Date Ideas in Bay Area

Take a walk along the rocky northwestern edge of San Francisco at Lands End, where the trail keeps opening onto new views. The urban hike passes shipwrecks and rocky beaches, and the ruins of Sutro Baths are there to wander through, with gardens in the Sutro Historic District close by.

Lands End's Coastal Trail is among its best features, and even a partial stroll pays off. Wheelchair-accessible trails start at the Merrie Way parking lot trailhead.

Barrel House Tavern is a bar and restaurant in Sausalito, on the second floor with a view over the city and the bay. It suits a date, with outdoor seating, a full bar, happy hour and games on screen. The menu leans on local ingredients, with the Sausalito clam chowder as the signature dish and tartare tacos also a standout. Barrel-aged cocktails are a specialty, and we recommend the craft cocktails, which sit alongside fresh seafood.

The Interval is a bar, cafe and community space at Fort Mason Center in the Marina, next to Greens, and it is home to the Long Now Foundation. The Interval suits a first date, and its decor channels an eccentric professor of chemistry.

Craft cocktails, coffee and tea make up the menu, with classic drinks coming first. Stop in for an early-evening cocktail, then follow the waterside walk toward the bridge.

Pasta takes the lead on the Penny Roma menu, drawing on classics from around Italy, alongside rotating fish crudi, vegetable antipasti and wood-fired mains built on seasonal Bay Area ingredients. We recommend the tagliatelle bolognese or the agnolotti dal plin, and a bottle of natural wine to share.

Verjus is a wine bar and restaurant at 550 Washington Street, serving French small plates and daily plats du jour. The room is candlelit, with a glossy maroon ceiling and intimate seating, and it suits date nights built around great wine.

The menu includes omelettes, seafood soup and low-intervention wines, with caramelized pain perdu for dessert. Drinks with a light bite are also a good fit here. Verjus is closed Sundays and Mondays.

Burdell brings Southern soul food and a warm, nostalgic atmosphere to Oakland's Temescal neighborhood. Named after chef Geoff Davis's maternal grandmother, the restaurant celebrates family recipes and locally sourced ingredients, with a focus on Black farmers, ranchers and fishers. Vintage ovens, family photos and a soundtrack of '60s and '70s hits make for a cozy, character-filled date night. We recommend the roast pork neck with honeynut squash or the chicken liver mousse served on a crispy cornmeal waffle.

Chez Panisse is a Berkeley institution that brings a little romance to California's farm-to-table dining scene. Founded by Alice Waters in 1971, the restaurant offers two ways to enjoy a date: head downstairs for a special-occasion dinner with a nightly changing prix fixe menu, or settle into the more casual upstairs café for Mediterranean-inspired dishes made with seasonal ingredients. Both offer a lovely setting for a meal together, whether you're celebrating something special or simply enjoying a night out.

Ethel's Fancy brings a creative, personal touch to date night in downtown Palo Alto, with a seafood-focused menu inspired by the dinner parties chef's Japanese-American mother hosted in Hawaii. Grab a seat at the bar for a more casual evening, or settle in for dinner and share a few dishes. We recommend starting with the sesame pancakes before trying the katsu-style swordfish, a standout main course that's perfect for sharing.

Iki Omakase is a Japanese restaurant in Palo Alto, built around an eight-seat omakase sushi counter. The room is quiet and minimalist, and the restaurant is a good pick for a special occasion.

Courses such as uni, octopus and torched toro come as a prix fixe. Chef Jiabo Li leads the counter, having worked previously at Sushi Hon and Sato Omakase.

Time a walk for sunset at the Berkeley Rose Garden, a terraced amphitheater in the Berkeley Hills with about 1,500 rose bushes and 250 varieties. The garden is open daily from 6am to 10pm, so a sunset visit works.

A redwood pergola along the top gives shaded seating above the blooms, and a creek-fed ornamental pool is nearby. Roses bloom best from mid-May through September.