Five Romantic Brisbane Date Ideas for This Week From Budget to Blowout

Tired of the classic movie and dinner date night combo? Us too. That's why we're always on the hunt for new things to do, scouring the city for not-boring Brisbane activities — ones that are guaranteed to take your next date way beyond done-before beers at the pub.

Whether you're taking someone on a second date or doing your 100th with your significant other, we've got some killer (and, yes, cute) ideas for dates to go on this week, no matter how much money you've got to spend.

Just think of us as your cultural wingman. You're welcome.

Under $20

Head to a Brewery for Your Next Riverside Yoga Class

Some places have all the luck — and when it comes to combining brews with a view, Felons Brewing Co has plenty. Nestled into the CBD's revitalised Howard Smith Wharves area, it shares that luck with Brisbanites keen for a frosty beverage by the river. On Wednesday afternoons, it's also giving you and your other half some boozy motivation to exercise.

Felons' yoga classes take place from 5pm each week under the Story Bridge — and, while you're there, you'll want to put one of the outfit's tipples in your hands. Pick your favourite beer, then both work up and take care of your thirst. You'll also be immersed in the city's newest precinct with one of the city's best vantage points.

Nina Lee from Sukhino will run you through your moves across 45 minutes, and attendance is free.

BYO mat and just show up — although arriving early is recommended, because these sessions are popular. Also, you'll need your wallet for the beer part of the event, but you can join in without a boozy beverage.

Under $100

Add Caviar to Your After-Work Drinks

Treating yo'self and your special someone doesn't have to mean splurging. Adding caviar to your next stint of drinks doesn't need to involve breaking your budget, either. Until Tuesday, April 30, head to Midtown and you'll be able to get indulgent from just $20 during the South Brisbane bar's caviar-focused month.

The Manning Street venue is pairing its martinis — the watering hole's specialty — with the foodstuff that everyone thinks of when they think of luxury, all as part of its nod to New York. The cheapest option is available on Tuesdays, which is when a lobster (the money kind) will get you a bump of Polanco Oscietra Grand Reserve. But there's also specials on offer every day.

Fancy a martini with your roe? You have two deals to choose from: one with a dry martini paired with green olives filled with caviar, which costs $39; another with a gold-leaf vodka martini and the same olives-and-caviar combo for $69.

Crisps and caviar (aka sour cream and onion Pringles, plus crème fraîche and caviar) will set you back $49. Jacket potatoes and caviar (with the spuds filled with crème fraîche, then topped with caviar) is the same price. Tasmanian oysters topped with scampi caviar is $68, or $80 if you add a Laurent-Perrier sidecar.

You can also just opt for the star ingredient, no matter what else you're eating or drinking, although it does get pricier. Polanco Oscietra Grand Reserve costs $70 for 10 grams and $130 for 30 grams. Wild Australian scampi caviar comes in at $80 for 10 grams and $130 for 25 grams. Both include a sourdough crostini and crème fraîche — and you can go with a champagne sidecar from an extra $12.

Watch Movies, Movies and More Movies at the Gold Coast Film Festival

The phrase "Hollywood on the Gold Coast" might've been coined to describe Movie World, but the film-loving theme park isn't the only way that this patch of Queensland celebrates cinema. Plenty of flicks are made at Village Roadshow Studios. Each year, watching pictures also gets its own festival. You and your favourite person can see films on the Goldie every day, of course, but the Gold Coast Film Festival brings together titles that you mightn't otherwise find at the region's multiplexes — or lets you catch them first.

In 2024, 23 features grace the GCFF lineup, which will run for 12 days from Wednesday, April 17–Sunday, April 28 at HOTA, Home of the Arts and other GC venues. Bill Bennett's The Way, My Way will kickstart the fest, with the Kiss or Kill and The Nugget filmmaker turning his own memoir about walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route — all 800 kilometres of it — into a film. Then, at the other end of the event, Ewan McGregor (Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio) stars opposite his IRL daughter Clara McGregor (American Horror Story) in Bleeding Love, about a father-daughter road trip.

