A Sydney Date Idea for Every Night of The Week

in partnership with

Planning what you're going to have for lunch tomorrow is pretty difficult, let alone planning a spectacular evening with someone you'd like to get to know a whole lot better. When it comes to dating, the pressure is on to impress — you need to pick a great activity (in a great venue) that exactly matches the mood and stage of your relationship. It's a tough task. We wanted to take a little stress out of the ordeal, so we've teamed up with QT Sydney and Perrier-Jouët to provide you with a date idea for every night of the week. Whether you're a barfly, a cinephile, or you just love a healthy dose of culture, our picks have you covered whether you're on a first date or celebrating your first anniversary.

MONDAY: FREE  MOVIES AT SODA FACTORY

Heads can be a little fuzzy on Mondays, and moods may not be great — you've just spent your whole day at work after enjoying two days of freedom, after all. Take the edge off with a relaxed activity and take in a film with a significant other at Soda Factory. Little did you know, on Monday nights the Surry Hills bar and diner screens classic movies — Back to the Future, Grease and Ferris Bueller's Day Off are among the titles on offer. Rather than rushing dinner and heading to your standard cinema, meet your date and shout them a $5 drink (available until 7pm), then impress them with your supreme knowledge of pop film culture at 8pm when the movie kicks off.

TUESDAY: PUB TRIVIA AT YOUR LOCAL

Trivia, a classic Tuesday night activity whether you're on a date or not, is a great place to take someone you're interested in because you can suss out how smart they are over a beverage. There are a plethora of bars in Sydney that take part — from the Dove and Olive in Surry Hills (hosted by comedian Nick Nolan), to cocktail bar Since I Left You in the CBD, to The Rose in Chippendale and The Forresters in Surry Hills. Most bars and pubs that host trivia also have drink specials on for the night. Trivia is also great for double dates and group dates, because everyone can get involved.

WEDNESDAY: ART AFTER HOURS AT THE AGNSW

Art galleries are great date material. If you're just getting to know someone you'll look cultured, and if you've already gotten to know someone, this could be when you both admit you have no idea how to act in an art gallery and enjoy a nice bonding moment. The Art Gallery of NSW has one of the best art collections in the country — with permanent impressionist displays and temporary exhibitions that promote talented artists from around the world (currently: Andy Warhol and John Olsen). On Wednesday night, it's open late, for free, so you can add a little extra culture to your week by checking out the film playing downstairs or the talk in the main hall. Art is a great conversation starter, so it's an ace place to take a date, whether art is your thing or not.

THURSDAY: CHAMPAGNE AND OYSTERS AT THE GILT LOUNGE

Thursday is almost the weekend, so there's no excuse for not splashing out on something a little more luxe on your date. Every Thursday night from now until the end of May, QT Sydney's opulent cocktail bar Gilt Lounge is rolling out a regular evening of bubbles, beats and treats, in collaboration with Perrier-Jouët. While some local DJs play, you can grab a bottle of NV Grand Brut champagne and spoil your date with four premium freshly-shucked oysters from the bar's in-house European brasserie, Gowing's Bar and Grill, for $99 until 10:30pm each week. The getting-to-know-you conversation will flow like the crisp champagne you're sipping on.

FRIDAY: DIY BREWERY TOUR IN THE INNER WEST

Sydney's inner west is packed to the brim with a variety of craft breweries, each one of them dishing out unique ales and luscious lagers. If beer is something you and your date can both get behind, take yourselves on a tour of the area and check out as many venues as you can. Around Newtown, the Young Henrys bar is open until 7pm, whereupon you can take yourselves off to Wayward, Grifter, Batch, or Willie the Boatman, all of whom stay open a little later on Friday nights. Suck back a fresh ale, and discuss the hops balance on a creative date with your significant other.

SATURDAY: POOL, AND POTENTIALLY KARAOKE, AT GOROS

While trying something fresh and new is always a great idea for a date, there's no shame in dipping your toe in the cliche pool — they're cliches for a reason, right? Sometimes, a good date comes down to drinking a well-made cocktail in a fun bar, with activities to fill in conversation gaps when you're feeling a touch awkward. Goros, on Mary St in Surry Hills, delivers on all these aspects, with an ace selection of Japanese-inspired cocktails, beers, and a sweet range of Japanese whiskies. On top of that, there are a couple of dimly-lit karaoke rooms, a pool table, some air hockey tables and some arcade games that are sure to get a healthy (but cute) dose of competition going. If you've been with your partner for a while, this is the place to let loose, have some drinks and get competitive.

SUNDAY: LUNCH AT BACCOMATTO OSTERIA

Dates are something we usually relegate to the evening, when there's an air of mystery and salacious curiosity. That doesn't mean, however, that dating during sunlight hours should be written off completely. With the symptoms of Mondayitis looming in the mind, Sunday is the perfect day to take someone special out for a really, really good lunch where you can enjoy a few glasses of wine. Baccomatto Osteria in Surry Hills is the perfect place — they serve classic Italian food and incredible wine in a beautiful space. At lunchtime on Sundays, they sweeten the deal by offering a pasta dish and a glass of wine for $20, which keeps the cost down but the flavour up. Almost every staff member is Italian, so there's an air of authenticity to the whole experience — it's kind of like a quick holiday on a date.

QT Sydney's champagne and oysters special in partnership with Perrier-Jouët runs every Thursday until May 25.