Hey everyone! If this is your first time reading an idk tonight x Spoiled column—welcome. We are here to take care of all your date night needs—from a $15 budget to something with a few more 0’s.
Below are this week’s top recommendations for date nights ranging from cheap and chill to extravagant and decidedly not chill.
$: Teranga x The Kiosk @ Harlem
For when you want to go out but like, don’t want to spend money.
The ideal date spot for a travel enthusiast with a limited budget, Teranga, is Chef Pierre Thiam’s homage to African culinary tradition. Originally from Senegal, Chef Thiam creates and serves authentic dishes using sustainably-grown ingredients grown by smallholder farmers in Africa. Highlighting superfoods like fonio, red rice, and baobab, the spot offers a variety of customizable bowls and plates featuring seasoned vegetables and meats prepared with a variety of spices. Teranga, which means good hospitality, isn’t just about food; it’s about recreating a culture of openness and warmth.
Continue feeding your wanderlust with a trip to The Kiosk, a Moroccan-themed hookah bar. The space is filled with plush chairs, sweeping curtains and glowing lanterns fully immersing you in the world of a shishah bar in Marrakesh. Brought to Harlem by restaurateur Mounir Najd, the locale also has cocktails and a Mediterranean-themed menu that includes pita and hummus, lamb sausage and several types of couscous.
$$: Elia x Wicked Monk @ Bay Ridge
For when you just had a ~great~ day at work and you deserve a little celebrating.
Your craving for modern Greek cuisine in Brooklyn can easily be solved by Elia. This simple, rustic taverna has a genuinely transportive aesthetic courtesy of its homespun decor and staff, aided by a combination of whitewash and white brick walls, polished reclaimed wood (from floor to ceiling), stacked wine racks, and subtle pops of eggshell blue hues, namely on the fireplace towards the back.
Not to mention the beautiful food plating, which has a refined and artistic attention to detail and great for your feed.
After dinner, end the evening over drinks at The Wicked Monk. This stylized, throwback bar feels less like your typical cocktail lounge, the ceiling has a Sistine Chapel-inspired collage of celebrated monks, arched stained glass windows, stone walls, and even the occasional corner gargoyle, and cocktails so great they “take you to church”.
$$$: Till & Sprocket x The Fleur Room @ Chelsea
For when you want to make it rain.
If New American food is your thing, then Till & Sprocket is a great place for a relaxed dinner. The brick-lined space nails industrial chic with a long chrome bar that leads into a spacious lounge area complete with a web of overhead lighting and artfully nicked wood tables.
The menu skews on the healthy and fresh side, with dishes like cucumber gazpacho, Israeli salad, and roasted branzino, though they have the classic cheeseburger, pasta, and pizza options. Though they have an ample set of wine, beer, and spirits, the real highlights here are their craft cocktails with unique flavors—think cranberry margaritas and maple Old Fashions.
Stroll over to The Fleur Room to sip on more drinks in leisurely settings. This 35th-floor lounge tops the Moxy Hotel and lives up to its name with floral seating, rugs, and towering flower arrangements, paired with marble walls and floor to ceiling windows that will make you feel like you’re on the set of Gossip Girl.
You and your lover can enjoy equally beautiful and floral cocktails that live up to their decadent names (Lilac Jane and Crimson Rouge just to name a few). Drinks are on the precier side at $18 but worth it for the expansive view of Midtown and Lower Manhattan.
Oh, and there’s truffle popcorn (cue mic drop).
$$$$: Aska x Bembe @ Williamsburg
For those special, *special* occasion. Who’s getting engaged?
The moody, cool and spare Williamsburg restaurant Aska is brought to you by Swedish chef Fredrik Berselius. Like its Stockholm roots, the restaurant is meticulous, dark and deliberate in décor and food alike. Wood tables are covered in black cloth and accented with black vases. Color is infused through impeccably-plated dishes selected on your behalf as part of the multi-course tasting menu that celebrates man’s relationship with nature and the changing seasons.
Set across two levels of a restored 1860s warehouse building near the edge of the Williamsburg Bridge, this two-star Michelin restaurant is difficult to dine at unless you plan well in advance.
Once you’ve surprised and delighted your taste buds, go shake your booty at Bembe, an unmarked dance space tucked under the Williamsburg Bridge. Candlelight sets the scene and a string of international DJs inspire your motion with everything from reggae to salsa to funk. The dance floor is filled with regulars, which also makes for some fun people watching, and the bar offers the usual fare and some fun tropically-themed concoctions, as well. Check the calendar on Bembe’s website to see who is performing on any given night and be sure to pack a change of shoes if yours won’t survive a night on the move.