If you’re tired of swiping left, take your dating game offline with the capital's latest singles nights - with a difference.
Dating apps aren't for everyone. From misleading profiles to the one way exchange of 'interesting' photos or chat up lines, finding love in the digital world can completely turn you off the dating.
Luckily for single Londoners, face-to-face dating nights have never been cooler. Far from cringeworthy speed dating events of the past, there are now fun, quirky and time effective ways to meet like-minded people.
We’ve rounded up the new ways you can meet your soulmate the good old fashioned way. Expect motorbikes, board games and dodge balls.
Play games
From rude words only Dirty Scrabble to truth or dare Jenga, Drink Shop Do offers a range of game-based singles nights for those out to meet their creative match.
Teaming up with Bumble in March, the venue’s sell-out Lego Robots night gets a singles make-over. In great single company, you can build your robot, name it, give it a special skill (obviously), then hopefully not only swap creations but numbers before heading to the dancefloor.
Be a do-gooder
If you’re feeling like your love life is doing no good, try Good Deed Dating. Combining matchmaking with volunteering, you can meet like-minded, kind-hearted people at fun events, which donate 25% of profits to charity.
A standout pick is the The Big Film Off, where instead of storing dating apps, your phone is used to take photos and videos of sell-out charity runs across London. Competing in pairs to capture the best footage, by the time everyone has crossed the finish line, you’ll be in the pub for a post-race, singles-only after party.
Get on a bike
That riding off into the sunset scenario could be a lot hotter and generally more badass following a Single Cylinders night. Set up by two biker girls who want to put two fingers up at taboos associated with speed dating, the intimate settings of Shoreditch’s Rebels Alliance MC bring together a chilled out crowd of creatives, adventures and motorbike enthusiasts.
Don’t let the fact that you don’t own a Harley put you off, anyone with a sense of freedom, fun and the curiosity to do cool stuff on a Friday night is welcome.
Don't speak
Avoid one liners and awkward conversation with a silent speed dating session. Verbal contact is completely banned during a programme of flirty games, so until the end of the night you’ll have to rely on the power of your fluttering lashes and seductive glances to find a connection. Held in trendy bars like Farr's School of Dancing and John the Unicorn, The Shhh Dating events sell out really fast so keep an eye on their Facebook page for new events.
Just bounce
Prenups don’t scream romance but what about signing a pre-date waiver followed by a safety briefing? There’s only one, adventure-filled way to find out as London’s biggest trampoline park becomes the unusual destination to literally bump into your true love.
During the singles Trampoling and Dodgeball dating event, you’ll work up a sweat jumping your way through organised fun, then you’ll be treated to prosecco, nibbles and post pub antics, with all profits from the event donated to Barnardo’s children charity.
Have a bake off
Find love in the kitchen with Speed Daters’ special cooking masterclasses. Whether you’re a beginner or a Masterchef contender, you’re in safe hands L’Atelier des Chefs, who have worked in world-class establishments, including Le Gavroche, Gordon Ramsay at Maze and River Cottage.
Following a glass of fizz, you’ll be divided into groups to cook your meal then join each other to dine with table moves to make sure you meet everyone at your personal dinner party.
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