The Print Room at 21, Covent Garden

Sipping away on ice cold refreshments whilst overlooking the frenzy of Covent Garden is a London must; be it watching the street performers during the day or rickshaws weaving through the crowds in the evening. For most tourists, this experience is undertaken at the overpriced and overcrowded Punch and Judy pub. The cooler and less mainstream option is literally a stone's throw away, The Print Room at 21.

Entering through a ground floor kitchen (bear with us), which finding is an achievement in itself, up the narrow staircase is a small, yet lively cocktail bar. Although a DJ plays monotonous and meaningless funky house music more akin to a Euro nightclub during the evenings, and finding your way to the bar is much like navigating the maze at Hampton Court Palace, the narrow balcony overlooking the South West corner of the market more than makes up for it.

Head straight to the bar and order your cocktail of choice (doubles are standard at this bar, although location considered the prices are not heart attack-inducing) before climbing out onto the balcony and perching on a high stool. Chat away whilst the night passes by before descending back to earth and disappearing into the London night, date in tow!

Take note too, that there is a restaurant at 21 for the less price-cautious; with the option of eating top-class Italian food on the terrace. We at the daterbase, however, think this is far too cliché for a Covent Garden date. And anyway, we hate pigeons loitering around for our leftovers.

Bedford & Strand, Covent Garden

It's hard to hide anything in Covent Garden. Bedford & Strand, however, is not immediately visible to the untrained eye. Its location, atmosphere and classic French bistro decor make it ideal for an after-work date with a difference in the West End.

Taking its naming convention from across the Atlantic, Bedford & Strand is situated (not quite) on the corner of Bedford St and the Strand. It's easy to miss it. Only a black doorway and a relatively inconspicuous sign give away the location of this quasi-wine bar. Head down the narrow stairwell and there's a faint feeling of being transported to the a cobbled back street in the heart of Paris. 

The decor is simple yet effective. If you book ahead, your table will be situated away from the busy bar, but the size if this place means you are never too far away from the hustle and bustle. Although not overly expensive, the menu has enough to offer for both the adventurous and the reserved, but the real winner here is the wine list. 

As any good Parisian bistro should, Bedford & Strand have made wine their focal point. The list recommends each white and red according to price, and guides the novice (and the more experienced wine bore, too) as to where your choice is reliable, honest, decent or good. What's more, every wine on the list is available by the glass, carafe (500ml) or bottle - meaning neither you nor your date will have to make sacrifices if your tipples of choice don't agree.

Despite successfully avoiding the tourists and theatre-goers that restaurants in this area attract (well, almost), Bedford & Strand is particularly popular with the after-work crowd. If you've booked ahead, the hordes shouldn't be a problem, but the bar does sometimes become overcrowded. In fact, it would be hard to spend an entire evening in here before the waiters politely ask you to move from your table. Don't let this put you off, though, Bedford & Strand makes a great date location even greater. If you do find it a bit too relaxed, or the wait at the bar begins to grind, then luckily only five minutes down the road is the perfect Covent Garden cocktail bar to end your evening in. And the chances are you didn't even know it was there - The Print Room at 21.

Franco Manca, Northcote Rd | Brixton | Chiswick | Others

Brixtonites will be all too familiar with the name Franco Manca. Unofficially voted by foodies as London's best pizza year-on-year, this Brixton Market fixture was London's worst-kept secret for a long time. Indeed, the owners were surely missing a trick by maintaining just one branch and only opening at lunchtimes during the week. Supply was falling well short of the demand this place was attracting.

But fear not, branches soon popped up in Chiswick, Clapham Junction and Westfield Stratford and the doors stayed open into the evening. OK, so yes this is another quasi-"chain" restaurant that we have steadfastly steered clear of in the past, but this place is too good to leave out.

We could go on and on about how the sourdough base is left to rise for twenty hours before baking, or how the tomatoes are all sourced directly from Italy's Amalfi Coast and picked only during the months of July and August; but we would be doing the taste of these pizzas an injustice. You simply have to try these for yourself. 

