Best date spots: Flatiron, Gramercy and Murray Hill

By Time Out editors Mon Feb 4 2013

Best date spots by NYC neighborhood

Ciano
Photograph: Allison Michael Orenstein

Eataly
Museum of Sex
Photograph: Bex Wade

Peoples Improv Theater

Ciano

RECOMMENDED: More best date spots by neighborhood

Ciano

This snug restaurant features three dining areas; we’re partial to the main one, outfitted with a romantic chandelier and a bright fireplace that’s used to warm focacce, ciabatte and pizzas before they’re served. Chef Shea Gallante, formerly of Cru, oversees the menu, plus a rotating selection of daily specials.

45 E 22nd St (between Broadway and Park Ave South)

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Eataly

Pick up provisions for a home-cooked Italian meal at Mario Batali’s massive retail-restaurant complex. You can also choose from a variety of on-site eateries, including Michael Toscano’s steak-centric space, Manzo, and La Birerria, a huge, beautiful beer garden and rustic eatery on the roof.

200 Fifth Ave, (between 23rd and 24th Sts)

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Museum of Sex (MoSex)

Explore this institution’s collection of titillating photographs, vibrators, films, sculptures and all manner of erotic and outlandish ephemera while exchanging coy, subtextual glances. If you’re heading back to one of your apartments afterward, stop by the institution’s souvenir shop and pick up a set of Sex! Dice to liven up the rest of the evening.

233 Fifth Ave, (at 27th St)

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Peoples Improv Theater

Drum up enough fodder for several more dates of inside jokes by enjoying a night of comedy at the PIT. Grab a beer from the bar and settle in at the proscenium or black-box theater to watch sketch and improv groups do their thing. The shows are all either cheap or free—and reliably funny—so you pretty much can’t lose.