Single-friendly Dates You Can Take Yourself On

They’re great for your wallet, too!

‘Tis the season to celebrate being “self-partnered,” as Emma Watson would say. If you refuse to Netflix your way through another night of solitude, here are some solo-friendly date ideas wherein small talk and rigorous socializing can be avoided. You’re welcome!

Attend a film screening. 

Whether you’re trying to complete all Oscar Best Picture noms or just want to catch some lesser-known flicks, Manila has an abundance of theaters, big and small. Try screening your next movie at a micro-cinema like Cinema ‘76 Film Society with daily and weekly releases pioneering the best of Filipino cinema—mainstream and indie—plus some foreign titles, too.

Find Cinema ‘76 in Anonas (3/F Anonas LRT City Center, Aurora Boulevard, Quezon City) and San Juan (160 Luna Mencias St., Barangay Addition Hills, San Juan City).

Take yourself on a reading date. 

Catch up on your reading backlog at your favorite café. Need ideas? Because Coffee by Harlan + Holdan, Elephant Grounds or %Arabica are worth revisiting. Pick up your next reading material at these under-the-radar, independent bookstores: Bookay Ukay, Solidaridad Bookshop and Kwago. Why not purchase secondhand copies in need of a new home at Book Sale? Or, you know, just stay in and snuggle with a warm cup of hot chocolate. Make the most of this chilly weather before summer rolls in.

Go museum-hopping. 

Museum-hopping is best done alone! Fully immerse yourself in the local art scene by spending a full afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, National Museum of the Philippines, NCCA Gallery, Yuchengco Museum and Ateneo Art Gallery. 

Catch some live music. 

A hidden jazz cafe in the city? Yes, please! The newly-renovated Tago Jazz Cafe in Cubao is every music aficionado’s haven. Known as the only true jazz club in the country, catch live performances from the best of the jazz scene in the country. See their full line-up of performers on Instagram and Facebook.

Visit Tago at 14 Main Ave., Cubao, Quezon City.