Date Ideas in San Francisco

Dinner comes with a movie at Foreign Cinema, a Californian-Mediterranean restaurant in the Mission that screens films outdoors. They begin at dusk in the heated, partly covered courtyard, while the indoor dining room has a fireplace and an open kitchen.

Bowl a few frames together at Presidio Bowl, where 12 lanes share the space with a bar and grill in the Presidio. The bar pours more than 45 beers, ciders and seltzers plus 19 wines, and the grill serves a full menu. After a game, take a drink to the patio for the bay view, firepit and drink ledge. Patio seating is first come, first served, and walk-ins are not guaranteed a lane, so reserve one ahead.

Spread out a picnic at Presidio Tunnel Tops, the free park built over the Presidio Parkway tunnels with Golden Gate Bridge views, open lawns and trails. The Outpost Meadow Picnic Area has benches and lawns, while food trucks and carts run daily near the Main Parade Lawn. If you want a table or grill, spots at Picnic Place can be reserved.

Rent a rowboat or pedal boat by the hour from Blue Heron Boathouse and make a lap around Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. The boathouse has been in operation since 1893, and the cafe on site gives you somewhere to stop afterward for lattes, wine, hamburgers or salads.

Turn the California Academy of Sciences into a Thursday-night date during NightLife, when the Golden Gate Park aquarium, planetarium, rainforest and natural history museum open from 6pm to 10pm for guests 21 and older with a valid physical photo ID. Bars on the main floor and in the aquarium pour cocktails, beer and wine, and you can carry your drink through the museum except into the planetarium, rainforest or Swamp. Planetarium passes are sold separately and almost always sell out, so buy those ahead. NightLife runs most Thursdays, with usually one Thursday off each month, and pauses from mid-December to early January.

Spend Thursday night trying hands-on science at the Exploratorium, a waterfront museum with more than 650 exhibits between Pier 39 and the Ferry Building. After Dark runs from 6pm to 10pm for ages 18 and older and can include trivia nights and dance parties. For something more unusual, add the Tactile Dome, a touch-only crawl and climb through different textures that requires a separate ticket and reservation.

Start with cocktails in the mezzanine lounge at Nari, a contemporary Thai restaurant in Japantown. The Nagiri is gin-based and the Viyada uses mezcal, and the entire a la carte menu is available in the lounge if one drink turns into dinner. Lounge seating is walk-in only, cocktail orders close at 9:45pm, and the entrance is through the Kabuki hotel lobby.

Keep the night casual with small snacks at the bar at Rich Table, the Hayes Valley restaurant from chefs Evan and Sarah Rich, or make it a bigger occasion with the tasting menu for an anniversary or birthday.

Penny Roma sets up an easy dinner date in the Mission with dim lighting, whole-album playlists, a large open kitchen and both an indoor and outdoor courtyard. The pasta-focused menu includes tagliatelle bolognese and agnolotti dal plin. If you come without a reservation, walk-ins are accepted in the adjoining Pasta Shop space from 5:30pm, and Trick Dog next door gives you somewhere to have a drink while you wait.

Brazen Head is a Cow Hollow restaurant and public house serving steaks in jus, french onion soup and martinis, with a dim bar and sconce-lit tables to settle into. The bar stays open from 5pm to 2am every day, and the restaurant is walk-in only.