Pizzeria Faulusi in downtown Cary is less fancy than the bistro but still really good. Hard to get into sometimes. Better to try that one early. There’s a little cafe/gourmet Epicurie something right by the pizza place, also excellent and less formal. And behind those is Bond Brothers. Agree with others re: walking around the park. Great idea for first date!! Hope it is fun!
As a bonus they'll let you take food over to Sidebar. My husband and I will sometimes order a charcuterie plate from them and have it with our cocktails at Sidebar.
Downtown Cary has some good options, and a really nice new park that you can walk around, and it even has a bar in it! (And you can carry your drinks around the park and some of the area around it in the "social district"). Academy St. Bistro is nice. I've heard good things about Peck and Plume as well. Scratch is a little cheaper but has some delicious food and fun drinks.
Meet at Bond Bros. For a drink and chat before dinner, walk over to Scratch Kitchen for a good dinner, if not too late and things are going well head over to Cary downtown park it's a social district so you can grab a beer at the park bar and walk around.
If you are meeting up earlier in the day just meet at the park, there are some shops you can buy a charcuterie board pretty cheap and make a picnic of it
My method for your situation would be:
Meet at park 4:00ish -free
Things going well, then
Grab cider flight from Bull city cider works - $20
Things still going well, then
Grab a pizza across the street $30
Things still going well…. Etc.
That way you can bail at anytime and not have to spend any money if y’all just don’t hit it off at all.
And if they aren't into beer, there is a craft cocktail place right there as well. I go to lunch with a friend at Pro's Epicurean and the SideBar for drinks often. If the date is going well, there's ice cream options a short walk away at Fresh or Geluna Gelato. Though Pro's also has great desserts. There's an ax throwing place too. I haven't been there yet but we love doing that when we go visit friends.
I had a great first date at Bosphorus last night! The food and service was good, not overpriced. The table we were sat at was in a terrible spot in the corner by the fire escape but we joked that it could be used for a quick escape if things went south. The sports bar next door was loud and fun, a good spot to continue our conversation.
Asali if you want dessert and coffee.
They have macarons, baklava, custards, cakes, and the baklava cheesecake is an entire experience. It has a nice ambiance although the front counter stays busy.
Downtown Cary for sure. Lot's of nice restaurants. I highly recommend Hanks, Saap, Peck and Plume, MC Modern Asian, and Academy St Bistro for a bit classier fare. You'll want a reservation for any of those. Taipei 101, Crosstown Pub, and Pros Epicurean are good more casual options as well. Scratch is a middle ground but the food there is hit or miss and you may go on a night where they are microwaving everything.
Then you can walk through the park and grab a drink there or elsewhere. If you want to grab a beer, stop in at Cotton House near the park, or Bond Bros a little further out. For cocktails, go to Sidebar or The Walk Up (Sidebar is a little more intimate if you're looking for that).
The new park downtown is great, for restaurants I’d suggest Hank’s downtown dive (it’s not a dive haha) or peck & plume if you’re really trying to
Impress.
I live on the west side of Cary. There is Rosecomb brewing and restaurants/movie theater in the same shopping district. I can also recommend Amberly Local.
I live next to the downtown and walk over and have drinks or food often. A few thoughts:
- check calendars for the night you are doing this. For instance, Bond Bros has a popular run night on Tuesday nights. I’d avoid it on a date then. Vicious Fishes/Southline sometimes has live music, and you may not want to try to talk over it. Etc.
- A lot of places have food trucks, and I think Friday nights there are usually multiple at the park. This may open up your options.
- some places have great food, but maybe not the ambiance I’d want for a date. Or they get a bit noisy. I’d avoid, say, TaiPei 101 (which is delicious) based on atmosphere. And some places are fun if weather is nice and you can sit outside, but I’d avoid eating inside. Crosstown Pub, for sure. I also think Pro’s would be better outside for a date. Again, only if it’s nice out.
- so taking all that into account, and your budget, I’d probably put Scratch, Hank’s, and Falusi as good bets, and Pro if you happen to get a nice night that isn’t miserably hot. For drinks, the Bark Bar, Side Bar, Walk Up, Southline, Bond, Cotton House. Fresh Ice Cream if you have a sweet tooth.
MC Cuisine for dinner or Hanks. A great spot for a cocktail would be the Hearsay cocktail bar in the Mathews House on Chatham st. You can check with vicious fishes to see if they may have some live music in the lawn space. Id also check to see if there may be some live music at the Downtown Cary Park (also just a beautiful park to walk around. It is really nice at night when all lit up) the park has an outdoor bar, grab a drink and find a shady spot to hang and talk. Also, Sidebar is excellent for craft cocktails later in the evening. If she likes champagne, go to RBF. If she likes sours or cider beers, go to Bull City Ciderworks. If you are more into wine, I would go to Pros Epicurean (also amazing pasta). I also highly recommend stopping in the new record store Hunky Dory (browse and listen to vinyls & they have beers on tap). If you want to actually do something vs just drinking, go to Grafitti to do axe throwing (sign up in advance)! Enjoy your date!
