Sydney’s Best Dinner & Drinks Dates

Ok, so you've finally managed to get the courage to talk to that food obsessed guy in your office, or that indie girl in your art class and have even scored their digits. So what now for the date? Well, luckily for you, we've had a think about it and have set ourselves the task of giving you daters out there some direction.

With our top dinner and drinks date combos, you can rest assured that there will be no mysterious phone calls to friends or thoughts about impending runners. Here's what Concrete Playground recommends for some good old fashioned fun.

The Business Date

Food: China Lane
Drink: The Baxter Inn

Conveniently located in Angel Place, China Lane is a stone's throw away from any CBD office and offers hazy dark corners to gaze into each other's eyes. The old school Sahnghai glamour will add a slither of Mad Men chic to your date and after dinner why not gaze up at those birdcages that hang above and envisage them as mistletoe. It's time to make a move.

And if your smooth moves haven't worked yet? Try the Baxter Inn. Here you have low lighting, exposed brick and booths. Not to mention the whisky, oh the whisky. And if things aren't going great guns with your date by now, there's always the eye candy behind the bar.

China Lane: 2-12 Angel Place, Sydney; 02 9231 3939; chinalane.com.au
The Baxter Inn: 152-156 Clarence Street, Sydney; thebaxterinn.com

The Foodie Date

Food: Sepia
Drink: Rockpool Bar and Grill

You'll begin your meal with freshly shucked to order oysters served with a rice wine and lime vinaigrette, followed by yellowfin tuna sashimi with jamon iberico and a stable of edible artworks to follow. The food alone will be your conversation centre piece if nothing else is flowing. Sepia with its modern, seafood heavy, Japanese-inspired menu, is the ultimate place to take a foodie. Dessert, such as the famed Japanese Stones, will hopefully have each of you spooning the contents into each other's mouths to make for an almost cringe-worthy night of romance.

And nightcap wise? You'll need an equally dramatic and impressive bar to have a few beverages at. Rockpool Bar and Grill, with its exceptionally polite and discreet service, art deco styling and extensive wine list is just the ticket. The menu's 'house rules', such as "best manners and temperance are expected at all times" should help things run smoothly on your date, and have men acting like Don Draper while the women swoon.

Sepia: 201 Sussex Street, Sydney; 02 9283 1990; sepiarestaurant.com.au
Rockpool Bar and Grill: 66 Hunter Street, Sydney; 02 02 8078 1900; rockpool.com

The Inner City Date

Food: 121BC
Drink: Button Bar

If you like the element of danger in attempting to have a first date at a place that can't guarantee you a table, and is quite tricky to find, then 121BC's gold. Part of the Vini and Berta family, this tiny bar has a casual menu of Italian style share plates, perfect for bumping hands over, dressed in your best flannel shirt and skinny-legged jeans.

This dark, wood-paneled hideaway bar will set you and your date immediately at ease. It also has an inconspicuous façade, and cosy leather booths to settle into, with up-cycled glass light shades hanging overhead. There's plenty of candle light to set the mood as you drink pirate themed cocktails.

121BC: 4/50 Holt Street, Surry Hills; 02 9699 1582; 121bc.com.au
Button Bar: 65 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills; 02 9211 1544; button-bar.com.au

The Inner West Date

Food: Guerilla Restaurant and Bar
Drink: Madame Fling Flong

Picture a big two-storey Glebe terrace with mismatched lounges that feels just like home. Now picture some locally sourced organic casual nosh. There will be great music. You'll also be quaffing from a list of Aussie and Kiwi wines. Can't get much more indie than Guerilla. You can even chat to the owners about their musical backgrounds while bunked down on the outside seats listening to a live Sunday sesh.

Next, head over to Newtown and up some stairs to Madame Fling Flong. With oodles of armchairs, intimate lighting, and a relaxed vibe, this is the perfect finish to your date, where you can chat away about gigs till your heart's content.

Guerilla Restaurant and Bar: 207 Glebe Point Road, Glebe; 02 8957 0652
Madame Fling Flong: 1/169 King Street, Newtown; 02 9565 2471; madameflingflong.com.au

The Students Date

Food: Eathouse Diner
Drink: The Fern

So you're a student. You live somewhere near Sydney Uni campus, and you've met someone interesting from your Contemporary American Film class. Where to take them when strapped for cash? Eathouse Diner. Why? Because there's hip '50s kitsch decor, a painting of a budgie holding a fork, nudie pics in the toilets and it's super cheap, with loads of atmosphere.

To polish of the night, head over to the Fern. With op-shop style furniture in an old terrace just minutes from where you had dinner, this place is the perfect option for a drink. Go with My Fern Mule, which comes tiki-style with a flaming lime on top. The perfect fire to fuel your date.

Eathouse Diner: 306 Chalmers Street, Redfern; 02 8084 9479; eathousediner.com.au
The Fern: 4 Pitt Street, Redfern; 02 8399 0070; thefern.com.au

The East Date

Food: The Apollo
Drink: The Roosevelt

For an eastside date, try out Jonathan Barthelmess and Sam Christie's Greek goods at The Appollo. Think big plates of food that are just begging to be shared in an urban '30s style building, with exposed concrete and unclothed tables. A tad loud, yes, but there's no better excuse to lean in towards your date and whisper sweet nothings.

If a luxury drinking joint is your date's kinda thing, then the Roosevelt will tick all of their boxes. Created by the gang behind Eau de Vie, this bar also has a touch of old world class. It's one of those bars where you can impress your date with cocktails made at your table. And did we mention they serve a cocktail in a glass gun called the Mr Sin? A little bit of inspiration perhaps?

The Apollo: 44 Macleay Street, Potts Point; 02 8354 0888; theapollo.com.au
Roosevelt: 32 Orwell Street, Potts Point; 0423 203 119; theroosevelt.com.au

The Theatre Date

Food: Cafe Sopra Walsh Bay
Drink: The Bar at the End of the Wharf

Located across the street from the Walsh Bay theatre precinct, you can't look past Cafe Sopra at Walsh Bay. It's the fresh, seasonal Italian fare that we all know and love Fratelli for, and is perfect to fill up on before a long show. You and your date can stroll through the fresh produce while you wait for your meal and maybe pick something up to cook on your next date, well here's hoping.

Perfect for when you come out of your evening's performance and want to settle in for a drink or two. The views over the Harbour will take your date's breath away, as you oh so casually slip your arm over their shoulders. Go on, you know you want to.

Shop 8/16 Hickson Road, Walsh Point; 02 8243 2700; www.fratellifresh.com.au
The Bar at the End of the Wharf: Pier 4/5, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay; 02 9250 1761; sydneytheatre.com.au/visit/thebar