The 10 Worst Foods to Eat Before a First Date
First dates are anxiety-inducing enough without spending the entire evening wondering whether your breath is speaking louder than your words.
We're here to shed light on the usual suspects so you won't regret your menu choice halfway through the night. We want your date to catch feelings, not a whiff of bad breath 😅
If you're trying to make a good first impression, here are 10 foods you might want to save for date number two.
1. Garlic
No surprises here.
Garlic makes almost everything taste better, but it's not exactly first-date friendly. The compounds responsible for garlic's distinctive smell can linger well after you've finished eating — and brushing your teeth isn't always enough to make them disappear immediately.
A fun fact if you do love garlic: parsley has been known to neutralise the volatile components of garlic!
First-date risk: ★★★★★
2. Raw Onion
A burger loaded with raw onion might seem like a good idea at the time.
Twenty minutes later? Not so much.
Raw onion has a particularly strong aroma that can hang around in your mouth, especially when you're sitting across a small table from someone you've just met.
Skip the onion, and we have more to say about the burger later...
First-date risk: ★★★★★
3. Tuna
Tuna sandwich before a date? Bold.
Fish can leave behind a noticeable smell, and tuna is one of the biggest offenders. Great source of protein. Not great if you want your date to hang around till dessert!
First-date risk: ★★★★☆
4. Blue Cheese
Blue cheese is one of those foods people either absolutely love or can't stand.
Unfortunately, its powerful aroma doesn't necessarily disappear once you've swallowed it.
If you're ordering the cheese board, maybe ditch the blue cheese until you're a few dates in.
First-date risk: ★★★★☆
5. Spinach
This one is less about bad breath, but rightfully deserves a spot on the list because of the teeth situation.
Few things undermine your confidence quite like discovering two hours later that you've been smiling all night with a bright green piece of spinach wedged between your teeth.
First-date risk: ★★★★☆
6. Extra-Spicy Food
Ordering the hottest thing on the menu might sound impressive.
Sweating through your shirt while your eyes water and your nose runs is slightly less impressive.
On a first date, dial the heat down so you can enjoy the conversation. Spicy food can also leave strong flavours hanging around in your mouth, so it's a no from us!
First-date risk: ★★★☆☆
7. Anything Covered in Parsley
A little parsley? Maybe okay.
A meal sheathed in finely chopped parsley? You're playing dental roulette.
Much like spinach, parsley has an incredible ability to find the most visible possible gap between your teeth and stay there.
First-date risk: ★★★☆☆
8. The Unruly Burger
There's nothing wrong with ordering a burger on a first date.
But there's a difference between a burger and a 17-centimetre-tall architectural achievement held together by a wooden skewer and a kilo of bright orange "secret sauce".
If you have to dislocate your jaw to take the first bite while the sauce runs down both hands, you've potentially chosen the wrong meal.
Save the monster burger for when you're comfortable enough around each other not to care.
First-date risk: ★★★☆☆
9. Corn on the Cob
Delicious? Yes.
First-date food? Questionable.
Corn has an impressive ability to lodge itself between virtually every tooth in your mouth. It's also nearly impossible to eat elegantly.
If you're determined to order it, please check a mirror afterwards.
First-date risk: ★★☆☆☆
10. Anything You Know Doesn't Agree With You
This is the most important one.
A first date is probably not the time to test whether you've suddenly developed a better relationship with a food that historically hasn't treated you well.
You want to spend the evening getting to know your date — not calculating the shortest route to the bathroom.
Leave the yolo attitude for later!
First-date risk: ★★★★★
So, What Should You Eat?
You don't need to spend your first date avoiding food altogether.
Order something you enjoy; just think twice about foods that are extremely garlicky, onion-heavy, messy, spicy, likely to spend the rest of the evening stuck between your teeth, or have you spending the evening on the toilet instead of in your date's arms.
And if dinner does involve garlic bread, because let's be real... garlic bread is life, it doesn't hurt to have a backup plan! A bottle of LA Gum or LA Mints in your pocket, bag or car can be a handy post-dinner companion when you want your mouth feeling fresh before the next stop.
Because the night should be memorable, your breath shouldn't be.