What are London’s Top 10 Date Spots?
So you’ve scrolled through the apps or caught someone’s eye on a night out – congratulations! It’s date time, baby. But with all of London as your oyster, where are the best date spots for you to take your love interest?
Don’t worry, London Bites has got your back. Our list of London’s top 10 list date spots will fire up your appetite for exploring the city and make you look super cool. And we’ve thrown in some tasty food recommendations for good measure.
As local Londoners who love exploring the city, we find that the way to anyone’s heart is through their stomachs. Ask anyone who’s been on one of our food tours! If you need our help to cook up something special for a date, get in touch and we’ll start planning.
1. Admire the Barbican’s Brutalist Architecture
This sci-fi 80s dreamscape is a great date location to feel like you’ve gone back to the future. Take in the Barbican water garden’s climbing trees and bubbling fountains with a coffee from the cafe. It’s the perfect place for a chill chat.
If plants make your pulse race, head to the Conservatory on the top floor. It’s the second biggest in London and serves some serious Jurassic Park Lost World vibes. The plants are carefully tended but roam free, coiled in the concrete. Make sure you book in advance!
Downstairs, the Barbican Centre offers a plethora of entertainment. The Curve is a particular highlight for rotating exhibitions in the Centre’s unique architecture. Its intimate walls are the perfect backdrop for cosying up.
This is all accessible from the Barbican tube station, making for an easy rendezvous location.
2. Go Boating in Hyde Park
Believe it or not, this beautiful green space is in London’s city centre! Hyde Park is the largest of the four Royal Parks with many entrances. You can arrive via Marble Arch on the central line or Hyde Park Corner on the Picadilly line.
The park’s 350 acres are packed full of great date spots and activities. If you’re after a secluded spot, hire a boat and sail around Serpentine Lake. As you glide along, see who can spot the most parakeets hopping between the trees!
The Serpentine Galleries are located on either side of the lake and are free to enter. If you want to continue walking arm in arm under the trees, keep your eyes peeled for the many statues and monuments throughout Hyde Park.
3. Camden Market
If your potential new partner is a mod, rocker, punk, or pop lover, Camden’s music scene is an eclectic mix with sounds for every taste. This north London hotspot is buzzing every day of the week with crowds of people enjoying the scene. Hold on to each other tightly!
The indoor covered market is a must-visit for any Camden-visiting couple. Whatever your style, you’ll be sure to find the perfect accessory or unusual clothing item to remember the date.
After taking in the sights and sounds, check out the food stalls. After you’ve sampled some souvlaki and bubble tea, sit by the lock and people-watch along the canal.
4. Soak up Soho’s Atmosphere
If you’re seeking neon-lit nightlife, Soho has more bars and theatres than you can shake a stick at. It’s a perfect date spot for culture, good drinks, and strolling around the pulsing streets.
By day or night, Soho is an iconic location to celebrate loving who you love. Home to some of the best queer bars in London, it’s such a colourful place to take your date. Check out The Yard for a quiet place to chat or head to G-A-Y and dance the night away!
If it’s a special occasion, try Brasserie Zédel to treat your date to some Parisian glamour. Both affordable and atmospheric, the Brasserie is like stepping into your own Wes Anderson movie.
Bon appétit, mes amours!
5. Chow Down on Brick Lane
Brick Lane is an east London cultural staple. It just is.
The melting pot for many cuisines, including more than 20 curry houses and two Jewish beigel shops (institutions, really). A great date spot day or night, the beigel queues alone belie how good they are.
Brick Lane is also home to Rough Trade. Flick through the stacks of records and pick up a new favourite together. Then grab a pint at the Old Truman Brewery, now converted into several bars, restaurants, and quirky shops.
At London Bites, we are in love with Brick Lane and its myriad flavours and histories. Our London East End Food Tour is an immersive date experience, with 10 tasting opportunities from locally run food businesses.
Our food tour is a perfect date idea. It lets you try a whole host of new cuisines without having to research extensively. Because we’ve done that part for you! Our connections with the local area mean you’ll be getting the best of the East End with no hassle.
6. Stroll Along the South Bank
A vibrant London date spot at dusk (and other parts of the day, but this is our favourite), the South Bank’s twinkling lights and food markets are the perfect place to lose hours on a date.
While there are traditional excursions like the London Eye, the Sea Life Centre, and the London Dungeon, there’s also a thriving food market behind the Southbank Centre.
Grab some churros and a coffee and stroll along the Thames to the pop-up book stands beneath the bridge.
The South Bank is a real hub of activities, there’s even a popular skate park to watch bladers and skaters perform drop-ins and ollies. Plus, the free Tate Modern is just downstream from Shakespeare’s Globe!
You could visit the South Bank for five dates and still have attractions left over!
7. Rock Down to Electric Avenue in Brixton
Brixton is one of our favourite date spots in London. Home to rich cultural heritage, fantastic food, and an ace music scene, it’s a must-visit at any stage in your dating life.
Once the home of David Bowie, Skin from Skunk Anansie, and Brit Award winner Dave (among many other famous musicians), this south London borough has music in its veins.
For music fans, the O2 Brixton Academy is a leading institution for all kinds of acts.
The Black Cultural Archives is also an excellent heritage museum honouring the Windrush generation and people of African heritage in the UK. Featuring a calendar full of events, the Archives are a wonderful place to explore Brixton’s culture.
Now for something completely different. If the weather is behaving itself, check out Brixton Windmill and park. You read that right, a windmill! In London! Book a place on a free tour, available every second week of the month from April to October.
8. Take a Self-Guided Tour of Bloomsbury
If you and your date are literary lovers, why not conduct your own walking tour of Bloomsbury? Use the English Heritage blue plaques as your guide, which mark the former residences of Virginia Woolf and W.B.Yeats, among many other famous writers.
Nearby, you could drop into the British Library – another fantastic bookish date spot – and see Jane Austen’s desk and handwritten manuscripts from famous writers including the Brontë sisters, Sylvia Plath, and Andrea Levy.
Top off your date with a drink and discussion in one of the area’s several famous pubs. The Museum Tavern is a hot date spot, particularly for Karl Marx fans. He was a regular due to its proximity to the Library!
9. Revel in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew
The beauty of Kew Gardens speaks for itself. Whether your date is green-fingered or has a graveyard of houseplants, this world-famous garden is a beautiful date spot all year round. Tickets are available online and the nearest tube stop is Kew Gardens.
This UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to more than 50,000 living plants! So, regardless of how your date goes your oxygen levels will be fit to burst.
Sneak some kisses in the wooded area and challenge each other to practice your balance on the natural log trail.
The Temperate House is also a must-see. This world’s largest Victorian greenhouse is home to 1,500 species of plants from across the world. Plus, it’s very Instagrammable if you want to debut your babe on the grid.
10. Be Buoyed Up at Trinity Buoy Wharf
Sorry for the pun, but Trinity Buoy Wharf is London Docklands’ most thriving arts quarter, making it a perfect place for a dreamy date.
Situated in Canning Town, the Wharf is full of free, brilliant art exhibitions (both indoors and outdoors) to explore.
The area is also the site of an Experimental Lighthouse built in 1864. If you want to impress your date with your architectural knowledge, take them to Container City 1 and 2 to show off the merits of living in recycled shipping containers.
Seriously, they’re very cool.
So, which of London’s top 10 date spots will you choose? Whether it’s expanding your foodie horizons through our London East End Food Tour or revelling in free arts and culture, we hope you love exploring our home city! Feel free to contact us for more details to plan your delectable date with London Bites.