Setting the Table for At-Home Date Night

You’d do three courses in a restaurant–so why not take the same approach at home? Yes, dishwashing duty may feel a bit more strenuous than usual, but we promise it’ll be worth it. Plus, our menu picks make prep and clean-up as simple as possible, so you can focus on your date.

This kale salad is flavorful, healthy, versatile, and delicious–and it doubles and keeps well enough to serve as lunch the next day.

We’re obsessed with the combination of our warming, filling, and nutrient-dense lentil soup with our decadent and delicious garlicky fried sourdough toasts. Plus, prep time is minimal, so you can make your salad and cocktails while this simmers on the stove.

It’s hard to go wrong with a paper plane, a sweet and smoky seasonal take on the summer’s favorite spritzes. It takes 5 minutes to make, but the flavors are memorable and complex.

Pro tip for a date night or dinner party: baking can be tricky–and dessert, unless it needs to be served warm, is typically fine to prep a day in advance. Prep for this cheesecake is as simple as can be, and it’s best if you make most of it the night before and refrigerate–just take it out a few minutes before you need to whip the frosting and garnish it. We promise you’ll have a hit on your hands, whether your date has a sweet tooth or not.

When it comes to serveware that does double duty as functional and fashionable, Revol is always top of mind. Serve your salads in their cardamom salad bowls, which look seriously chic offset with Ferm Living’s flow bowls for your soup–and why not go all in on color blocking and opt for the yellow speckle? If you want to keep things simpler, Il Buco’s soup bowls are simple but sophisticated.

As far as glassware goes, we can never resist an opportunity to break out Sophie Lou Jacobsen’s piano cocktail glasses, with Dizzy being our favorite hue for fall. For a similar but more saturated vibe, Caskata’s Quinn glasses in Citrine does the job–and their lemony hue looks perfect with a paper plane. When it comes to water, elevate your h20 by serving it in Ferm Living’s Oli Wine glasses.

Make sure you’ve got mugs ready (preferably these, from Il Buco) for an after-dinner tea (or coffee, depending on your caffeine limits) to pair with the cheesecake, which you should absolutely serve on these splatterware side plates.

Date night means candles, and, to us, candles mean The Floral Society. We love every color of the Fancy Ribbed Pillar Candles, but petal works particularly well for a romantic, date-night feel, especially when placed atop their complementary ceramic plate (go for Earth).

In keeping with the petal pink theme, Hawkins’ Essential Tablecloth in Blush is delicate and date night-ready, especially when paired with placemats either in the matching hue or the mustard shade (an especially perfect and punchy complement to the Revol & Ferm Living soup and salad bowls).

Naturally, you’ll want flowers on the table–keep things consistent with The Floral Society’s ceramic vase in earth–and pop in some pale pink buds.

Forgot to curate the perfect playlist? Don’t worry–we’ve done it for you here. And if you want to do something besides watching TV after you’ve finished eating, why not get a bit competitive with a game of tic tack toe the chicest set you can find?

Perfect date night done; no restaurant required!