Best First Date Restaurants in Pasadena (2026)
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The first-date pick in Pasadena for 2026 is Perle, chef Dean Yasharian's Michelin-listed French room on Union Street. Editorial runners-up: The Raymond 1886 for romance, Cafe Santorini for a rooftop, Union for the pasta counter, Celestino and Mi Piace for easy Italian.
A glass of Burgundy and a half-dozen plates split down the middle of a small marble table. That is a first date at Perle. Twenty-one Pasadena rooms sit in our directory. Six are built for a first night out.
Six Pasadena Tables for a First Date
A narrow brick room on Union Street, mirrors climbing the plaster, a bar the length of the wall. Chef-owner Dean Yasharian trained under Daniel Boulud and Daniel Clifford, and Perle now sits in the Michelin Guide. The menu mirrors itself, half meat and seafood, half plant-based, so any pair can order across it. 43 East Union Street, around $60 a head. The first-date room.
A Craftsman cottage and garden that outlasted the 1886 hotel it was named for. The Raymond 1886 cooks contemporary New American food at 1250 South Fair Oaks Avenue, beside the nationally ranked 1886 Bar. It is the most romantic address in the San Gabriel Valley, and the garden tables are the ones to request. Around $60 to $75 a head. The first date you want to slow down.
A second-floor terrace over Colorado Boulevard, open since 4 June 1993. Cafe Santorini serves Mediterranean plates — the Moroccan lamb is the order — from a rooftop at 64 West Union Street that stays one of Old Town's most-wanted outdoor tables on a warm night. Around $30 to $45 a head. The easy, flattering first date.
Sit at the counter and watch the pasta finished by hand. Union opened on East Union Street in 2014 and holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand under chef Andrew Mercado, who builds house-made pasta on California produce. Fifty seats, a counter in front of the kitchen, no special-occasion stiffness. 37 East Union Street, around $45 to $60 a head. The first date for people who like to watch the cooking.
The Drago brothers, Sicilian by way of Modica, anchor their Pasadena room here. Celestino cooks branzino and a deep Barolo list at 141 South Lake Avenue, with private rooms off the main floor for a quieter table. It reads grown-up without being formal. Around $45 to $65 a head. The first date that wants real Italian, not theatre.
Veal osso buco and an in-house bakery, thirty-plus years on Colorado Boulevard. Mi Piace sits at 25 East Colorado Boulevard in Old Town with a renovated patio and a sleek lounge, the kind of room a neighborhood keeps coming back to. Bustling, well-priced, easy to talk in. Around $30 to $45 a head. The low-pressure first date.
How to Book
Book Perle and The Raymond 1886 one to two weeks ahead for a Friday or Saturday, and request a garden table at The Raymond. Cafe Santorini's rooftop wants a week on a warm weekend. Union, Celestino and Mi Piace will usually seat two within a few days.
7:30pm. Perle is closed Tuesdays, so plan around it. For a first date you want a counter or a small two-top, not a banquette — ask Union for the kitchen counter and Perle for a table near the bar.
Frequently Asked Questions
The editorial pick for 2026 is Perle, chef Dean Yasharian's Michelin-listed French bistro on Union Street, where the mirrored menu lets any pair order across meat, seafood and plant-based plates. For pure romance, The Raymond 1886's Craftsman cottage and garden on South Fair Oaks is the city's most atmospheric first-date table.
The Raymond 1886 is the most romantic room in the area: a Craftsman cottage and candlelit garden at 1250 South Fair Oaks Avenue, beside the nationally ranked 1886 Bar. Cafe Santorini runs a close second, its second-floor terrace over Old Town Colorado Boulevard especially good on a warm evening.
A first date in Pasadena runs around $60 a head at Perle and The Raymond 1886, the two top-end rooms. Union and Celestino sit near $45 to $65, while Cafe Santorini and Mi Piace are the value picks at roughly $30 to $45 a head, drinks aside.
Mi Piace on Colorado Boulevard and Cafe Santorini's rooftop are the easiest first-date rooms: well-priced, bustling and forgiving of nerves. Union is the other strong call, where the kitchen counter gives a pair something to watch and talk about while the pasta is finished by hand.
Perle is the strongest first-date room in Pasadena. Chef Dean Yasharian's French bistro on Union Street is intimate, sits in the Michelin Guide, and runs a mirrored menu split between meat-and-seafood and plant-based plates, so a mixed couple can share comfortably. Book a table near the bar and note it is closed Tuesdays.