By Derek Shaw

San Francisco is ripe with opportunities for adventure. It’s a city where boundaries are deconstructed, diversity is celebrated and almost anything goes. So why should the dating scene be anything but adventurous? It’s easy to get lulled into the routine of barhopping or dinner-and-a-movie, but those are hardly memorable experiences.

The best dates are different and involve something unique, somewhere strange. The icebreaker is built into the environment, which encourages interaction and sparks instant conversation. Get out of your comfort zone and shake things up. The risk is well worth the reward.

Themed Restaurants

Tonga Room

950 Mason Street, Nob Hill, (415) 722–5278

The legendary Fairmont Hotel has been a local institution for over 100 years. One of the biggest draws is the Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar, which feels straight out of 1950s Disneyland. In 1945, a Hollywood set director transformed their 75-foot-long pool into an elaborate lagoon. To this day, the house band performs on a floating boat. It remains one of the most distinctive interiors in the world and features such details as a historical ship, tiki masks, outrigger canoes, hula dancers and enough mini umbrellas to brave El Niño. The tropical décor even includes rainstorms complete with thunder and lightning.

The spirit of the South Seas is alive and well at the Tonga Room. A recent $1 million restoration project modernized the décor, but don’t worry — the Tonga Room remains as charming and cheesy as ever. They’re known for one of the best happy hours in town, which are on weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., when the Mai Tais and Singapore Slings are just $9. If you’re feeling frisky, try the $15 Lava Bowl (rum punch for two).

Opaque

1500 Sutter Street, Hayes Valley, (800) 710–1270

Hands down one of the most bizarre restaurants in the city, Opaque literally leaves diners in the dark. Dining sightless creates a multi-sensory experience that is meant to enhance the taste, smell and texture of the food. Check your bags in the lit lounge and turn off those phones. Enjoy a craft cocktail and select your meal from the prix fixe menu, then follow your nose into a pitch-black dining room. Don’t panic — the wait staff is equipped with night-vision goggles, and they’ll seat you promptly.

Located downstairs from Indigo Restaurant (under the guidance of chef Mike Whang), Opaque is open Wednesday through Saturday for dinner only. The seasonal three-course feast will astound you with its complexity and stimulating sensations, but it’s hard to tell if the food is that good or if your senses are just that heightened. The seasoning is generous to convey powerful flavors — from spicy and bold to mellow and smooth.

Red Door Cafe

1608 Bush Street, Lower Pacific Heights, (415) 441–1564

The spatula-spanking proprietor of this culinary circus simply goes by A.D., and he’s likely the sassiest restaurateur you’ll ever meet. Red Door is A.D.’s very own version of breakfast theater as a one-man show — think Dr. Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show (fishnets, boy shorts and all). The Red Door Cafe has an explicit disclaimer/rulebook posted outside, serving as a warning to “pushy assholes.” He specifically prohibits people from wearing sunglasses, knocking on the door or arriving in parties larger than two. Breaking any of these guidelines will ensure that you won’t step foot inside. On any given weekend, a huge line forms on the sidewalk, and the infamous red door remains closed until A.D. decides to seat the next couple. He’s open only from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

If you manage to make it past the threshold, you’re instantly transported to a wild world of creepy dolls. In fact, A.D. hands you one upon arrival, and he expects you to hold onto it (preferably in your lap.) The walls are adorned with strange relics, including kinky cartoons and mannequin heads, while the tables brim with naked Barbies and dildos. The dishes have colorful names like “Pork Your Wife & Taste My Salmon” and “I’m Nothing but a Sloppy Vegetarian Whore.” Enhance your meal with a delicious side of Sassy Buttcheeks (sausage) or Skinny Boys (bacon). Gimmicks and pageantry aside, the food here is remarkable, and even if it wasn’t, the entertainment alone is worth the price of admission.

Odd Tours

Columbarium

1 Loraine Court, Richmond District, (415) 771–0717

In 1895, the Columbarium was built as part of the Odd Fellows Cemetery. Cremation and cemetery burials were banned in San Francisco from 1902 to 1910, leading to the closure of every local cemetery and causing disarray throughout the entire industry. The Columbarium underwent a historical transition when the Neptune Society acquired the property in 1980. It now offers more than 8,000 inurnment spaces that house urns and memorabilia in three niche facilities: the Hall of Olympians, the Hall of Titans and the Hall of Heroes, which collectively hold the remains of some of San Francisco’s most important residents.

