Disclaimer: I’M not a dating coach I’m not trying to sell any services or coaching . This blog is just a few of my experiences in London . Im based predominantly in London, Nice/Monaco/Cannes ( South of France), Dubai, San Fransisco or Dallas. If you’re in any of these areas feel free to email me or hit me up for networking at darrenpua1@gmail.com No complete beginners or time wasters please must have some degree of maturity and value.
Best Areas for Logistics when Dating in London :
Honestly my preference will be around North London rather than where I am based in south. Reason being is there’s alot of girl heavy art universities based in the North like King’s Cross and an all together younger demographic based in Shoreditch. The foot flow in these areas are continuous and you’re only a few stops away from Oxford street and 6-7 away from my favourite daygame spot of Knightsbridge. Renting in central London if you have the budget will obviously save you a lot of time but is very expensive. Ideally somewhere near King’s Cross is the bear minimum that will give you access to a big pool of women. Shoreditch has a lot of good new innovative hotels that aren’t ridiculously expensive (of course everything based in London is going to be pricey to some degree) But for those visiting London who want to be near the action whilst not spending ridiculous amounts in Shoreditch is optimal. If you have an unlimited budget you can simply read the Areas To Daygame around London guide and just make your logistics closed to the areas you desire: https://mindful-masculinity.org/2020/10/17/areas-to-game-around-london-a-full-analysis/
Some things to note about this guide:
- A lot of locations I haven’t listed because they’ve been listed in other areas of London dating guides found here:areas to date around London part 2 and https://mindful-masculinity.org/2022/11/07/areas-to-date-around-london-a-full-guide/
- Some areas I haven’t listed simply because I haven’t dated or gamed enough in a location in order to garner enough time so I apologise if your area has been left out but really with London’s good transport system there should be something for everyone in this guide.
- Some areas that I’ve already written about like Knightsbridge I’ve added a couple of locations in order to give you a bit more balance and variation in a particular area. Again I can’t list every single coffee shop. Most of these routines are really simple just one coffee shop followed by one nearby bar .
Kings Cross Station –
Simple Low investment dates :
If the Weather is good:
Start the meet up at Kings Cross Station take her to Gramos a decent coffee shop located right in King’s Cross Station. Then you can go walk to the Google offices and sit down on the grass there or after the coffee you can take her to Waitrose next to UAL and buy some food and have a picnic on the grass.
If the Weather is bad:
Start at Redemption Roasters Located in King’s Cross at Unit 109 Stable St, London N1C 4DR then you can take her for a second bounce/Alcoholic drink at Barffina simple one coffee then drinks date. The area around Redemption Roasters is packed full of bars and food trucks so you really have endless options.
Or you can take her to a restaurant called Caravan located at 1 Granary Square, London N1C 4AA with plenty of seating and located right next to UAL university (a woman heavy university) which makes it a great spot for instant dates. Afterwords you can have follow up drinks at the nearby Barffina or Dishoom.
Shoreditch
Coffee Shop List:
One Hundred Shoreditch
Located at :
100 Shoreditch High St, London E1 6JQ This is probably my favourite night bar in shoreditch and is also has numerous bars at different floors but I prefer the different levels. . So all in all a great spot for a date offering unique cocktails .
Dark Sugars- Brick Lane
Another decent hot chocolate shop the perfect way to begin a date with someone especially if they’re a tourist experiencing London for the first time. Brick Lane is an excellent place to take an artistsy or woman who works in the creative arts. A quick two step date routine will be to start the date here then while you’re consuming your hot chocolates then take her to 100 Shoreditch bar.
Hoko Hong Kong Cafe : A good place to take A Hong Konger or anyone into Cantonese culture on a date this place does decent Hong Kong Milk teas, coffee and food .
