Our Favorite Date Night Destinations

Happy Valentine’s Day! In the spirit of the biggest “date night” of the year, I’m sharing our favorite destinations for a dinner date. I have a few local spots and a few chain restaurants, so hopefully you’ll find some inspiration for wherever you live! 

#1 Casual Dining: Carolina Ale House (Greenville, SC)

Whitney’s (current*) Favorite: Beer Battered Fish and Chips or Caribbean Fish Tacos (but this pizza was also amazing!)

This is a loud restaurant with lots of TVs and, obviously, a bar atmosphere. It’s still a great place for a casual date night, especially when there’s a game that Paul wants to see. I get to eat out and he gets to watch his game!

*The only thing about Carolina Ale House is that their menu changes about once a year. More than once I’ve gone in with the intent to order a specific item only to discover it’s no longer available. The rest of the menu is good enough to keep us coming back anyway! 

#2 Downtown Dining:  Smoke On The Water (Greenville, SC)

Whitney’s Favorite: Jack Daniel’s Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

We love to pop in here after an evening of strolling the streets downtown – even though they offer a full menu, their desserts keep me coming back for more!

#3 Special Events: Soby’s New South Cuisine (Greenville, SC)

Whitney’s Favorite: Crab Cakes

Soby’s is a great place for a special meal! I love that they offer a twist on Southern cuisine that’s delicious and enticing to me and to my picky eater husband. Their fried chicken is amazing! We’ve also enjoyed their Sunday brunch buffet!

#4 Our place for Mexican: Mr. Salsa Mexican (4800 Wade Hampton Blvd., Taylors, SC 29687)

Whitney’s Favorites: Chicken Chimichanga OR Loaded Chicken Nachos

Everyone needs a go-to Mexican restaurant, and this is ours. I’ve been eating here for at least 10 years and have always had great food and quick service!

#5 Our Favorite Chain: Texas Roadhouse

For our first meal as a married couple, we ate at Texas Roadhouse in Gatlinburg. Over the past 7 years we’ve celebrated quite a few birthdays, anniversaries and special events here!

I also have to include this one because we’ve had some memorably UNpleasant dates here, too. I can think of more than one occasion when we had a fight, exchanged words or said, “Can we not do this here?!” over a Roadhouse steak.

Going on dates with your spouse doesn’t keep your relationship from having struggles. In fact, there’s no guarantee that anything you do will give you a happily ever after. Marriage isn’t perfect because people aren’t perfect.

Going on dates with your spouse is a way to keep saying “yes” to your relationship. It’s a choice to put energy, thought, love and intention into the person you vowed to love until death parts you. If that means you have to fight back tears over a steak once and a while, so be it. It’s worth it! Chances are, you’ll find that you end up with a lot more happy memories than unpleasant ones. Marriage works!

So, where is your favorite dinner date location? Do you have a go-to Mexican place?