Best Date Spots in Chinatown in New York

Bridges is a Chatham Square restaurant with a warm, amber-lit dining room and relaxed but attentive service. No single cuisine owns this brief menu: grilled king crab with béarnaise, steamed turbot with rice and clams. We recommend the comté tart, which is rich enough that splitting it with your date makes sense.

Lei is a Chinese wine bar on Doyers Street from sommelier Annie Shi, who wants people to rethink which wines go with Chinese food. The room has subtle Chinese touches, including a mural of Journey to the West. Staff will help you pick pours to match what you order. It is a good stop before or after a quick Chinatown meal.

Apotheke is a Chinatown cocktail bar on Doyers Street that puts as much care into its setting as into what is in the glass, so the drinks and the room both get your attention. Seating is first come, first served, and the bar opens at 6:30 PM every day of the week.

Bar Oliver is a Basque-style corner spot in Two Bridges with pintxos and a seaside mural of San Sebastian. Drinks and a light bite make it an easy first-date stop, and it is a place to linger. The menu is mostly snacks, with the tortilla and a wagyu hanger steak with fries as highlights and olives on every table. Vermouth leads the drinks, alongside some beer and wine but no hard liquor. Reservations are taken, and there are plenty of bar seats and standing room too.

Nom Wah Tea Parlor is on Doyers Street in Chinatown, in a dining room styled after the 1920s and refreshed by a 2010 renovation. Art Deco tables wear checkered tablecloths, and couples sit beneath an old poster of Chinese movie stars. That gives the two of you a spot with some character to settle into over a meal.

Nakaji is an intimate sushi restaurant on the Bowery specializing in omakase, where the chef selects each course. The tasting menu gives you something new to discover and discuss with every bite, making it a memorable choice for a date night in Chinatown.

Housed in a former Chinese opera house, Chinese Tuxedo sets the scene for a romantic dinner with moody lighting, tropical plants, and a dramatic two-story dining room. The menu draws inspiration from Chinese, Singaporean, and Hong Kong cuisines, with seafood dishes and shareable plates at the center. Pair dinner with a signature cocktail or a glass of wine. Reservations are recommended, though couples may find availability limited to earlier seating times.

Special-occasion dinners are the draw at Yamada, a Chinatown spot with a seasonal kaiseki menu. Only 10 seats line the wooden counter, which keeps the room intimate for a dinner shared at one counter. The seasonal tasting menu runs ten courses. Kaiseki Hanaei, in Fukuoka, was Chef Isao Yamada's first solo restaurant, opened in 2000.

Parcelle's Chinatown location is a wine bar and shop on Division Street, casual enough for a glass and some snacks or a bottle with a full meal. The list runs past 500 wines, including unusual natural wines and collectible Burgundy and Barolo. It is also a good place for people watching and sitting outside.

Sake Bar Asoko is an intimate, narrow Chinatown bar that works just as well for a first date as a second. Founded by Yuri Itakura, Shintaro Cho, and Arianna Cho, the bar specializes in sake and otsumami-style small plates, perfect for sharing a few bites while getting to know each other. The menu also accommodates vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free diets.