Platform – located at 224 Brick Ln, London E1 6SA a prime first date spot
Gecko Coffeehouse: Located 49 Bethnal Grn Rd, London E1 6LA a good place for a first coffee date before a bounce to a cocktail bar -The Cocktail Trading Co located at :
68 Bethnal Grn Rd, London E1 6GQ
Ozone Coffee Shop: Located at :11 Leonard St, London EC2A 4AQ- Again like the others a decent coffee shop for a first date and not much else to say.
One of the top rated cocktail bars in the area and a highly recommend second Date location
Shoreditch -Experience Platform:
This is a great Second/ Third location gaming bar similar to what I posted in the Canary Wharf section.
Junkyard Golf Club | Crazy Golf Shoreditch: Located at 88 Worship St, London EC2A 2BE again a second stop which makes after a good first bounce from a coffee shop. Again activity dates are good for those who want to try and get a girls personality out if they appear to be too introverted during the initial coffee an activity like Mini Golf might be able to bring out their personality a bit more.
Canary Wharf:
Canary Wharf has come a long way since I began my daygame journey in 2017 it’s way more developed with a lot of options for food and drink. For me personally Canary Wharf is a great area to meet women during the week as a lot of women tend to work there so its a decent place to arrange an evening date with lots of different locations to suit most people.
Date Plans in Canary Wharf:
You have a huge number of choices of coffee locations to start your date in the Jubilee mall next to Canary Wharf theres a “ Pure” coffee shop located at Unit 390 Cabot Square, London E14 5AX again this has ideal coffee seats.
Theres also a Notes coffee shop which has good seating too at
Notes Coffee Roasters | Canada Walk- this is a great place to start for a coffee and is just a 6 minute walk away from cargo market hall which is a great place for seated dates. This area has a massive drink and food selection plus sofas for a great date setting . Great for a second date bounce – an third date bounce after a few drinks here is the gaming and drinks bar called Platorm located:Unit 40, 1 Crossrail Pl, London E14 5AR roughly an 8 minute walk away and a great place to have some drinks and play some games
Cargo Market Hall : You can been the date having a coffee at “Grind ” upstairs .
https://experienceplatform.co.uk/canary-wharf/ a pretty unique date spot in London .
Other good Coffee/Bars include:
640 East- Located in Montgomery Square, Upper Bank St, London E14 5JJ . A nice coffee shop with great seating but preferable in the summer months as opposed to winter.
The Alchemist : Again this a chain all over the UK one of those brands that I will probably repeat over again. But the alchemist is a great place for a cheap alcoholic drinks and the bar tenders tend to put on a “Show” located right next to Canary Wharf’s Jubilee exit line and a fantastic place for a drink.
Liverpool Street-
Good Two Steep Date Location :
% ARABICA LONDON SPITALFIELDS MARKET followed by Duck and Waffle- Duck and Waffle Bishopsgate ( 10 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY) fantastic views and a intimate bar setting perfect for the second date location if things are ok – they serve alcoholic drinks, tea as well as great food in compact seating great for building rapport and escalation .
Duck and Waffle Located :110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY : Good restaurant/bar with fantastic views. Great for building rapport with foreign students or tourists as the unique views will be very special for them. Would recommend this as a second place to “bounce” after a coffee shop as it could be seen as too much of an overdoing for
EATLY:
Located at: 135 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3YD
I mentioned this before in my previous dating guide as a great area to have a date in the Liverpool Street/ Shoreditch area I want to reiterate this is a fantastic spot to do date a girl as it has 4 separate restaurants and bars in the facility perfect for if you want a cheap/ more glamorous date this spot has something for everybody. It also shuts late at 11pm so if you finish work late or your girl finishes late this is still an excellent spot to grab a drink whether it be alcohol or non alcoholic .
Black Sheep Coffee :
Located right next to EATLY this is another excellent coffee shop with good seating perfect for a summers day. You might want to start out here then head for a pizza slice in EATLY for an easy “two step” date. Black Sheep Coffee can serve as the cheap coffee date then Eatly is an easy one for drinks. The major advantage with Eatly is it shuts so late as I said before compared to literally every other coffee shop on this list which usually shuts around 6pm.