There's a fitting feel to Gold Coast Film Festival's 2024 iteration bookending its cinema showcase with titles about travel. The Goldie is that kind of destination, including luring Brisbane movie lovers down the highway to watch along. That unofficial theme comes through in other ways, too, such as in documentary Diamond of the Sea, about ironwoman Bonnie Hancock attempting to circumnavigate Australia by paddle; The Monk and the Gun, featuring an American travelling to Bhutan; and a retro screening of Cliffhanger (yes, the action-packed 90s flick), which will take place at Burleigh Brewing.

That beer-slinging spot will also host a session of music documentary The Ending Goes Forever: The Screamfeeder Story, focusing on of Brisbane's 90s indie-music favourites. Elsewhere, Steven Soderbergh (Full Circle)-produced thriller Divinity gets another Down Under run after playing SXSW Sydney 2023 — and fans of Gareth Evans' (Gangs of London) epic Indonesian action effort The Raid will be able to scope out the shiny restoration. The list goes on, whether you want to watch a doco about a southeast Queensland sunflower farm, Aussie spider horror or a musical with Take That's songs.

Under $150

Experience the World of Broadway Bingo

For when you and your significant other can't decide between dancing and playing a game that your grandmother might love, bingo raves were invented. Now, for when you want to see a musical theatre show and you're also keen to stamp squares on a card, Broadway Bingo is here, too. It's a performance. It'll get you playing along. There'll be singing, as well as winning.

Running from Friday, April 19–Sunday, April 21 at Brisbane Powerhouse, taking over the venue's Underground Theatre, this entertaining mashup draws each tune that'll be crooned from the bingo cage. And, yes, the audience gets its own card to play along while they watch. You'll be keeping an eye out for things that correspond with the squares on your pivotal piece of paper — which might include "someone does a pirouette", or maybe "an audience member cries". Stamp them all and yelling "bingo!" isn't just allowed; it's mandatory.

As the onstage talent dives into the costume box to match their outfits to their randomly chosen tracks, expect to hear songs from Les Misérables, Rent, The Sound of Music and Wicked, as well as Waitress, Cats, West Side Story, Dear Evan Hansen and more.

Brisbane's own Outside the Jukebox is behind the show, adding it to its list of productions alongside Merry Mixology and Mixtape: Rewind to the 80s.

One Big Blowout

Daniel Boud

Tuck Into a Beauty and the Beast-Themed Menu Before Seeing the Hit Musical

When Brisbane finally had its shot at seeing Hamilton, heading to QPAC was just one way that the city embraced Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit musical. Another also took place at South Bank, on the pre-theatre dining menu at fine-diner Bacchus. Now that the Beauty and the Beast musical is in town, the restaurant is taking the same approach and dishing up bites based around the show.

For Hamilton, diners tucked into a dessert that came topped with the appropriate star. Be Bacchus' guest until Saturday, April 20 and you and your date will be treated to a Beauty and the Beast-themed sweet treat in the form of a rose instead. Yes, it looks exactly like the real thing. Yes, you can eat it. It's called The Lychee Rose, and it's made with raspberry mousse, matcha and pistachio soil.

To spirit your tastebuds into a tale as old as time, you'll need to opt for the pre-theatre dinner menu, which costs $89 per person. It covers three courses, starting with a consommé made with seasonal vegetables and wagyu, then plating up a beef ragout tagliatelle with parmesan cream, then The Lychee Rose. You'll also get wattleseed sourdough, plus petit fours to finish.

Located within Rydges South Bank, Bacchus is pouring cocktails that take their cues from Beauty and the Beast as well. The Enchanted Zest includes Pavan, limoncello, lemon, chilli and egg white; the Royal Infusion blends Paris tea, vodka and wattleseed; and the Tavern Brew mixes vanilla-infused vodka with bourbon, apple beer syrup and egg white.