Date Night Restaurants in Tacoma

Of course we all love our kiddos, but sometimes it’s nice to have a dinner without tantrums, begging them to eat, and listening to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playing on your phone. So here’s some restaurants I recommend for date nights in Tacoma (in no particular order)!

McMenamin’s Elks Temple
Approx. 18 mins from JBLM

Here is Tacoma’s latest and greatest restaurant. It also has bars and doubles as a hotel! Not only is this a beautiful architectural building on the outside, but the inside is incredibly quirky. It’s like an eclectic paradise full of fun photo ops. There are a few restaurants and a bar to choose from. We ate at the restaurant directly inside the front door, it’s called The Pub.

Holy wow, it was delicious! I had the Queen Isabella Pizza and Travis got the Sake Bomb Salmon Sandwich. We did a day date here and it wasn’t crowded when we went on a weekday. Besides the good food and drinks, there are some great views of the city and the sound. You can make reservations online ahead of time. There is street parking in the area.

To make a reservation or get more info, click here.

Boathouse 19
Approx. 25 mins from JBLM

Want a restaurant with gorgeous views of the water? Boathouse 19 is the answer! Really good food and the drinks are so great you won’t know they are alcoholic! They’ve got live music on the weekends and we enjoyed a Jamaican drummer the night we went. They do not take reservations and there is no military discount.

We had about a forty minute wait but that was fine with us because it allowed time to walk around the docks and take in all the gorgeous scenery. You’ll have an amazing view of the Tacoma Narrows bridge from here and if you look close enough in the water you’ll be able to see jellyfish and more. We ate outside of course, and it was a beautiful day to do so. I decided to get an alcoholic beverage since we were celebrating, and the Blackberry Mai Tai is to die for. Sweet, just how I like it. They have a huge selection of drinks. Since the food would likely take a while we grabbed the seven layer bean dip as an appetizer.

I ordered the Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos and Travis got the Jambalaya. Honestly this is the best seafood I’ve had in the area since we arrived. The fish was delicious and paired with the corn tortillas and salsa I give it 10 out of 10. I think I’ve told y’all before but Travis always orders the spiciest thing on the menu. He actually had a hard time downing this Jambalaya. It was spicier than his usual conquests and I believe his water got refilled at least six times. I will say the service was pretty slow whenever we went but it was a Saturday night. 

For more info, click here.

Indochine Asian Dining Lounge
Approx. 23 mins from JBLM

Literally the coolest indoor dining place in Tacoma, this one is way up top on my list. If we are being honest, I actually went here on a girls night first and then went with Travis for a date night. Don’t try to go without reservations. The night I went with the girls there was a two hour wait. The bar area has a few tables which are first come first serve. So if you forget a reservation you can sit in the bar and still have access to the full dinner menu. However, I highly suggest reservations because the dining room is worth it. You’ll feel as though you’ve stepped into another country surrounded by fountains and flowers with mood lantern lighting. 

Indochine is family style dining so the portions are huge and they are reasonably priced for the amount of food ($15-20). The drinks are exotic and fun, exactly my kind of drinks. All the girly drinks come with an edible orchid flower on top. I got the Blue Mermaid, I think it’s the best alcoholic beverage I’ve ever had.  I also tried the Mango Rita, it was great too but you need to like cinnamon!

For dinner I have tasted the Mango Fried Rice….mmmmmm. The Mango gave it that little sweet twist. I’ve also had the Orange chicken (DELISH) and Travis got the Pad Thai, also really good. They have a ton of dessert options (including gelato) and I got the Creme Brûlée. It was good however I prefer freshly made and torched creme brûlée, it had been pre-made and refrigerated. Bottom line, Indochine is a must do.

For more info and to make reservations, click here.

Finding the fun everywhere life takes us!
Love, Olivia Michelle