Favourite Hotel Bar in Liverpool Street: Pan Pacific Bar Liverpool Street: Located at: 80 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7AB this bar is located near Eatly so a perfect second bounce location after a coffee at Blacksheep or Eatly . This place is open to late and you can sit down till past 11pm. There are loads of sofa seating and the price of drinks and food is reasonable . Definitely my favourite date spot in Liverpool Street and a good “hidden gem”
Angel- Islington :
Good first date locations:
Angel in Islington is a pretty simple date plan. There’s a Be at one located near the station at 12 Upper St, London N1 0PQ which is adjacent to two coffee places either the Hotel Chocolate located at :14 Upper St, London N1 0PQ which serves coffee and has seating or blank street coffee located a t4 Upper St, London N1 0PQ. So the ideal first date would be to have a coffee at either of these places then hit up all bar one.
Alternative first date plan for Angel if the weather is good is:
Saint Espresso located at: 26 Pentonville Rd, London N1 9HJ followed by a trip to Sainsbury’s grab some food and drink then have an outdoor picnic in the seating located outside. Then a bounce to All Bar one is advised for a third “location” . Again this date plan is more preferred for the summer time.
Highbury and Islington :
A coffee at the Urban Social Coffee located at : 236 Upper St, London N1 1RU followed by a bounce to The Bottle Cocktail Shop and Bar at : 116 Upper St, London N1 1QP simple two step date but a pretty routine place. The area around The Bottle Cocktail Shop has very attractive bars and food places with a food market on the weekend which can be good for eating outside in the Summer time .
Bank/Monument :
Might not be the most attractive place for a date but seeing as a lot of finance bros do read this blog I will include it. To be honest Bank is pretty straight forward :
Black Sheep Coffee located at: 31 Eastcheap, London EC3M 1DE A good spot for a first date low investment coffee followed by moving to a bar. Bar Recommendations the best and most popular for this location seems to be Eastcheap Records Located at: 31 Eastcheap, London EC3M 1DE this is a vibrate bar good for a second date bounce.
Langbourns- Bar and Dining is also a good spot located at : 77 Gracechurch St, London EC3V 0AG
Victoria:
Without once again sounding repetitive the best Coffee Shop for the Victoria Area has to be Notes at 10 Sir Simon Milton Sq, London SW1E 5DJ
Again I notice im naming the same brand a lot of the time and that might be annoying but the good think about this Notes coffee shop per say is that its right next to around 5 other major bars all In the same place. In other words dating in Victoria is pretty much as straight forward as one can get it and you don’t need me to point out the “best locations” for you so to speak.
There are other options in Victoria though- closer to the Sloane Square area there’s also Hagen Espresso Bar Bar located at : Coleshill Flats, 30a Pimlico Rd, London SW1W 8LJ this location can be by walking to Sloane Square station of which there are numerous bars and restaurants in that area of London which I’ve written about in my other guides.
This area has developed a fair bit since the previous guide I wrote about gaming and dating in London .There are now a fair few more options for coffee shops and bars available . Again London. Bridge is quite an iconic place
London Bridge – 1
Monmouth Coffee Shop – Located right next to London Bridge at : 2 Park St, London SE1 9AD decent place to grab a coffee and sit the one major advantage being this place opens late tilll 6pm bear in mind it’s often packed so may not have the best seating that being said you can always walk with the girl while drinking coffee maybe making the way to the river .
Longboys Borough Yards: This is a doughnut / coffee shop that’s located around 6 minutes away from Monmouth Coffee shop whilst doughnuts isn’t the ideal first date this coffee place is often empty on the weekdays and has a good couch seating located upstairs in the shop which makes it a good place for an intimate “low investment “ first date . There are a lot of restaurants, tapas bars etc. nearby this location which make for easy second or third bounces.
Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse -Le Comptoir Coal Drops Yard :
This is another hot chocolate place – not the best in terms of seating but an interesting place to go on a hot day if you’re looking for a starting point to grab drinks before going for a walk.
