DRINK: First-rate first date

1. The batting-above-your-average date

Well done. Now you’ll need the matching venue to make sure you come out on top in the first round.   Millevini is a stellar place for a stellar girl. Situated on Crown St, Surry Hills, this brilliant enoteca focuses on Italian wines and associated spuntini, tasting plates of Italian food perfect for sharing. It’s a two-storey, narrow space with dark interiors and a beautiful sandstone wall displaying two-storeys of wine . It can be intimate while allowing for a great vibe that carries over the conversation and laughs along. Their wine list is extensive, presented in a beautiful leather embossed cover with beautiful illustrations. It’s not wanky or too pretentious, just be sure to smile at the maitre’d to deflect any attempts to intimidate and patronise.

2. The girl-from-work date

Stealth mode is key here without making it look like you’re hiding so you need to go for the little neighbourhood joint that everyone loves, not the latest sceney bar. Time to roll out Fico – a new bar on Bourke St, Surry Hills in the old Café Niki spot, reminiscent of a hard-to-find New York speakeasy. It’s a personable little wine bar that’s super vibey but also has a good little number of alcoves to hide away and enjoy a quiet drink. Plus you don’t have to find another spot to hideout for dinner – there’s great tasting plates and when it’s run by the folks from il Baretto, you know it’ll be good.

3. The reverse date

You slept together first but now you want to date her. There’s less pressure here because you’ve managed to get her in bed once. Now it’s about convincing her you’re fun and not just a total player. Let her kick up her heels at the Winery by Gazebo. The crowd is loud and fun, she can show you she looks just as good dressed-up as undressed and it’s a wine bar that doesn’t try too hard or take itself too seriously - evidenced by the wine list descriptions (bubbles, unpronounceables and so on). And since you’ve shared a bed, you can share some great food  like the crispy squid, mint, coriander, chilled cucumber salad or the veal & chorizo sausage roll. It gets busy but if you’re crammed up together against the bar,  that’s not so bad is it?

4. The reluctant date

You don’t know how you got roped into it but suddenly you’re taking out a girl you’re really not that keen on. Too many beers or too many over-enthusiastic match-making mates’ girlfriends. Either way, it needs to be efficient, inexpensive and easily done. Like ripping off a bandaid. The Welcome Hotel, much like its name, is a friendly little pub with great ‘gastropub’ style dining so you know you’ll at least get a good meal out of it. It’s not too sceney, not too cool and not too ‘swanky’ impressive if you don’t want to encourage her. It’s casual and good enough to achieve just that – a friendly, casual date with a nice little outdoor area out the back. It’s a favourite with the Balmain locals and if you go on Monday trivia night, you might just make a few new friends and have a better time than expected.

5. The best friend date

She used to be a mate so you hung out at the same places. Now there’s something more and you’re stuck trying to find somewhere new and different without being too contrived, changing the dynamic and making it weird. Darlo Bar is a great spot because it’s like hanging out in your loungeroom. It’s cool enough with retro-kitsch finishes and an upstairs astro-turf courtyard area to make it something a bit funkier than your average pub-on-the-corner. There’s a solid range of beers on tap so if she was already one of your good mates before you considered waking up next to her, she’ll be appreciative too.