The owners have managed to keep the Brixton Market atmosphere alive in all of its branches. Long, church pew-style seating and a strict no booking policy mean that yes, there are sometimes queues to get through the door; but once the smell from the great wood ovens has wafted through you will be salivating too much to notice the waiting time.

You won't want to spend all evening in here, and nor will the waiting staff allow you to as they rush to get customers through the door, but your short stay will be surprisingly calming and enjoyable despite the relative mayhem of the busy restaurant - making this the perfect place to begin a first date or meet for a quick after-work bite. We recommend wolfing down your pizza and cold glass of wine as fast as you can and heading onto The Draft House or The Goat to rest your full stomachs and revel in the beauty of this ideal relaxed date venue. You'll be pleasantly surprised with the price, too!

The Draft House, Northcote Rd | Battersea | Others

We're not usually ones to recommend or review chain restaurants and bars here at the daterbase. We feel we'd lose some credibility (oh, what little we have) if we were to tell you about a "cute little Starbucks on the Strand", or "Putney's secret beauty, Pizza Express". That said, we don't feel like we're breaking our own rules by telling you about this small group or independent, American-style pubs. OK, so we're not reinventing the wheel or revealing a cure for the common cold by recommending the Draft House. They have, after all, been in existence since 2006, with this Northcote Rd version opening its doors in 2009); but this place is a first date gem.

Let's get the negatives out of the way first. It does appear that the Draft House is suffering from a minor identity crisis. Not quite sure whether to pitch itself as a classy pub serving decent food, or a restaurant with a strong and healthy drinks menu, you do get the impression that it is somewhat hogging the middle ground. But we're not trying to be AA Gill here. And yes, it gets busy; Sunday afternoons attract young parents and their children and large groups of branching twenty-somethings, meaning finding a table or popping in for a bite to eat are almost impossible without booking ahead. But the evenings are when this place really comes into its own.

The Draft House specialises in beer (the clue's in the name) and it boasts a vast array of eclectic and adventurous bottled and cask ales from micro breweries you might have heard of, and some you definitely won't. What's more, they sell draft beers by the third of a pint (perfect for sampling) meaning you won't be forced to nurse your way through a pint of the liquid equivalent of school dinner semolina whilst your date sips away on their much better choice. But don't be put off by the onslaught of beers as you walk through the door. The bar staff are friendly and knowledgeable and will help you make the right choice. If, however, beer is just not for you (perhaps you shouldn't be in a pub called the Draft House in the first place), but the small yet solid wine list is a more than satisfactory substitute. 

The food is better than standard pub fare, too. Burgers, steaks and hotdogs dominate the menu, reminding you of the Draft House's American influence, but there is more than enough choice to keep you and your date happy. If you do decide to eat here, the side orders are a real winner - the mac 'n' cheese really hit the spot for us (we obviously felt we were lacking in carbohydrates from our monster burger in a bun and chips). The Northcote Rd venue also has a nice secluded dining area at the back and if you can bag a table on one of the Draft House's quieter evenings, it would make a perfect haven in which to impress your date; but pulling a chair up to the bar will feel nearly as private and will provide a more informal atmosphere to your evening. 

However, better still, eat in one of Nothcote Rd's other restaurants (The Thai, Franco Manca and KaoSarn are our current favourites) and call in here to nurse your full stomachs with a pint or two of real ale.

Of course, it is a beer lovers pub, and you will enjoy this place much more if you dig your craft beers, but the atmosphere here means it is a must for any Northcote Rd date. Oh, and go here soon. The owner has revealed his plans to have fifteen Draft Houses in the capital by 2015; and you know our thoughts on chain bars!

Pix-Bar, Neal St | Soho | Upper St

Pix-Bar is a daterbase icon. In our opinion, it is one of the finest first date venues in the whole of London; it is hard not to use every superlative imaginable when describing this place!

Imagine yourself on a first date with someone you have been trying hard to impress for weeks. You want to be seen to be making an effort, but don't want to appear to be trying too hard to find the perfect venue. Forget, then, delusions of grandeur at the Ritz jazz bar, or London's best afternoon tea at the Goring and book a table at Pix-Bar.

