The Best First Date Spots in New York

Settle in for a classic French dinner at Raoul's, a brasserie-style restaurant on Prince Street in SoHo. It has been a favorite since opening in 1975, and the atmosphere is a romantic one.

Dinner is served seven nights a week, and weekend brunch runs 11am to 2:30pm.

Sit under the string lights along the sidewalk at Kokomo, a Caribbean and Jamaican restaurant in Williamsburg, where the designed room inside has plenty of backdrops too.

Koko Hour brings discounted tropical cocktails and Caribbean bar bites, including jerk chicken sliders and rum punch. The restaurant is open Thursday through Sunday and closed Monday through Wednesday, with Sunday hours of 11am to 6pm.

A wrap-around bar, a large absinthe list, and oysters set the scene at Maison Premiere, an oyster and cocktail bar in Williamsburg. A cocktail or two is a low-pressure way to begin, with dinner there if the night goes well.

Seats at the bar and in the dining room are open to walk-ins, and parties of up to six can reserve a month ahead. The garden is open from April to November. The bar opens at 12pm and runs until 1am Monday through Thursday, later on Friday and Saturday.

Head up to the 40th and 41st floors of the Aliz Hotel Times Square for seating made for two and a lit-up Empire State Building outside at Dear Irving on Hudson, a Midtown cocktail bar.

Ask for the bartender's choice, with lobster rolls and macarons to snack on. The bar is 21 and over, with hours starting at 5pm Monday through Thursday and 4pm Friday through Sunday.

Smaller daiquiris called snaquiris make a second round easy at Bar Snack, an East Village bar built around the daiquiri. The soundtrack mixes yacht rock and punk, and the bar calls itself a fun and flirty hangout.

Walk in any day from 2pm, with no reservations taken. Happy hour runs 2pm to 6pm Sunday through Thursday, and groups over 6 are not taken Fridays and Saturdays.

Couches and potted palms give The Tusk Bar a Jazz-Age feel in the lobby of The Evelyn Hotel in NoMad. Oysters and seafood small plates anchor the menu, with fried olives, scallop crudo, and house martinis alongside, including a mini martini.

The bar is open nightly from 4pm to midnight, with live music Monday through Saturday from 5:30pm. A reservation guarantees a seat, though most of the seating goes to walk-ins.

Hellbender is a Mexican-American restaurant in Ridgewood, Queens, with stools for tacos and piña coladas and booths for a full dinner. Margaritas and fried Oaxacan cheese are on the menu, alongside a stuffed life-size jaguar.

Live jazz fills St. Mazie, a Williamsburg jazz bar and restaurant, almost every night. Spend the evening in the garden out back or in the downstairs Cellar Supper Club jazz room.

Mains include rigatoni pomodoro and braised short rib. Reserve online. It opens at 6pm Monday through Friday and at 2pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Jadis, a French wine bar on the Lower East Side open since 2006, has a sunken, brick-lined room with sofas in the back. Its website tags it as romantic, cozy, and budget friendly.

Wine is the focus, with a long list alongside French standards, cheese, charcuterie, and small plates. Happy hour runs daily until 7pm. Jadis is open Monday through Saturday. Dinner reservations are taken online for parties of 8 or fewer, and some tables are held for walk-ins and drinks.

Vermouth on tap and pintxos headline at Bar Oliver, a Basque-style bar in Two Bridges, with a seaside San Sebastian mural to set the scene. Chunky tortilla espanola makes a light bite alongside a drink, and the room is good for people watching.

Bar seats and standing room are plentiful, and reservations are also available.