- Get Portuguese food in the Ironbound
I personally enjoy Ferry Street BBQ for a cheap, more satisfying, meal. However, if you’re in the mood for a more upscale bite, try out Sol-Mar. Both of these are walking distance from Newark Penn Station.
2. Tops Diner
A classic diner, and an even more classic date spot, it has the variety you want and the price you need so that both parties involved are happy. The prices look high, but you get more than what you paid for.
3. Intrinsic Cafe
This small hole-in-the-wall place is popular among University Heights diners – it’s within walking distance of NJIT and offers a wide variety of bubble teas.
4. Go for a walk in Branch Brook Park
Especially during the spring, this stunning park has the third-most cherry blossom trees in the country and just oozes with romance. Walking down the winding paths, you come across the Branch Brook Park Roller Skating Center that you and your date can have fun in, and later on you can admire the beautiful architecture of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
5. Go to a show at the NJPAC
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center hosts a good variety of shows for a reasonable price. Whether you want to see Star Wars in concert or Ken Jeong doing standup, you simply can’t go wrong with a date here.
6. Go to a Red Bulls Game
Just a town over, in Harrison, and with tickets as low as $20, you can watch the Red Bulls soccer team play in Red Bulls arena.
7. Go to a Devils game
Newark’s big sports team, the NJ Devils provide entertainment on the ice for a huge crowd of fun-loving fans. Their games in the Prudential Center have seats that are as cheap as $6. Who knows, maybe you’ll make it onto the kiss cam!
7. Visit Paint and Chill
A group painting class for you and your date with adult drinks for those over 21. How could you possibly go wrong?
8. Explore Newark Museum
This is the largest and most underrated museum in NJ, with its incredible Asian, American, African and classical collections. They legitimately have a whole Buddhist temple that they transported inside. Did I mention that tickets are free for students?
9. Get Groupon
Once you’ve run through all of those date ideas, there is nothing more helpful for college students that are trying to have a cute date on a budget than Groupon. They are able to give you discounts on thousands of different date ideas nearby from axe throwing to skydiving.
Photos by Katherine Ji | Vector Photography Editor
