The best cheap date ideas in NYC

If your date can't volley some jokes while gently hitting a plastic ball across the table, well, maybe that's a foul. See if you two hit it off over a game of table tennis at Ping Pod. These 24/7 ping pong pods are popping up all over NYC. Pricing ranges from $15-$50/session depending on demand (be sure to book online in advance).

We recommend trying the Astoria location so that after you've worked up an appetite, you can walk a few blocks to The Freakin Rican for one of the city's best cheap eats: The $4.50 alcapurrias. 

Set you back: $25+

Grab some lunch at 188 Bakery Cuchifritos in the Bronx, a casual lunch counter focusing on all things pork with recipes of Puerto Rican and Dominican provenance. Cuchifritos are the fan-favorite, the standout morcilla (aka blood sausage) in particular, and it'll only cost you a few bucks.

Then, head a few subway stops uptown to the Bronx Museum of the Arts where you can see more than 1,000 works of art and imrpess your date with just how cultured you are. The Bronx Museum of the Arts is always free to visit. 

Set you back: $15

Stroll The High Line with your sweetie, a place of respite among the concrete jungle. While this spot is most popular during the warm months, its fun to visit any time of year. 

Don't miss the rotating works of sculpture and art by different artists every season. Also keep an eye out for free stargazing nights and lively cultural happenings like Latin dance nights. The best part, however, has to be the people watching: Grab a seat on the stairs over looking busy Tenth Avenue and see locals and visitors from all walks of life milling their way about the city.

Set you back: Free

This overrated date night comes in handy, especially when the cost is dirt cheap. Unlike other movie theaters, Syndicated lets you wine and dine while you watch a classic flick. Get this: movie tickets are just $9 apiece. And since the movie is so affordable, you can schmooze your date by splurging on some gourmet popcorn from the concession stand.

Sets you back: $18+

It’s been scientifically proven that nothing in the known universe is more romantic than pie. At Gowanus go-to Four & Twenty Blackbirds, two slices of shop faves like salted apple caramel or grapefruit custard will cost about $12. (Arrive early in the evening, as they tend to sell out.)

Then, fill your head with, you know, actual scientifically proven knowledge at the Bell House for a free dance party or a show like Secret Science Club. Tip: Bring someone geeky to this, lest you seem…like a total geek.

Sets you back: $12

Hold hands as you walk through The Met on a night at the museum together. Become acquainted with each other—and the artwork—during informal drop-in gallery chats, the chance to listen in on gorgeous live music and sip on yummy cocktails.

Events are free with museum admission, which is pay-what-you-wish for New Yorkers.

Budget: It's up to you

No matter how tight your budget, you can still get loose on the dance floor at Park Slope's Union Hall. Keep an eye out for free dance parties, featuring DJs spinning old-school hip-hop crowd pleasers and heavy-hitters at midnight. Check out the drink specials and definitely split a basket of fries ($7) or wings ($13)—served until midnight —before you hit the dance floor.

Sets you back: $20

Enjoy the city’s cheapest booze cruise and panoramic views of lower Manhattan aboard the Staten Island Ferry, where domestic cans are in the $5 range.

Once ashore in Staten Island, take an eight-minute bus ride and tour the grand estates and lovely waterfront grounds of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, originally established as a retirement estate for sailors in 1801. Tickets cost $5/person.

Sets you back: $30

Seeing an outdoorsy guy or gal but don’t have the gas money to drive upstate? Fortunately, there’s ample natural beauty to explore in Van Cortlandt Park. The secluded banks of Van Cortlandt Lake (in the southwest region) are begging for a quiet but passionate make-out session.

Post-smooching, stop by the Van Cortlandt House Museum ($5/person), just west of the lake. Its 1740s stone edifice hosted George Washington twice in the midst of the Revolutionary War, and the current interior features re-creations of furnishings favored by the abode’s namesake, the rich merchant and mayor Jacobus Van Cortlandt.

Sets you back: $10

Secure film-buff status by bringing your date to the Museum of the Moving Image on Thursday from 2-6, when the admission fee is waived. Make sure to fool around at the permanent collection’s sound-editing, dubbing and stop-motion-animation stations before leaving.

Afterward, drink your fill at the charming Irish joint Quays Pub (45-02 30th Ave at 45th St, Astoria) with rounds of Guinness ($5 to $6), poured just as they should be: in two steps, so that a perfect head peeks over the rim.

Sets you back: $22

Start off an evening in Yorkville with an amble through Carl Schurz Park. Make sure to swing by Bobby Wagner Walk, a grand promenade along the East River, and Gracie Mansion (at 88th Street), the official residence of NYC mayors.

Sets you back: Free

The inviting wood-paneling decor and dim lighting at Greenpoint drinking den TØRST make it a hot spot for old-timey romance. After sipping $6 drafts from local faves, head next door to Van Leeuwen Ice Cream for two small ginger, Earl Grey tea or other unconventionally flavored ice creams ($5.50/scoop). If the weather is nice, take your sugar rush to nearby McCarren Park, and sit on a bench facing the Empire State Building.

Sets you back: $23

If you’re looking to impress your companion by spouting off bits of horticultural expertise—hey, it might work—or if you’re just looking for a pretty spot in which to walk around and stare amorously into each other’s eyes, walk around the magnificent six acres that make up the Central Park Conservatory Garden. Once you’re done sniffing the magnolia and lilac trees, scoot over to El Paso Taqueria, where you can get a taco for about $6/each.

Sets you back: $12+

They don’t make ‘em like this any more. West Village hangout the Cellar Dog is a basement bar and pool hall where the sofas are scruffy, but the drinks are cheap and the ambience is jovial. There’s live jazz Wednesday to Sunday, and it's only a $5 past 6pm. Challenge your boo to a playfully competitive game of shuffle board, ping-pong or scrabble. Bonus: drinks cost $3 to $9.

Sets you back: $30

Wait until you’ve been out a few times and you’re ready to squeeze in nice and close before hitting the teeny back room of Pete’s Candy Store, which hosts no-cover shows by indie artists and acoustic troubadours every night of the week. Afterward, head around to TALEA's nearby taproom for delicious (and reasonably priced) beers on tap.

Sets you back: $24+

If you and your sweetheart are major beer enthusiasts, Brooklyn Brewery hosts an intimate tour (no more than 30 souls), where you can geek out and get an exclusive look around the joint. The informative guide not only gives you an in-depth history lesson about the brewery, but a beer tasting along the way.

And you won’t walk away empty-handed either: all participants leave with a complimentary souvenir glass, so you’ll have a little something to remember the date by (besides the hangover.)

Sets you back: $48+ (tours start at $24/person); note: be sure to check online in advance as construction is impacting tour dates