These are the best (and worst) days of the week for a first date

It’s one thing actually matching with someone you’re interested in on a dating apps like Hinge or Bumble, but it’s quite another setting up a date.

Amongst the many logistics (who is organising the date, and where on earth are you going?), you need to decide what day you’re actually meeting which, let’s face it, is a bit of a minefield.

Is a Tuesday too boring? Is a Friday a waste of a weekend night if the date’s a fail? And who can be bothered to go out on a Monday anyway?

Millennial guru and author Dolly Alderton recently shared that you should never arrange a first day on a Friday or Saturday. Her reason being that you don’t want to ‘let your romantic expectations of a stranger dictate the shape of your weekend.’

Instead, the Everything I Know About Love writer, suggested ‘a drink on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday that could potentially turn into a dinner’.

We asked on X – and at Metro HQ – and the response was a mixed bag.

‘Wednesday gets my vote!’ said one user. ‘It’s before the weekend vibes set in, so you don’t look too committed or free of other offers. Monday is too keen to meet, and Tuesday is a nice prep, ‘what shall I wear’, decider day.’

‘My personal rule is no first dates between Thursday and Saturday,’ said one Metro writer.

‘I quite like a Sunday. It implies an early night (so no sex), and I try to arrange it near to where I live, so I can get home easily.’

Meanwhile, others went against Dolly’s wise words, and favoured the prime real estate of Friday or Saturday. ‘I think weekends work best,’ said another commenter. ‘You’ve got more time to spend with them.’

But this idea got quashed by one Metro writer. ‘There is absolutely no way I’m wasting a Saturday night with a stranger that I may never see again.’ Fair point.

The dating app, Thursday, has some pretty clear feelings. The app encourages singles to set dates up on – you guessed it – a Thursday, calling it the ‘day for dating’, leaving them the rest of the week to ‘spend time on you.’

So is there a definitive answer? Dating expert for Match, Hayley Quinn, says some days are better than others.

She told Metro.co.uk: ‘Aim for a Wednesday or Thursday evening, or a Sunday brunch.

‘Friday or Saturday nights are likely to be saved for socialising with friends and not seen as worth spending on a first date.

‘Mondays and Tuesdays are also out, as people usually won’t want a late night or to get out of their routine too early in the week.’

Hayley says it’s all about the mid-week date.

‘Rather than suggesting a night where your date is likely to have other plans, aim for a mid-week evening date instead. Then if there’s no spark, you can always blame an early start the next day to keep the date short and sweet.’

But if your week days are choc-a-bloc, try some tactical weekend brunches instead.

‘On the weekends, brunch dates can work well, as these are usually in the late morning and allow people a lie-in, but are early enough not to clash with other plans,’ says Hayley.

‘If the date goes well, then there’s also the opportunity to extend it later into the day.’

So there you have it. And if the date’s a bust, at least you’ll know the day of the week wasn’t to blame.

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