We’re reformed adventure daters. 

Living in an urban environment, the opportunities for mind-blowing experiences abound. It feels like one of our favorite music artists is always in town or there’s a guest lecture at one of our top local universities. Thanks to this, our date night calendar stayed packed to the brim for years. 

So it was pretty surprising to figure out we’d lost connection and stopped communicating. 

Looking at the date night schedule for clues, it hit me. We were getting sitters and paying money to rush from dinner to events where we sat or stood next to each other, taking in the same experience but not getting the full ability to decompress and talk. 

We still love sharing those experiences, but it’s become a bigger priority to make sure we’re getting time out of the house to hang out as friends and talk about life in a bigger way than what’s on deck for the next few days. 

I wasn’t until we wrote out our favorite ways to step out together these days that we realized they were all well under $100! 

The 10 Best Dates in Dallas Under $100

1. White Rock Lake

   I’m a little partial to White Rock Lake since we celebrated our wedding there 10 years ago next week. We try to do one thing with the lake around this time of year to bring back those memories, and it feels like each one is better than the last! We’ve canoed and paddle boarded with White Rock Paddle Company, rented a tandem bike through Richardson Bike Mart, brought our own bikes out for a spin countless times and just parked and walked around.

2. Great American Hero and a Park Bench

   The best cold food experience in Dallas is at Great American Hero (best hot food is Maple and Motor, we’ll get deeper into that on a different day). I tripe dog dare you not to have a great time at the Hero. We love to pick up from there (they have gluten-free bread and will make any sandwich into a salad as well), add two of their massive iced teas and some Zapp’s, find a park bench and shoot the breeze. This is even better when the bench is one of the many along the trail around White Rock Lake!

3. Concerts at The Granada Theater

   Why are these the best? There’s nothing better to me than rolling up here in a pair of cut off shorts and sneakers and enjoying the jams and beautiful space. We might stay the whole show or take some breaks on the front patio. Tickets are always priced where it can be a fun, flexible night.

4. Oak Cliff

   We love to grab drinks at the new ultra 7-11 at Sylvan Ave and I-30 (they have organic Slurpees?!) then cruise over to Lula B’s Oak Cliff and browse their treasures. Everything in there is a new childhood memory to share with your partner or conversation starter. For nearby food, we love Tacos Mariachi, Lockhart BBQ or Chicken Scratch!

5. Royal China Noodle Bar

   Even without drinking much from the bar, I love a counter seat experience at restaurants! The noodle bar at Royal China can’t be beat for me. I love filling up there, maybe swinging by Steel City Pops a few doors down and then going across the street to Interabang Books (which always puts me over the $100 mark for the evening – you’ve been warned!).

6. Deep Ellum Dancing

   This is the date night spot for weirdo parents, and we are here for it. Shows at the new Dallas Comedy House, burgers and tots from Easy Slider (at the bar of course), dancing at Off the Record or Beauty Bar and one last stop at RocketFizz for some candy on the ride home.

7. Founder’s Plaza Observation Area

   This is the best place in Dallas to sit and watch planes coming and going from DFW airport. It’s fun with kids during the day, but better just the two of you at night with take out.

8. Flow and a Show in Mockingbird Station

   One time we went to a CorePower Yoga class together (I love their C2 classes), followed by showers there and walking next door to see a movie at The Angelika Theater in our sweats. I love movies, but find the ones at Angelika to be particularly conversation starting (our most recent fave there was The Biggest Little Farm.) Popcorn counts as dinner y’all! And Pure Milk & Honey downstairs is delicious frozen yogurt sweetened only with honey from the local, incredible Bonton Farms.

9. Sunday Meditation and Brunch

   One of the most recent and best dates we’ve done is have a sitter come around 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. Our daughter got to linger and play in pajamas while we headed out to a meditation class (The Refuge Meditation is a great spot in Dallas!) and stopped to get some breakfast before heading home. Between the early start and meditation, we were rolling in the ideas and vision for our family by brunch time! Our favorite brunch spot that feels like getting out of town is Zaguan.

10. Dinner Out on a Weeknight!

    Anywhere. Tell me I have a mid-week break with no cooking and no kid’s bedtime routine and my date night standards go down significantly. We love Taco Joint, TJ’s Seafood or Hopdoddy. Anywhere in an area where we can take a leisurely stroll back to our car is a plus!

    What are your favorite date night spots in Dallas? Add them below in the comments!

    And here’s an adults-only playlist from us to you to play on your date! These are our favorite songs about love to inspire the feeling and conversations around it during your time together. Follow our Spotify channel if you want to see more of our playlists!