The Complete Guide to Romantic Things to Do, Eat & Experience

Grab a slice of Detroit style pizza!

A trip to Buddy’s is much more than any old pizza dinner date. At Buddy’s, you and your date can experience the original Detroit style pizza: square, crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. Avoid any couple’s arguments and stuff yourself to your content on your own personal pizzas.

Ice skate your way through Downtown Detroit

Nothing says winter romance more than ice skating hand-in-hand with your love (or in my case, trying gracefully not to drag him down). At Campus Martius Park, you can enjoy outdoor ice skating from November through March, while taking in the sights of downtown Detroit.

Get hands on at the Detroit Institute of Arts

The Detroit Institute of Arts is a much-loved downtown icon. Put a unique spin on your DIA visit and attend a Friday night “drawing in the galleries” event. Pull up an easel and sketch alongside your date for a cultured date night in Detroit.

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Sip on something sweet

If you’re thirsty, take your sugar to the Sugar House (and pardon my pun – it had to be done). At Detroit’s premier craft cocktail bar, you can enjoy the Corktown atmosphere alongside a long menu of unusual cocktails and small plates. And if you want to take things to the next level, why not sign up for a mixology class together?

We don’t call it Mootown for nothing

For a fun twist on the old-school “milkshakes and burgers in a diner” date, head to Mercury Burger & Bar in Corktown where you can order boozy milkshakes. Order the Hummer with Kahlua, dark rum and vanilla ice cream, and sit on the patio with an awesome view of Grand Central Station.

Reinvent date night in Detroit in this Hamtramck warehouse

Head over to Hamtramck for a special, and definitely weird, date night in Detroit. What may look like a simple warehouse on the outside, is actually home to a Midwestern revolution: fowling. Have a laugh with your date as you attempt bowling… but with a football!

Tune into your relationship’s energy

In Mexicantown, there hides a small shop where you can get your aura photographed. An aura is believed to be an energetic field surrounding the body, reflecting mood, emotions, life situation, and more. At AURA AURA, sit for a couple’s aura photo with your love. You may find the colors enlightening, and at the very least you’ll come away with a souvenir photo.

A Romantic Paradise
A trip to Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory makes for a romantic and whimsical date in Detroit. The conservatory is located on Belle Isle, and has free entry. With its stunning collection of exotic plants and vibrant flowers, the conservatory offers a beautiful and tranquil setting perfect for leisurely strolls. Spend an afternoon wandering through rare flora and fauna, including one of the country’s most extensive orchid collections. After you're done exploring the lush gardens, enjoy a peaceful picnic on Belle Isle, surrounded by the natural beauty of the island.

There are so many options for an authentic and unique Detroit date night. Choose one of these, or make your own!

The Yard at Corktown

You can spend a whole night at The Yard at Corktown playing a variety of games. It can start sitting down and playing nostalgic board games. Then, it can move outside for some cornhole, or try pinball or shuffleboard. Then, you can finish the night axe throwing with Detroit Axe.

Pewabic Pottery

Pewabic is a historic pottery on Detroit’s east side. You can learn all about it here, but the shop also offers a tile glazing workshop – which is a one-hour ceramic class where you’ll choose your tile design and learn to glaze. You’ll then pick up your pottery at a later date!

Detroit Dye House

In Corktown, Detroit Dye House offers a variety of different experiences. Their Dye Class 101 is a 60-minute experience where you’ll make three things – two to keep and one to give back. It includes a tote bag and then either socks, a tee shirt or other items. They also offer different specialty classes.

AR Workshop

AR Workshop has seven different locations across metro Detroit with different hands-on classes, camps and more. Their workshops involve woodworking, canvas workshops, knit blankets, candle pouring, embroidery and more.

Signal Return

Also on the east side, Signal Return is leading the Detroit revival of letterpress printing—a technology that radically transformed human communication in the 15th century, and an art and a craft appreciated anew in the 21st century. The studio offers different workshops where you can design cards, small posters, block printmaking and much more.

Speckles and Splatter

This art studio in Dearborn has splatter sessions and they encourage you to “let loose” by splattering paint all over a canvas they provide. The sessions are 45 minutes. They also have pottery wheel class in Northville that you can book if splattering paint isn’t your thing.

