating. It's not as near a metro line, but it's in the 14th street drag. Again, if your date is going well and you want to move on you can find so many fun dinner spots. Date sucked? No worries as you can go sip on some whiskey at Black Whiskey.
Barrel in Capitol Hill area has a baller bourbon list and is a chill environment. Their beer list and cocktail list also doesn't disappoint. You can't go wrong with almost any of the bourbons here.
Teaism is a perfect spot if you aren't drinking and don't want to do the cliche coffee date. They have three locations in the DC area. The Dupont location is always one of my favorites. If the weather is nice, you can walk to Dupont Circle and people watch while chatting. The Penn Quarter location has a zen like downstairs space.
Those are some of my first date top spots in DC. What are your favorite spots for a first date?
