When choosing a restaurant for your date, remember you are looking for romance, excitement and passion! Look for a restaurant that has a romantic ambience and offers you a delightful mix of fine dining, low lighting and some smooth jazz to spice things up a bit.

Specialty restaurants that have unique dishes they are well-known for are a great choice, provided of course you know your date's special likes and dislikes. Avoid a potential dating snafu by asking about preferences upfront. Taking a sushi-hater to a Japanese restaurant could be an unmitigated disaster. On the other hand if you found out that your date loves sushi, booking a cozy table at a specialty Japanese restaurant could win you huge, ummm… sushi points. It shows you care and have gone out of your way to please your date. Avoid going to restaurants that are famous for their lobster or rib dishes. Struggling with your food is decidedly unromantic.

You are definitely not looking for comfort on your date so avoid taking your date to your regular hang-out. You may feel at ease among familiar surroundings and familiar faces, but it's kind of hard to be romantic with so many eyes looking over at your table trying to catch your attention. Besides your date cannot but help wondering how many previous dates you've brought here before.

Lighting can do a lot to detract from or add to the romantic ambience of the restaurant. Low strategic lighting boosted by a candle placed on each table is a huge plus point. Gazing into each other's eyes over candle-light is tres romantic.

Live music is great for upping the romantic atmosphere. Look for a restaurant that has a live band that plays soft music, classy tunes and romantic melodies. Avoid restaurants that play loud, blaring music. You'll never get a chance to whisper sweet nothings in your date's ears with all that noise around you. Also steer clear of wandering violin serenaders and mariachi bands that pop up at your table at the most inopportune moments.