For Date Night at Assembly Row, there are so many options and I’m not just talking about restaurant choices. You might want dinner and a movie, in which case you can reserve your seats and tickets online to see a movie at the AMC theatre. If you only have time for a quick bite before the movie, then stop into Ernesto’s for a slice of pizza or grab a soup, salad or sandwich at Paul Bakery. You could also get a drink at the bar and a little bite to eat at River Bar, Southern Kin Cookhouse, American Fresh Brewhouse or Legal on the Mystic. If you don’t have time for even that, then fear not, because you can get food and drinks at the AMC theatre’s own marketplace and bar.
If you aren’t feeling like spending time at the movies (or let’s face it risk falling asleep once you get all comfortable in the theatre), then skip the movie and just enjoy dinner and a stroll along the Mystic river. Maybe a stop at American Fresh Brewhouse is just the thing for you to reconnect over a beer and a game off of the game shelf or some Trivia under the stars. Assembly Row also has live music if you’re not up for the challenge of a night of trivia. Check the website for a full schedule of events just be sure to notice which are at the beer garden and which are in the tap room. For a family night out, definitely check out the game shelf, and the menu includes pizza, waffles, and warm soft pretzels which are always a family favourite.
Dinner at Fuji is a family favourite, but the cocktails and atmosphere are worthy of date night as well. We went to Fuji for Mother’s Day and had a delicious meal all together. I could definitely go back a fourth time (we’ve been a few time) for those spicy tangy chicken wings (go late night after the movies for 50 cent wings), the golden shrimp dumplings and a cocktail or two.
Newcomer Southern Kin Cookhouse would be a great double date night out with friends. It is the kind of place where it is “the more the merrier”. Okay, secretly I just want to order lots of things to share because it is all so good, and I want to get one of those special cocktails for the table that serves four.
If the air is just right, a nice romantic soirée by the fire pit at River Bar would be a great way to reboot at the end of a busy summer week. Then again, if you’re not really a night owl and mornings feel like a better time for a date, then head to Yoga class on Saturdays at 9 am to get your ‘om’ on with your one true love. Then enjoy coffee, breakfast or an early lunch together later in the day.
For a family night out, any of the above would work, but a movie or a family paint night followed by a little impromptu pizza picnic at the playground would be right up our alley.
Other date night options include Dancing by the Mystic which is the third Friday of June, July and August from 6-8 p.m. RSVP online for these free 30 minute dance lessons followed by a salsa dance party. Or, on Thursdays from May through September at 6 pm every week head over to the Baxter Riverfront Park amphitheater to take in some local talent from world renowned Berklee College of Music. Concert schedule can be found here.