Garden Bowl

Garden Bowl is a legendary bowling alley in Detroit and has been around for over 100 years. Instead of sitting at a restaurant, try to get a strike on one of their 16 lanes while grabbing a slice of pizza and a drink.

Fowling Warehouse

Fowling (football bowling) was invented by Detroiters and the first Fowling Warehouse is in Hamtramck. You can try your hand at knocking down bowling pins with a football, and see if you can get a “BONK,” which is when you knock down the middle pin by itself and off the board with all other pins standing.

Painting With A Twist

Right in Downtown Detroit is Painting with a Twist, where you can pop-in and create your own painting, or join an event at the studio. You can bring your own drinks to enjoy while painting!

Detroit City Distillery

The distillery located in Eastern Market offers tours on the weekends where you can get a look at the whiskey-making process. They also have a new “build your own bourbon” experience where you create a custom blend of bourbon just for you.

The Damage Zone

Detroit’s first rage room just opened in December and offers what they call “smash therapy.” They have two adult rooms where you can go crazy and destroy whatever you’d like inside the room. If you want to bring kids, they also have a children’s room.

If you’re looking for an upscale date night prior to a show, here are some of the best places to check out!

Prime and Proper
Only a fifteen-minute walk to Fox Theatre and Comerica Park, Prime and Proper offers and upscale, steakhouse setting which is perfect for a dinner date before a show. A “modern interpretation of the classic American Steakhouse” according to their website, Prime and Proper offers premier food, cocktails, beer, and wine. If you’re looking for a modern, upscale steakhouse, try out Prime and Proper. Reservations can be made online, are highly encouraged, and can be made 30 days in advance.

Parc
Roughly a 12-minute walk to the Comerica, Ford Field, the Fillmore, and the Fox Theatre Parc offers an upscale dining experience that combines Midwest tastes with French and Mediterranean influences. Enjoy complex, flavorful dishes, in a contemporary and vibrant atmosphere prior to seeing a show! Reservations can be made online.

London Chop House
About a 20-minute walk to LCA and a 15-minute walk to Comerica Park, the Fox, and other venues in the area, The London Chop House offers upscale dinner, entertainment, a cigar lounge, and cocktails. Proper attire is required, and reservations can be made online. Historically, The London Chop House has been one of the best restaurants in the country throughout the 1900s and today.

Prism
Located in the Hollywood Casino at Greektown is Prism. This is a great place to stop if you’ve booked a room and are staying overnight in the D for a show (or are seeing a show at the casino!). Prism offers a traditional steakhouse menu with seafood options, pasta, lamb, and much more served in a contemporary atmosphere. Reservations can be made online.

Oak and Reel
An upscale Italian restaurant only a fifteen-minute walk to the Fischer Theatre offers tasty dishes, high-end wine, and much more! Oak and Reel offers seating in a beautiful, yet still casual, environment. This is the perfect place to visit before spending an evening at the theatre. Reservations can be made online.

Cliff Bell’s
If you’re looking to enjoy a little music in a jazz club setting prior to seeing a show, then Cliff Bell’s is for you! Less than five minutes to the sports parks and the Fox and only 10 minutes to Little Caesar’s arena, Cliff Bell’s offers dinner, drinks, and dessert, what better place to start your night out? Dine and unwind in a cozy, yet refined atmosphere. Reservations can be made in advance online.

Highlands
Described as a riff on the classic steak house with a large collection of Wine, Highlands is only a 20-minute walk to Comerica Park and the Fox Theatre! Highlands also offers their High Bar which offers a selection of carefully crafted cocktails and high-end liquor. Located in the Renaissance Center, one of Detroit’s most iconic landmarks, enjoy dinner high up for a memorable dining experience. Reservations can be made online.

Table No. 2
Only 20 minutes to LCA and 15 to sports stadiums and other concert venues, Table No. 2 is a fine dining restaurant that can be found in the heart of Detroit. A menu filled with some of the best food around, delectable desserts, and specialty-crafted cocktails, this is a wonderful place to grab dinner and drinks before a show in an upscale fine dining environment. Reservations can be made online and a 20 dollar per person deposit is required which goes towards the price of the bill.