Am I the only one that gets bored of routine date nights where you end up spending the whole dinner talking about work and the kids anyway? My S.O. and I live, work, and even carpool together, so you can imagine how thrilling our conversations can be during some of those basic dates if we aren’t careful. Although we spend nearly 24/7 together, we still look forward to our quality time so the last thing we want to do is end up discussing the topics of our day to day, #yawn. To avoid such a tragedy, we’ve set out on a mission to find unique venues and activities in and around San Diego that encourage us to have FUN in our togetherness.
Punch Bowl Social
Our most recent excursion was to Punch Bowl Social, and it did not disappoint! If you’re looking for a great date spot, an exciting event venue, some rainy-day activities (we’ve actually had a lot of those in San Diego lately, believe it or not!), or just feel like bowling in an aesthetically pleasing environment while sipping on a cocktail, this is the place to be! Located in East Village near downtown San Diego, it boasts a whopping 23,500 square feet and two stories of fun and games.
Activities include:
- Bowling – They even have lanes on the 2nd floor behind the upstairs bar!
- Private Karaoke Rooms
- The longest foosball table I’ve ever seen
- Giant Jenga
- Cornhole – aka Bags for you non-Southern/Midwest folk.
- Shuffleboard
- Bocce Ball
- Arcade Games – But honestly, I’ve seen more in a Round Table Pizza, so definitely don’t go for those.
- Darts
- Board Games
- Ping Pong
- Drinking while you play! – They have 3 full-service bars and are known for their punch, hence their name. Their Old Fashions aren’t bad either!
- Getting your grub on – Full-service diner with high-quality craft food if you’d like to take a seat, or you can order an app to snack on while you lounge and/or bowl. (Their pork belly nachos are what’s up!)
While many of the games come with a fee, they are pretty reasonably priced in my opinion. For example, an afternoon bowl costs $10 per person per hour, including shoes. That’s on par with, if not cheaper than, most bowling alleys around town anyway. Karaoke is $35 for up to 4 and $45 for 5-8 singers. Plus, several of the games are free!
Ideal Time to Arrive
If you’d like a totally kid-free experience after 10 pm is your best bet when it’s 21+. Peak hours seem to be between 7-11 pm on weekends so afternoons might be best if you want to maximize your time. We went for a Saturday afternoon date around 2, managed to get a lane upstairs without having to wait, and received excellent service while we bowled. We definitely noticed it getting more crowded around 4 pm and since there was a wait time for the games we wanted to play we decided to enjoy our beverages in one of their comfy lounge areas while we people watched.
We’re looking forward to returning for more fun and games soon! Heck, we might even bring the kids next time 😉 Hope you can check it out soon!
Also, hoping this will be the first of a long series of blogs on delightful date venues. I’d love to hear what your favorite spots/activities are. Let me know where we should check out next in the comments below!
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Definitely a great time! Down to go again anytime.
Wish we had something like that here!
Guess you’ll just have to come visit!!