With locations on Neal St, Bateman St in Soho and a smaller, quieter restaurant on Upper St in Islington, Pix-Bar is not a traditional sit-down, stuffy restaurant. Instead, you may choose to sit at one of the small (and somewhat cosy) tables designed for two, or you may find yourself perched on the high, counter-style tables in the back. OK, so sat side-by-side with your date might not be the ideal situation to impress them with your smoky eyes, or soulful stares but trust us, this is the only negative Pix-Bar has to offer.

The food itself takes inspiration from Spanish tapas bars - or to be more precise, from the pinxto bars of Barcelona and San Sebastián (tip: don't use this fact on your date, it takes no more than a quick Google search to find out; your research should be more thorough!) Small plates of individually speared Basque meats and cheeses fill the bar, and you are invited - nay, encouraged - to keep going back until your stomachs are as full as a Flamenco dancer's bra. We recommend anything with the Iberico jamon and the calamari; but you shouldn't blindly follow our lead here. Take as many as you can carry and head back to your table. Order a reasonably priced bottle of Spanish red wine from the friendly and effortlessly cool bar staff and dig in.

Of course, tapas food lends itself perfectly to a first date setting (unless that is, you find yourself dating Joey from Friends), so break the ice by offering your date a taste off your plate or, if you're feeling brave, lean across and pick an olive or two from your date. Close your eyes and you could be in one of the great squares in Barcelona thanks to the Spanish-themed ambience music (hipsters also take note as last time we visited, album tracks from The Smiths and The Rolling Stones were randomly interspersed) and the low hum of chitter-chatter from the other guests.

And how does the food taste? Well, in the current world of "posh fast food" in a relaxed, informal setting, Pix-Bar can genuinely count itself as one of the first and the best. Whereas some venues are trying too hard to be alternative, Pix-Bar hits the nail on the head - meaning your date won't feel like you have brought them to a recently-refurbished Burger King or the back room of the Dog and Duck, but transported them to the Basque back-streets; and who could forget that first date? You are already onto a winner...

Pix-Bar might not win any culinary awards or Michelin stars for its food, nor will wine connoisseurs be overly impressed by the wine list, but Pix is much more than the sum of its parts. Take the food, the wine and the cocktails, add in an atmosphere like no other and a variety of excellent locations and you have yourself a recipe for success. So, what are you waiting for? Find a date and book a table...now!

Gordon's Wine Bar, Embankment (short)

Gordon's is a great meet-point for an after-work date, yet equally as great as an end-point of a central midweek dinner date before heading home on the last tube. Better still, it is perfect walking distance from the daterbase icons of Covent Garden (21, Bedford & Strand and even Pix-Bar) - making it the ideal meeting venue for you and your date.

If you haven't been before, or at least heard of Gordon's Wine Bar then there is a good chance you have been out of the country for decades or have recently suffered a traumatic head injury. But fear not, it's time to emerge from the shadows of the rock you have been living under and head down to Villiers St.

The terrace makes the ideal setting for sipping away on your choice of hundreds of wines come rain or shine, but the real romance lies in the dark, murky cellar bar. If you're lucky enough to bag a table here (it turns out this place is pretty popular) then cast your mind back to Victorian London, grab a couple of half-bottles of wine to share and head through the arches to discuss your evening's plans or review that night's date! Just don't touch the walls inside...

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the daterbase. We're by no means operating at our maximum potential just yet, but to whet your appetite for the reviews and template date nights to come we thought we'd get the blog up and running.

We aim to provide a genuine London date database. Somewhere you can come for inspiration ahead of a first, or one hundred and first date. London has thousands of potential cosy restaurants, romantic walks and quiet corners of pubs. Of course, we can't review all of them, but we think the recommendations we provide will make that date a memorable one. Don't blindly follow our word; string a few together and make it a night to remember, or better still, use some of the template dates we have come up with ourselves.

We're genuinely interested in your feedback and your own recommendations too, so if you think there is something we can do to make the daterbase better, or you have found a perfect venue that we haven't, then get in touch via Twitter, (@thedaterbase); Facebook (www.facebook.com/thedaterbase) or through the website. You can also follow us on Pinterest (thedaterbase) or get in touch via old fashioned email at contact.daterbase@gmail.com.

Enjoy the blog, and happy dating!