Best date ideas in London: from candlelight concerts to cooking masterclasses

If you’re sceptical as to why you should put love in the palm of the RadioTimes.com team’s hands, let us remind you that this is not our first rodeo! We love scouting out the best things to do in the capital city, just take a look at our top London walking tours and best London immersive experience guides. Plus, we like to review the things we recommend, and you can take a look at our 2:22 A Ghost Story review, BBC Earth Experience review, and more on our Going Out section.

But for now, in the words of Elton John, are you ready for love?

Jump to:

• Fun date ideas in London
• Cultural date ideas in London
• Quirky date ideas in London
• Romantic date ideas in London

Best London date ideas at a glance:

• Paris Is Burning at the Barbican, from £10
• Greenwich Exploration Game, £15
• Ghastly Ghost Tour of London Bridge, £16
• Pottery Painting Experience, £34 £18
• West End show like The Crucible, from £24
• Candlelight: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra, from £25
• Frameless, from £25
• West End show like Cabaret, from £30
• Notting Hill Walking Tour for Two, £30
• Seize The Cheese! An Evening of Cheese, Wine & Theatre, for £35
• The Mixologist Experience for Two, £60
• Get Creative with a Fun Painting Class for Two, £64
• The Art Of Candle Making Workshop for Two, £90
• Highlights of The National Gallery Official Guided Tour and Afternoon Tea, £99
• Two Hour Dim Sum Making Masterclass for Two, £258 £125
• Three Course Meal at Searcys, £139.99

Fun date ideas in London to try in 2023

The Mixologist Experience for Two

Just when your other half thinks they know you — boom — you impress them with your skills as a secret mixologist. Head on down to Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge for this next London date activity; you’ll meet the resident mixologists who will tell you all about the must-have components for cocktail creation while you sip on a welcome drink. Next, they’ll shake and stir their way through three signature cocktails, all the while telling you how to recreate them at home, then it’s your turn! Create your own unique cocktail.

Buy The Mixologist Experience for Two for £60 at Buyagift

The Art Of Candle Making Workshop for Two

Let us introduce you to another activity date idea which is sure to get your creative juices flowing. Dai-KOR is set in the bustling area of Shoreditch, and the teachers in the studio will walk you through how to create a scented soy wax candle with a custom sticker. As well as creating your own masterpiece, you’ll also enjoy refreshments and cupcakes.

Buy The Art Of Candle Making Workshop for Two for £90 at Virgin Experience Days

Pottery Painting Experience

You might not get to live out your Ghost movie pottery wheel fantasy, but this pottery painting experience is sure to bring out your and your date’s creative side.

Based in Southwark, in the heart of London, Token Studio is super simple to get to, and gives you the opportunity to paint whatever you fancy — whether that’s a portrait of your cat on a plate, some flowers on a vase, or perhaps a Picasso-style rendition of your other half on a bowl. With this experience, you can also bring your own booze.

Buy Pottery Painting Experience for £34 £18 (save £16 or 47%) at Wowcher

We liked this experience so much that we included it in our best pottery classes piece.

Two Hour Dim Sum Making Masterclass for Two

Searching for an out-of-the-ordinary date idea? Look no further than this Dim Sum Making Masterclass at Ann’s Smart School of Cookery. Expert chefs will teach you the art of authentic Asian cooking, and you’ll spend a few hours creating mouth-watering bites using only the freshest of ingredients.

On your masterclass menu are crispy salt and chilli squid, vegetable gyoza, chicken and prawn dim sum with a sauce, and beef tataki complete with wasabi mash. This experience is the gift that keeps on giving as you’ll learn invaluable skills to recreate the date experience at home.

Buy Two Hour Dim Sum Making Masterclass for Two for £258 £125 (save £128 or 52%) at Red Letter Days

Do you fancy yourself as a bit of a chef? Our friends at BBC Good Food and Olive have some fantastic recipes for you.

Cultural date ideas in London

West End show like Cabaret

The Kit Kat Club is home to the West End production of Cabaret — a musical which follows the story of young writer Clifford Bradshaw (played by Nathan Ives-Moiba) as he meets and falls in love with performer Sally Bowles (Euphoria’s Maude Apatow). The seven-time Olivier Award winning musical features the hit songs Don’t Tell Mama, Maybe This Time, and Money, and is sure to be a memorable date night experience.

Buy Cabaret tickets from £30 at ATG Tickets

For more great theatre shows, take a look at our best West End shows guide.

Highlights of The National Gallery Official Guided Tour and Afternoon Tea

If you’re looking to pull out all the stops on your date, then you’ve come to the right place; may we point you in the direction of The National Gallery guided tour, complete with afternoon tea for two?

The National Gallery is home to some of the world’s greatest paintings, such as The Ugly Duchess, The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, and Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers, and this experience offers you and your date an intimate hour-long tour of the gallery led by a true art expert.

After the tour, you’ll both head to Ochre in The National Gallery for some delicious sandwiches, scones, pastries, and hot drinks.

Buy Highlights of The National Gallery Official Guided Tour and Afternoon Tea for £99 at Virgin Experience Days

For more cultural day out inspiration, take a look at the best London art exhibitions.

Paris Is Burning at the Barbican

The 1990 documentary by Jennie Livingston is perhaps one of the most important pieces of queer cinema we can watch. Paris Is Burning records ball culture in mid to late 80s New York; it documents the various communities which were involved in drag balls, and is hailed as a brilliant exploration into race, class, gender, and sexuality.

