This is the perfect first date venue...

Have you given any thought to your first date venue?

Published 9th May 2016

Meeting someone offline for the first time can be an incredibly nerve-wracking experience; forget interview nerves, public speaking anxieties and deadline worries – this a whole new barrel of fish. With so much to think about we try to meticulously plan every detail, from our outfit to how the conversation will go. But, have you thought about the venue?

Long read ahead...

The place you’ll meet this person for the very first time is very important - but it can often be overlooked.

According to a recent survey, the perfect place should be,

  • reassuringly busy - not so loud that conversation is difficult - it should be charming and finally, - not overly expensive

So, we hear you ask, where is this place? Starbucks – the coffee chain. Yep really!

The survey by Clover asked more than 200,000 online daters about their first date experiences and where their venue of choice would be - the majority said somewhere relaxed and casual instead of a nightclub or bar.

Coffee shops in general and Starbucks specifically, fit the bill perfectly! Ladies were slightly more enthusiastic than the guys about meeting over a grande macchiato, or skinny latte though: 52% of ladies prefer to meet at a coffee shop on a first date, while 51% of men prefer to meet at a restaurant. A slim 13% of ladies and 18% of guys picked a bar as the ideal first-date setting.

Clover’s Issac Raichyk said, "We were surprised to see most people choosing to meet at coffee shops and casual restaurants for their first date, we expected fine dining, bars and nightclubs to rank much higher, but clearly people want to meet in a relaxed environment." - and we have to agree.

Coffee shops allow you to get to know each other without pressure or expectation.

There can be plenty to talk about, 'Are you a cappuccino or flat white sort of person?', 'Why don't Coffee Shops in the UK look like Central Perk?' etc etc. - or something better.

Also, going for coffee is fairly non-committal, which means that if the date’s not going well it wouldn’t seem out of place to have one coffee and leave after an hour, but if it's going wonderfully, the relaxed atmosphere means you can stay for as long as you like. Order another coffee, eat cake or try one their Panini’s – so on and so forth…

Yes first dates can a little bit terrifying, but they can also be really, really exciting. You’re about to meet a whole new person and the positive possibilities that could happen are endless.

So why not enjoy some good (or bad) conversation over a frappuccino?

Set up your next coffee rendezvous now with Kerrang! Radio Dating.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------