Welcome back to The Date Edit, our running series of ready-made date plans for queer women (and allies) who want a great day out without overplanning it into the ground. This is the version for when you want the night to feel intentional, a tight route, strong choices, and no frantic “where next?” decision-making mid-date.
This one’s set in London, but make it expensive, not loud-expensive, not influencer-expensive, just proper luxury vibes. Think hotel-bar lighting, beautiful rooms, cocktails made by people who take ice seriously (who doesn’t, am I right?) and dinner that feels like an event without you having to do a single bit.
Vibe: Quiet luxury, excellent lighting
Area: Mayfair / St James’s / Soho (tight radius, no painful travel)
Best For: An expensive evening date
Budget: ££££
Length: 4–6 hours
The First Drink Thing
The Connaught Bar
Start here because it does the work for you. The room is sleek, the energy is calm-but-serious, and the martini trolley is basically foreplay for people who like nice things.
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Go early-ish to avoid the worst of the queue energy. Order a martini (obviously), or something spirit-forward if you want to feel like you have a personal relationship with Mayfair. You can gaze into eachothers eyes whilst you think about your bank balance.
Price: £££
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The Second Drink Thing
Bar Termini (Soho)
This is your little pivot: smaller and more fun. Bar Termini is tiny, Italian, and very good at making you feel like you’re in on sa little secret. The cocktails are serious but not theatrical, and the atmosphere makes it easy to slide into flirtier territory, you’ll probably still be buzzing off your cocktail or two at Connaught bar, so flirting should come easy.
Order something classic, they do them well here, or go off menu and make it look like you know a thing or two about cocktails.
Price: £££
The Main Event Thing
Gymkhana
Gymkhana is a high-end Indian restaurant in Mayfair that takes its cues from North Indian cooking (with some wider regional touches) and wraps it in a “Indian members’ club” style room, polished service, low light, very tight execution.
It’s also Michelin-recognised (currently listed in the Michelin Guide), and the guide specifically calls out the menu as predominantly Northern Indian, with standout dishes including tandoori masala lamb chops and kid goat methi keema.
Book ahead. This is not a “see if they have a table” situation unless you enjoy unnecessary stress and rejection.
Price: ££££
If It Goes Well
DUKES Bar
DUKES Bar is the tiny, old-school cocktail bar inside DUKES London, best known for very cold, very strong martinis served with a bit of tableside ritual (they wheel over a trolley and make it in front of you). It’s classic hotel-bar energy, low lighting, intimate, and we suggest you use your inside voice, so it works brilliantly for a date, but it also means it can feel tight when it’s busy and you may have to wait as it’s walk-in.
It’s often linked to Ian Fleming and the whole Bond-adjacent martini mythology, which is basically the vibe in one sentence. Order the martini (gin or vodka, tell them how dry), dress smart casual, and aim for earlier in the evening if you want to avoid hovering.
Price: ££££
Wrap Up/Bonus Round
The American Bar at The Savoy
The American Bar at The Savoy is pure classic London: old-school glamour, excellent bartending, and that slightly surreal feeling of being somewhere that’s been doing it longer than most people have been alive. It’s a strong final stop when you want the night to end on something polished, because even a simple drink feels like a proper full stop rather than an afterthought. Go later, keep the pace steady, and treat it as one last drink you’ll actually remember, not the beginning of a second night.
Price: ££££
See you next time for the next instalment of The Date Edit.
Nonchalant x
Babs heads up Logistics and Product here at Nonchalant Magazine.
