Being put in charge of date night is stressful. You have to think of venues, timings, how to make the night special. But here’s how you can create the easiest stress-free date night ever and make the date night come to you with Uber Eats.
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Christina and I love a date night. It’s the perfect excuse to go out and spend some time and money just on us; no need to feel guilty about not being sociable.
But no matter how much we enjoy a date night together, the planning and logistics of going out for a night can put you off.
Choosing a restaurant, booking a table (if they even take bookings!), working out how to get there and back, who’s driving, where to park… let’s face it: it’s a buzz-killer.
But what if you don’t need to even leave the house?
We decided to make the restaurant come to us and create a movie-themed date night at home.
Here’s how our plan worked out:
How to create a stress-free date night at home
1. Download the Uber Eats app
Simple enough first step – made even easier when I discovered that if you already have an Uber account, the Uber Eats app links up. You don’t have to put any extra details in.
If you don’t have the Uber or Uber Eats app yet, make sure you use our special discount code “dgvlf” for a discount on your first Uber ride or Uber Eats meal.
You can download the Uber Eats app for iPhones and iPads here or for Android devices here.
2 Choose a movie to watch
However you watch your films – Netflix, Foxtel or from your personal collection at home – pick an old favourite you both enjoy or new one from a genre you’re both likely to appreciate.
If you can find a film with a clear cultural connection, it makes it easier to match the food to the film.
You can even have a bit of fun with making the food and film connection – as you’ll see from some of our suggestions below.
3. Choose what you want to eat
Scroll through the options on the Uber Eats app to look for what’s available nearby. You can search for food in a few different ways on the mobile app but with the desktop version, you can search for food type, which makes things easier.
We cheated a little bit here and did things the other way round:
We knew we wanted Japanese food, so we built the date night and film around dinner rather than the entertainment.
We’ve always loved Japanese food – Christina always says that if she were only allowed to eat one type of food for the rest of her life, it’d be Japanese cuisine.
4. Set up your evening
Maybe you want a more formal meal setting up to the table with silverware and napkins. Maybe a living room picnic is more your thing tonight. It’s up to you, but remember that setting the scene is as important for a romantic evening as the food or the film.
A bit of effort preparing the evening makes for a more memorable date night.
For our Japanese picnic, I got us a bottle of sake to enjoy with dinner and Christina found some flowers that look a bit like the sakura – the Japanese cheery blossoms.
Also consider if you want to eat and watch the movie at the same time or one after the other.
You can even arrange for the food to come halfway through the film. This will help you structure the evening.
5. Plate up
Rather than the usual feeding frenzy that usually happens when home delivery arrives, take your time and unpack the food. Putting things in bowls or on plates gives the meal more of a restaurant feel.
Date night planning made easy
Pick one of these great meal-movie combos for your next night in.
As you can see, we’ve included a couple of funny/left field options – it’s always important not to take yourself too seriously. Have some fun with your date nights. It’s what they’re meant for.
The best food-film combos
Order Japanese for a ramen romance and watch:
- Lost in Translation
- Jiro Dreams of Sushi or
- My Neighbour Totoro
Get Indian and curry some favour with:
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
- The Darjeeling Limited or
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Go Italian/pizza for some home Rome-ance with:
- Roman Holiday
- Dolce Vita or
- Da Vinci Code: Angels and Demons
Have Thai for a date night in the Land of Smiles and watch:
- The Beach
- Anna and the King or
- The Hangover Part II
For our Japanese picnic, we decided to watch Lost in Translation with Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray. Everyone loves a bit of Murray and seeing Tokyo on screen again brought back lots of memories of our visits to Japan.
What food-film combo would you go for? Do you have a favourite cuisine you could eat forever? Tell us in the comments.
