romance on a budget

[gumdrops]

has this thread been done before? im sure it has. but i cant find it.

how can i look like i have money to spend without actually having it? (ie what places can i take a girl to without me/the place looking cheap, despite being a pauper)

london can be bloody expensive.

i might have to style it out with offers of cooking a nice meal at home and pre-prepared picnics. or explain that im doing a special kind of diet which means i can only share one dish between two.

 

[Dr Awesome]

<Joke about the cost of roofies>

If she likes you she'll like you irrespective of the amount of money you have to flash around.
Obviously that's easy to say, and you clearly want to impress her.
You shouldn't take her to any form of restaurant that you haven't been to before if that's what you're looking for. Just go somewhere local that you know (even if it's just some franchised type Mexican place or whatever).
Besides if it's only the first you've gone out with her she should probably be paying for herself anyway.

Personally I'd take that route before cooking a meal.

 

[BareBones]

there's a little thai restaurant in brockley (if you're round that way) called Smiles which is bring your own booze and well cheap, but like the best thai you've ever had. great place for a date i reckon.

also, vouchers are your friend. you can get loads of restaurant vouchers on the internet. ok they're always for big chain restaurants like la tasca or pizza express or whatever, and you might feel like a tight bastard pulling out some vouchers on a first date or whatever, but me and my missus use 'em all the time, it's an easy way to eat out on the cheap. and la tasca's not that bad really.

 

[gumdrops]

forgot about vouchers.

we were going out last year, stopped, but have have picked things up again. so no first/second date pressure, we do always go halves, i just dont feel i can regularly spend shit loads at the moment.

 

[baboon2004]

I was just gonna say 'rohypnol', but I see that's not the question being asked.

There's tons of cheap restaurants in London that serve incredible food. Anyways, if she's worried about the place looking cheap (and i'm sure that isn't the case, rather that you're just being a little paranoid), then she's not worth bothering with.

 

[alex]

and la tasca's not that bad really.

yea, they are really nice Mr Bones, Especially enjoy the meatball dishes they do, and the chicken, and the wine is really good in comparison with other chain restaurants.

I am having the same sort of problem at the moment, my girlfriends birthday is coming up and I am having a hard time raising the funds to buy her something nice, so I’m just gonna keep it simple and cook her a meal (what yet I don’t know, so would like some simple recommendations, as I am such a bad cook) Get a polaroid camera, and some film, cause I can make these photo holders for Polaroids with a simple clay weight, just a bit bigger than a £2 coin, however before it drys, stick a crocodile clip in it, so that it can hold photo’s up. Paint it a nice colour or give it a nice design and voila!

Also was going to make her a fruit salad for after the meal and try my hand at a birthday cake. There is also a really decent (and cheap) florist’s near my house so I am going to visit there the day before and get her a bunch (of fives ) plus you got sites like moonpig that do cheap cards with free delivery etc and card factory is really good for like souvenir type female things.

Got to think of some more stuff though, that is pretty weak looking back on it.

 

[alex]

Was also going to suggest http://www.nmm.ac.uk/visit/planetarium-shows/ if your date is interested in space or the night sky? Even if she isn’t, it’s probably a great show.

Oh and incase the prices to go are really expensive, sorry, I couldn’t find them whilst looking just now.

 

[martin]

If it's any consolation, I had way more interest from girls when I had 70p in my pocket than I ever did in full time work. You need to channel the spirit of the workshy poet dandy, not apologise for being a bit short. Also, anyone can take someone out to dinner, everyone does it, it's really boring and I don't think it earns you a massive amount of kudos anyway.

Here's the solution - just get her to pay for you. Don't beg, or thank her - remind her that it's only a matter of time 'til you become a man of wealth, due to your art / writing / dubstep tunes / programming skills / promotion to senior account executive, etc etc. I mean, if she really wants to go somewhere fancy, it's only polite for her to tide you over until you're back on your feet.

Just two things, 1) NEVER send a Moonpig card, these are only to be used to prank friends and work colleagues 2) don't take her to KFC.