Paris Is Burning is showing in the Sculpture Court at the Barbican as part of their Pride 2023 series, and us regular folk can buy tickets for £18 today, and it’s £14.40 for Barbican members, and £10 if you’re 25 or under.

Buy Paris Is Burning tickets from £10 at the Barbican

This particular event features in our best Pride Month experiences, and for more ways to celebrate Pride Month, check out the best LGBTQ+ movies to watch.

West End show like The Crucible

The RadioTimes.com Going Out team were lucky enough to be invited to watch The Crucible at The Gielgud Theatre. The play, which stars House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock, is mesmerising, and an interesting look into the true story of the Salem witch trials. The Crucible is very intense, however, particularly the last scene, so this might be a show to see with a fellow theatre-lover or a long-term partner — it’s not exactly light-hearted, first date material!

Buy The Crucible tickets from £24 at Ticketmaster

Calling all theatre lovers! Here's how to get cheap theatre tickets, plus top West End theatre tips for everything you need to know before you see a show.

Quirky date ideas in London

Greenwich Exploration Game

Visiting a café or a pub for a first date is a tried-and-tested date idea, but how about a drinks trip with a twist? The Greenwich Exploration Game is guaranteed to break the ice: you and your date will work together to solve clues on your phone which will lead you through unusual London spots, with plenty of pubs, bars, and café recommendations as you go — solving riddles is thirsty work, you know!

Buy Greenwich Exploration Game for £15 at Fever

Frameless

Fancy an art exhibition with a twist? This immersive experience showcases what would happen if famous artworks, like ones from artists such as Salvador Dalí, Paul Cézanne and Claude Monet, stepped out of their frames and leapt onto giant digital landscapes.

Frameless is situated on the corner of Hyde Park, and comprises four different galleries: Beyond Reality, Colour in Motion, The World Around Us, and The Art of Abstraction. This is a truly unique date activity.

Buy Frameless tickets from £25 at Ticketmaster

Seize The Cheese! An Evening of Cheese, Wine & Theatre

What could be a more brie-lliant date idea than cheese, wine, and a theatre show? Head on down to POSK Hammersmith to indulge in artisanal cheeses perfectly paired with delicious wine. In between pairings, you’ll enjoy scenes from the brand-new musical, Seize The Cheese.

You can experience Seize The Cheese! An Evening of Cheese, Wine & Theatre on either Friday 7th July or Friday 4th August.

Buy Seize The Cheese! An Evening of Cheese, Wine & Theatre tickets for £35 at Fever

Ghastly Ghost Tour of London Bridge

This spooky experience has won the award of the best ghost walking tour in our top London walking tours guide. Like a lot of old London locations, the area around London Bridge was home to criminals, killers, and plenty of other lawless folks, and this tour tells you all about the grisly stories.

Although it’s not your typical date night idea, a ghost walk is the perfect way to instigate a cuddle or a hand hold — you were so scared by the gruesome tales that you needed someone to hold you, right?

Buy Ghastly Ghost Tour of London Bridge tickets for £16 at Fever

Do you like to walk on the spooky side of life? Then take a look at the best Edinburgh ghost tours and the best ghost tours in York for some thrilling experiences.

Romantic date ideas in London

Get Creative with a Fun Painting Class for Two

In our opinion, one of the most daunting parts of a first date is the initial meet-up — so what if you choose an activity that specialises in making you feel at ease? We’re talking about having some music playing, good company nearby, and a bar, too. Well, that’s exactly what Brush Party offers. With studios in multiple London locations (Putney, Twickenham, Chiswick, Harrow, Ealing, and Wimbledon), Brush Party provides everything you need to release your inner Salvador Dalí, and create a stunning piece of art.

Buy Get Creative with a Fun Painting Class for Two for £64 at Virgin Experience Days

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Notting Hill Walking Tour for Two

What movie is more romantic than Notting Hill? The 1999 classic, starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, is a love story between a British bookseller and a famous American actress, who just so happens to walk into his bookstore on Portobello road.

The Notting Hill Walking Tour will take you and your plus one to iconic filming locations not only in Notting Hill, but also in other romance movies such as Love Actually and Sliding Doors.

Buy Notting Hill Walking Tour for Two for £30 at Red Letter Days

We've featured the Notting Hill tour in our top London walking tours list. Prefer to get around the city via public transport? We have a guide for that, too! Take a look at the best London bus tours.

Candlelight: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra

The RadioTimes.com team were lucky enough to attend a candlelight concert earlier this month, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a more romantic evening than an orchestra playing beautiful music in a stunning hall surrounded by the glow of candlelight.

The Tribute to Frank Sinatra candlelight concert showcases one hour of Sinatra’s greatest hits, such as New York, New York, Fly Me to the Moon, You Make Me Feel So Young, and many more which are yet to be announced. The concert will take place at Glaziers Hall, and will be performed by the talented James Hudson Band.

Buy Candlelight: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra tickets from £25 at Fever

For more candlelight concert inspiration, have a read of our candlelight concert review and here are the best UK candlelight concerts to see this month.

Prefer live music? We have plenty of new ticketing releases for you like Foo Fighters tickets, Lana Del Rey tickets, and here's how to get Taylor Swift tickets.

Three Course Meal at Searcys

The Gherkin is one of London’s most famous landmarks, and it’s where our next date idea takes place. At Searcys restaurant, you’ll not only enjoy a three course meal, complete with a side dish and cocktail of your choice, but also panoramic views of the capital city — what could be more romantic?

Buy Three Course Meal at Searcys for £139.99 at Buyagift

Enjoy the sunshine with some of the best London rooftop gardens.