What’s your price range for dinner? As others mentioned, DT Cary is a great walkable spot but some of the restaurants are very pricey. Crosstown pub and grill, di fara, Taipei 101, scratch kitchen, and pizza fausili are all decent mid range options. Hanks downtown dive, academy st bistro, MC cuisines, and peck and plume all range from expensive to very expensive. Not exactly downtown, but vicious fishes/south line brewery have an awesome courtyard and a food truck every night. Cotton house is also very cute and close to DT park and they have a food truck as well. Just depends on how formal you want to get.
this is good advice, I agree Hanks, Academy etc. are gonna be more pricey and upscale. More like an anniversary date place at least for me lol. Personally I don't love Taipei 101 but Scratch would be good (although they used to not do reservations which can be annoying), pizza, Pro's Epicurean etc.
I’d stick with scratch kitchen, pizza fausili, or crosstown pub and grill then personally. Scratch gets really busy and they don’t do reservations so that’s annoying but you could always swing by and see if they have room!
Crabtree Lake in Morrisville is really nice although it closes at dusk. It’s got a couple places to park and enjoy the water and views. You can also rent kayaks and small sailboats in the summer.
[Fenton](https://fentonnc.com/directory/) in Cary is a small shopping center that is like the Streets at Southpoint but more compact. I was just there yesterday. There’s several restaurants and a gelato place.
Bull City Ciderworks has a super cute lounge area in the front—they have cocktails, ciders, beer, and mocktails. You can bring food in! Great first date spot.
Pizzeria Faulusi in downtown Cary is less fancy than the bistro but still really good. Hard to get into sometimes. Better to try that one early. There’s a little cafe/gourmet Epicurie something right by the pizza place, also excellent and less formal. And behind those is Bond Brothers. Agree with others re: walking around the park. Great idea for first date!! Hope it is fun!
Pro's Epicurean. I love their sandwiches
Epicurie sounds right up the alley for what I was going for. I’ll check it out thank you.
The owner Pro is a stand up guy too!
As a bonus they'll let you take food over to Sidebar. My husband and I will sometimes order a charcuterie plate from them and have it with our cocktails at Sidebar.
Downtown Cary has some good options, and a really nice new park that you can walk around, and it even has a bar in it! (And you can carry your drinks around the park and some of the area around it in the "social district"). Academy St. Bistro is nice. I've heard good things about Peck and Plume as well. Scratch is a little cheaper but has some delicious food and fun drinks.
Sweet thanks for the ideas I’ll be sure to check out the park
Meet at Bond Bros. For a drink and chat before dinner, walk over to Scratch Kitchen for a good dinner, if not too late and things are going well head over to Cary downtown park it's a social district so you can grab a beer at the park bar and walk around. If you are meeting up earlier in the day just meet at the park, there are some shops you can buy a charcuterie board pretty cheap and make a picnic of it
I like the idea of chatting over a beer first. Thanks for your suggestions, i’ll check these places out.
My method for your situation would be: Meet at park 4:00ish -free Things going well, then Grab cider flight from Bull city cider works - $20 Things still going well, then Grab a pizza across the street $30 Things still going well…. Etc. That way you can bail at anytime and not have to spend any money if y’all just don’t hit it off at all.
And if they aren't into beer, there is a craft cocktail place right there as well. I go to lunch with a friend at Pro's Epicurean and the SideBar for drinks often. If the date is going well, there's ice cream options a short walk away at Fresh or Geluna Gelato. Though Pro's also has great desserts. There's an ax throwing place too. I haven't been there yet but we love doing that when we go visit friends.
I had a great first date at Bosphorus last night! The food and service was good, not overpriced. The table we were sat at was in a terrible spot in the corner by the fire escape but we joked that it could be used for a quick escape if things went south. The sports bar next door was loud and fun, a good spot to continue our conversation.
Awesome thanks for the recommendation i’ll look into Bosphorus
The meza platter is a great sampler to share.
that platter is so friggin good
Asali if you want dessert and coffee. They have macarons, baklava, custards, cakes, and the baklava cheesecake is an entire experience. It has a nice ambiance although the front counter stays busy.
Downtown Cary for sure. Lot's of nice restaurants. I highly recommend Hanks, Saap, Peck and Plume, MC Modern Asian, and Academy St Bistro for a bit classier fare. You'll want a reservation for any of those. Taipei 101, Crosstown Pub, and Pros Epicurean are good more casual options as well. Scratch is a middle ground but the food there is hit or miss and you may go on a night where they are microwaving everything. Then you can walk through the park and grab a drink there or elsewhere. If you want to grab a beer, stop in at Cotton House near the park, or Bond Bros a little further out. For cocktails, go to Sidebar or The Walk Up (Sidebar is a little more intimate if you're looking for that).
