Sometimes when you go on a date, you do not want to take a full day trip to the city. When you go to the city for a date, you typically need to leave an hour for transportation each way and then spend your time in the city. This is a huge commitment for a date, especially if you just want to grab a quick bite to eat. There are still cute places around Manhattan College to go for a date, even a first date.
Salvatores of Soho is one of my go-to date places. Their food is phenomenal, and who doesn’t love Italian? This pizza place is only a ten minute walk from campus, as it is in Riverdale. When you eat in this restaurant, they bring the world’s best crunchy bread to you. I was super stuffed when eating here and you can make it as casual or formal as you want depending on what you order: pizza for a quicker date and pasta for a full sit-down meal.
Tortoise & Hare is a great place for weekend brunch! There is never a wait for you to sit down and eat, so you don’t have to make reservations to eat here. This can be a really cute idea for a date because the food is good and the place is casual.
Savor is a place I have been dying to go to, but I haven’t made it there yet (maybe it will be my next date). This is a coffee and breakfast place. I have heard that the coffee and food is pretty good and the inside is fairly cozy and trendy. This is a cute place for a sit down breakfast or you can even bring homework here to have a study date. Savor allows for good conversation while enjoying the best meal of the day, breakfast.
If you are more of an outdoors person, taking a walk in Van Cortlandt Park is a great option. There are so many trails for you to get lost in and it is the perfect opportunity to talk to someone and get to know them better. This also limits the fear you may have of eating in front of someone else, especially on a first date. This may be a good idea as well because taking a walk is free so you don’t have to worry about who is paying.
Another interesting and fun first date idea could be a boba date because it is not a common first date place, which makes the date totally casual. This is also up on Riverdale Ave, which is very convenient in relation to Manhattan College. This place is great for a date because you can take your boba drink to go, or you can try and grab a table, although there are limited seating options. Knowing someone’s boba order may make or break your relationship, so it is better to know what they get sooner rather than later.
One more first date place is to go to Menchies. This is a 15-minute walk from campus, which is the farthest date place. It also is a little annoying to get there since it is all uphill. But since you are getting frozen yogurt, it may be beneficial to get some steps in before you get it. Menchies allows you to get whatever frozen yogurt you want with whatever toppings. You are able to either eat in Menchies or you can take it on the go. This can be a midday snack or a dessert date.
If you are dating and you don’t want to go to the city, there are a ton of places around Manhattan College that you can go to. Whether it is breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert, you do not have to go far from Manhattan College to enjoy the company of another person!