I love going on dates… mostly because I love movies, coffee, and food! And well, your typical date will cover most of those categories. Dating is also fun because if a guy is interested in you, then he’s pretty much down for whatever wacky idea or thing you want to do. Use dates as an opportunity to do whatever random thing you always wanted to do, but couldn’t convince your friends to tag along.

If you are going on a first date with someone you don’t know very well… always, always start with a coffee date (Octane, Tilt, Danneman’s) to keep it simple and short to feel out your connection. If you like the person then you can move onto dinner somewhere or plan a date number two with your basic dinner and a movie agenda. Easy.

Now, once you get the hang of dating basics, you might find yourself looking for cute and fun date ideas to do around Atlanta. And that’s what fem-fATL is here for. This will be on ongoing guide of cute Atlanta date ideas starting with “IKEA to Illy” a cute date idea in and around the Atlantic Station area.

IKEA to Illy

IKEA Atlanta | Atlantic Station

IKEA Atlanta | Atlantic Station

So yes we start with… IKEA Atlanta. IKEA is ridiculously fun and there is so much to do. It’s like an amusement park, but it’s a furniture store! It also has free parking and costs no money… unless you buy something of course. You might think it silly to go on a date in a store, but it’s not that much different from wandering the mall with someone. IKEA can be fun because you can try out the furniture, check out what each other’s taste is, and recruit your date to carry back your new, heavy, furniture to your car. There is plenty of gadgets and things to mess around and play with. You can play a ‘Goldie Locks’ game in the bed section by testing out each mattress and deciding if it’s too soft, too hard, or just right! It’s silly of course, but this entire date will be silly. I recommend starting by grabbing a bite to eat in the cafeteria.

Swedish Meatballs | IKEA Atlanta | Atlantic Station

IKEA has a ridiculously good and cheap a’ la carte cafeteria. You should definitely get the Swedish meatballs, but if that’s not your thing they have other options. Grab a seat near the window in the IKEA decked out seating area and make jokes, ask about each other’s day. You know… regular chit chat. After food, walk through the showrooms and take note of items that you like. Go downstairs to the market area and pick up any little knick-knacks you decide you must need. IKEA is like Target… you don’t leave there without buying something you didn’t realize you needed!

Regal Cinema | Atlantic Station

After you’ve Sweded yourself out, it’s time to jump back in the car or take the little shuttle that runs around Atlantic Station. Park in the garage at Atlantic Station and check out movie times at the Regal Cinema. If you find a movie that you want to see that’s about to play, go ahead and grab it. If the wait is an hour or so, head over to Café Nineteen across the street, which serves Illy brand coffee.

Cafe Nineteen | Illy Coffee | Atlantic Station

Illy Coffee

Illy is an Italian brand coffee produced in Trieste, Italy next to Gorizia, Italy where I studied abroad in 2007… *sigh*. The café is very cute and romantic. Grab a coffee and do the chit chat thing again, but watch you clock so you can catch your movie if you so choose. If you get your movie first, make Café Nineteen your last stop. If this is the case, you can even substitute coffee with some alcoholic drinks ☺

With easy parking, this is a perfect casual, ‘meet me there’ type of date. There is plenty of goofiness and activities to keep off the pressure that you sometimes get from a romantic date setting. And I’m pretty sure I covered movies, food, and coffee. Voila!