Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and if you’re a fellow Tandon student, finding the ideal romantic dinner spot that doesn’t involve taking the subway into Manhattan might seem like a challenge. However, you don’t need to organize the extra commute in order to find great eats and quality locations for your idyllic evening. Brooklyn has a wide variety of restaurants that fit the college student date night spot criteria — walking distance from campus, after-dinner activities nearby and no long lines. Here are the best places to dine out near the Tandon School of Engineering to enjoy a memorable night with the special person or people in your life.
DeKalb Market
(Antonia Ang for WSN)
DeKalb Market Hall is a quick nine-minute walk from 6 MetroTech Center and is the perfect place for the indecisive couple who can’t decide what they want to eat, as it offers a wide variety of options. This food court-style spot houses 40 food vendors, from new to classic New York restaurants, including Katz’s Deli and Jefe Tacos. You’re free to mix and match different dishes and try out as many cuisines as you’d like, all in one sitting. Test out Daigo Handroll Bar for the salmon and spicy tuna roll ($8.50), and then make your way over to Fat Fowl for the Caribbean oxtail grilled cheese ($21), followed by splitting a sweet matcha soft serve pint at Soft Swerve ($12.50). After indulging in a diverse meal and exploring new cuisines together, take the building’s elevator up to the 4th floor and watch a new romantic release at the cozy Alamo Drafthouse theater.
Felice
(Antonia Ang for WSN)
Located within Brooklyn Heights and only a 15-minute walk from Tandon, Felice is known for its upscale, traditional Italian cuisine. The restaurant’s candlelit seating and rustic-chic Tuscan vibe compose an atmosphere that’s perfect for intimate dining. The restaurant serves high-quality, handmade pasta and appetizer plates ideal for sharing. The most popular dessert is a creamy tiramisu ($16), the perfect bittersweet dish to share and end your romantic meal. Before that, you can try any of Felice’s authentic Italian dishes such as Lasagna Tradizionale ($31), a Tuscan-style baked pasta with layers of house-made spinach pasta, slow-cooked veal ragu, creamy bechamel and Parmigiano-Reggiano. My personal favorite is the Fusilli al Ferretto ($26) — a basil-garnished fusili pasta with San Marzano tomato sauce and creamy stracciatella. The restaurant’s location on Montague Street also makes for a charming after-dinner stroll under the street’s fairy-lit trees. At the end of your stroll down Montague Street, you’ll meet the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, where breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline will beautifully conclude your date.
Lucky Rabbit Noodles
(Antonia Ang for WSN)
If you would like to spend this special night enjoying more casual comfort food, look no further. I stumbled across this restaurant while running in Dumbo, back when its premises were only big enough to seat a maximum of eight people. Since then, Lucky Rabbit Noodles has relocated to a larger space in the neighborhood with ample seating and a cozy atmosphere, where you can watch the chefs hovering over giant woks, cooking your dish in real time. This Valentine’s Day, you can grab some of the world-famous braised beef and noodles ($28), or my favorite dish, the garlic noodles ($18) — but in that case, be sure to bring some breath mints with you to your date. After enjoying a warm meal, you can take a long wintery stroll along the Dumbo piers to see the city lights along the coast. Other possible post-meal activities include watching a play at St. Ann’s Warehouse theater or walking a few blocks to ice skate underneath the Brooklyn Bridge.
Sottocasa Pizzeria
(Antonia Ang for WSN)
Sottocasa Pizzeria has some of the best upscale pizza in Downtown Brooklyn, and it’s only nine minutes away from Tandon. This cozy establishment has a dim-lit atmosphere and some of the friendliest Italian staff members, who always call out “Ciao bella!” when my friends and I walk in. Complemented by Sottocasa’s wide selection of Italian meats, the housemade pizza dough is chewy and sweet, making for the perfect woodfired thin-crust pies. This homey establishment is nestled right along Atlantic Avenue, which makes for another great potential after-dinner walk that includes some window shopping or enjoying various nearby dessert places — perfect for treating your special person and rounding out a romantic evening in such a charming borough.
Contact Antonia Ang at [email protected].
Dining and Cooking