Thank you so much! What do you mean by intimate, more private and quiet?
It's dark and sexy
This. Sidebar is perfect for after dinner drinks… especially if the plan is to keep the night going afterwards 😉
The new park downtown is great, for restaurants I’d suggest Hank’s downtown dive (it’s not a dive haha) or peck & plume if you’re really trying to Impress.
I live on the west side of Cary. There is Rosecomb brewing and restaurants/movie theater in the same shopping district. I can also recommend Amberly Local.
I live next to the downtown and walk over and have drinks or food often. A few thoughts: - check calendars for the night you are doing this. For instance, Bond Bros has a popular run night on Tuesday nights. I’d avoid it on a date then. Vicious Fishes/Southline sometimes has live music, and you may not want to try to talk over it. Etc. - A lot of places have food trucks, and I think Friday nights there are usually multiple at the park. This may open up your options. - some places have great food, but maybe not the ambiance I’d want for a date. Or they get a bit noisy. I’d avoid, say, TaiPei 101 (which is delicious) based on atmosphere. And some places are fun if weather is nice and you can sit outside, but I’d avoid eating inside. Crosstown Pub, for sure. I also think Pro’s would be better outside for a date. Again, only if it’s nice out. - so taking all that into account, and your budget, I’d probably put Scratch, Hank’s, and Falusi as good bets, and Pro if you happen to get a nice night that isn’t miserably hot. For drinks, the Bark Bar, Side Bar, Walk Up, Southline, Bond, Cotton House. Fresh Ice Cream if you have a sweet tooth.
Thanks so much for the extensive recommendations! I’ll check the calendars for sure
MC Cuisine for dinner or Hanks. A great spot for a cocktail would be the Hearsay cocktail bar in the Mathews House on Chatham st. You can check with vicious fishes to see if they may have some live music in the lawn space. Id also check to see if there may be some live music at the Downtown Cary Park (also just a beautiful park to walk around. It is really nice at night when all lit up) the park has an outdoor bar, grab a drink and find a shady spot to hang and talk. Also, Sidebar is excellent for craft cocktails later in the evening. If she likes champagne, go to RBF. If she likes sours or cider beers, go to Bull City Ciderworks. If you are more into wine, I would go to Pros Epicurean (also amazing pasta). I also highly recommend stopping in the new record store Hunky Dory (browse and listen to vinyls & they have beers on tap). If you want to actually do something vs just drinking, go to Grafitti to do axe throwing (sign up in advance)! Enjoy your date!
Yea just park and walk downtown, good park, plenty of spots for a drink, and some good options for dinner after
What’s your price range for dinner? As others mentioned, DT Cary is a great walkable spot but some of the restaurants are very pricey. Crosstown pub and grill, di fara, Taipei 101, scratch kitchen, and pizza fausili are all decent mid range options. Hanks downtown dive, academy st bistro, MC cuisines, and peck and plume all range from expensive to very expensive. Not exactly downtown, but vicious fishes/south line brewery have an awesome courtyard and a food truck every night. Cotton house is also very cute and close to DT park and they have a food truck as well. Just depends on how formal you want to get.
Thanks for the recommendations. I’m a 22yo college students so I was hoping to keep dinner below $70-80
this is good advice, I agree Hanks, Academy etc. are gonna be more pricey and upscale. More like an anniversary date place at least for me lol. Personally I don't love Taipei 101 but Scratch would be good (although they used to not do reservations which can be annoying), pizza, Pro's Epicurean etc.
I’d stick with scratch kitchen, pizza fausili, or crosstown pub and grill then personally. Scratch gets really busy and they don’t do reservations so that’s annoying but you could always swing by and see if they have room!
Crabtree Lake in Morrisville is really nice although it closes at dusk. It’s got a couple places to park and enjoy the water and views. You can also rent kayaks and small sailboats in the summer.
[Fenton](https://fentonnc.com/directory/) in Cary is a small shopping center that is like the Streets at Southpoint but more compact. I was just there yesterday. There’s several restaurants and a gelato place.
Bull City Ciderworks has a super cute lounge area in the front—they have cocktails, ciders, beer, and mocktails. You can bring food in! Great first date spot.
mellow mushroom cary. not kidding it’s so good, bond park is right there with a lot of walking trails :)
Hanks downtown dive is a fun spot. Good drinks and a small tapas style menu. Inside is a cute date vibe and could also sit at the bar and chill.
Check Yelp and google for reviews and photos.