North Greenwich:
Dark Sugars Greenwhich is a great place for a date in north London as I have probably repeat In other guides. Then going for a walk in Greenwich park
Green Park/Piccadilly:
Green Park is once again a place that can be very crowded on the weekends but there are a few spots that are good for cheap or intimate dates my favourite one being .
Compane Speciality Coffee: 8-10 Princes Arcade, Piccadilly, St. James’s, London SW1Y 6DS tucked away in Green park perfect for an intimate beginning to a date however bear in mind this place shuts at 5pm. Following this a trip to Swans bar in Maison Assouline Located at: 196A Piccadilly, St. James’s, London W1J 9EY. Another decent Coffee Shop in the Green Park area is Volonti 200 Piccadilly, St. James’s, London W1J 0DJ . Obviously both Green Park and Picadilly have loads of options and I can’t possibly list all of them but most the best cafes and bars should be easy to find while you walk.
Farmer J Piccadilly: Another decent coffee shop that is open till late : 210 Piccadilly, St. James’s, London W1J 9HL again this opens till 9pm so its a decent first date cafe with a good quantity of seating .
Fortnum and Mason – Located at 181 Piccadilly, St. James’s, London W1A 1ER— Ok this is an unconventional suggestions primarily due to the reputation fortnum and mason has as a tea shop but Fortnum and Mason has a pretty good tea shop located on the third floor that’s actually ideal for a cheeky coffee date bear in mind a lot of cultures like Korean, Chinese, Japanese really have big admiration for Fortnum and Mason so it can be a good area to take these races for a first date. A British woman or someone born and bred in London this might not be the best area for a first date in Piccadilly.
Fallow – Again this is more of a restaurant located at : 52 Haymarket, St. James’s, London SW1Y 4RP. However this has a great bar area and is open till around 11pm so a great second bounce located in the heart of Piccadilly.
Hawksmoor AirStreet- Located at: 5A Air St, London W1J 0AD this is an ideal cosy place for a drink open till around 10pm . Perfect for a second bounce after a coffee shop in Piccadilly. A third bounce to a hotel like The Dorchester will be a good option its around a 20 minute walk away .
Mayfair:
The Dorchester:
Great hotel bar Located in : 53 Park Ln, London W1K 1QA Again this is a second or third bounce sort of area. I wouldn’t recommend this as a first bounce sorta dating spot as it can be seen as too intense for a first date. Make sure you go to a coffee place or something before hand to analyse how much the girl is into you first.
Covent Garden
Arabica Coffee spot followed by a quick trip the Restaurant/Bar called Barrafina located at: 43 Drury Ln, London WC2B 5AJ is my preferred date routine here . All in all im not a big fan of dates in Covent Garden as the area can be extremely crowded especially on weekends but if you’re dating a tourist this maybe a spot to think about or that they will enjoy. Monmouth Coffee Company located at : 27 Monmouth St, London WC2H 9EU although be aware on weekends this place can get absolutely packed- after this a trip to Seven Dials Food Market is a good shout as it has huge seating perfect for grabbing a quick bite to eat.
Temple :
Harris+.Hoole Fleet Street located roughly 9 minutes from Temple station is a fantastic spot to meet people. Located at :191-192 Fleet St, London EC4A 2L followed by a bounce to Simmon’s bar located very nearby at : London WC2R 3LL roughly 5 minutes away.
Finsbury Park:
Sourdough Sophia: Probably the best place for a first date in this location. Located in: 24 Middle Ln, London N8 8PL great pastries and coffee . I don’t know enough about this area to suggest a second date location though.
Knightsbridge:
Knightsbridge can be a very crowded around the holiday times making it a bit annoying for a date hence why I recommend : HawksMoor Knightsbridge: located at 3 Yeoman’s Row, London SW3 2AL this area is always open to late around 10pm and is a great second bounce location for a date after this a bounce to a Aisha lounge like 360 Lounge or 17 on Sloane located on 28 pavilion road both are good options.
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