It’s an unusual place to take a date, but that’s what makes it so cool. Seven days a week, resident caretaker Emmitt Watson ushers visitors through the gleaming hallways, sharing fascinating stories about the departed. Yet its classic architecture and elegant interior set the Columbarium apart. The neoclassical design features a large rotunda, epic balconies, mosaic tile floors and stained-glass windows inspired by baroque and Greco-Roman styles. And if things get too morbid, you can always take the short trip to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Group Activities

ForageSF

1473 Oak Street, Panhandle, (415) 466–2938

Local chef Iso Rabins, the founder of ForageSF, is the king of DIY cuisine and takes the farm-to-table concept a step further by personally searching out and gathering ingredients in their natural environments. ForageSF’s food-foraging classes offer hands-on instruction and ecological education, and the guided walking tour identifies wild edibles, with a focus on eco-conscious harvesting techniques, historical background and tasty recipes. Three different classes are offered: Mushroom Hunting Adventures, Urban Sea Foraging and Wild Food Walks. Next season they plan on hosting a cocktails workshop and a seaweed-foraging seminar.

If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, Rabins also started Wild Kitchen, a roving underground supper club. From abandoned silos to houseboats, the location changes every time, and the exact address always remains a secret until the last minute. A hundred diners break bread around a communal table and enjoy an eight-course meal that highlights sustainably sourced ingredients from the local landscape.

Midnight Mystery Ride

Meeting location changes every month

Looking for something a little more active? This is the perfect date for hipsters and cycling enthusiasts — or better yet, hipster cycling enthusiasts. On the third Saturday of every month, the meeting location (usually a bar) is announced on their website and Facebook page. There’s no advance warning, and they’re quite punctual. So if you’re not at the predetermined rendezvous by the stroke of midnight, you’ll miss out.

Only the pack leader knows the destination, but the group is good about keeping a gradual pace for slower bikers, abiding by the No Rider Left Behind mantra. The rides generally last five miles, rain or shine. Cyclists are encouraged to bring party supplies for a celebration at the end of the journey, which often goes until 4:00 a.m. All levels of experience are welcome.

Real Escape Game

1746 Post Street, Japantown

Headquartered in Japan, the entertainment company behind the Real Escape Game creates immersive, real-life puzzle games that are like adventure games but real. The company broke ground in America by introducing the first immersive puzzle game of its kind in San Francisco three years ago. Interestingly, the vast majority of teams are unable to successfully complete the Real Escape Game, which only adds to its mystique.

Real Escape Game offers several challenging attractions, including Escape from the Puzzle Room, which puts people in a locked room with a bomb attached to them. The walls are lined with strange patterns and mysterious codes that need to be solved in order for the participants to find a way out. Escape from the Time Travel Lab involves hidden clues in a spooky laboratory. If you can’t find the key in time, you’ll fall into an endless time warp. Their latest game is Escape from AT&T Park, which will be held on January 23. The premise: a sea monster is on the verge of destroying San Francisco, and it’s up to you to discover the secret of its attack. The games last an hour and a half, allowing ample opportunity for you and your date to fall in love and save the city.

Risqué Attractions

Bondage A Go Go

The Cat Club, 1190 Folsom Street, SOMA, (415) 703–8965

Known as one of the wildest events in town since 1993, this erotic dance party is a fetish-themed free-for-all. Every Wednesday night, the Cat Club turns into a dark underworld of goth makeup, nipple clamps and lots of leather. It’s certainly not for everyone, but many artists, Burners and BDSM fanatics make this a weekly outing.

The main attraction is the play space, which is monitored to keep things PG-13. No nudity or sexual activity is allowed, but it gets pretty damn close. The minimum attire is all black or formal (whatever that means in this context). Guests are encouraged to check their hang-ups at the door along with their street clothes and sporty attire. Starting at 9:30 p.m., the freaky festivities run until 2:30 a.m.

Naked Yoga for Men

Secret location in Noe Valley, (415) 830–6363

Ohm, ohm, umm … what’s up with all the nude dudes? It may seem like another deviant exercise, but this is actually a spiritual endeavor. Naked Yoga for Men is a rare chance for men to practice yoga in the buff without tension or judgment. They tout the activity as a great way to experience “nonsexual male intimacy.”

All men are welcome, whether gay, straight, bi, trans or any combination. Many find naked yoga a liberating tool for body acceptance while relishing the opportunity to connect with nature and themselves on a deeper level. Leave your Old Spice and European cologne at home, as they like to keep the studio scent-free.

Hidden Gem

Michael Shindler Tintype Photography

1250 Missouri Street, Potrero Hill, (415) 602–0734

Michael Shindler’s private studio is a portal to the past. His unique method involves tintypes using an early photographic process invented in 1851 that predates the film age. Each striking image is a one-of-a-kind positive made on a metal plate, and since the plates are sensitive to light only for a few minutes after they’re prepared, all the chemical processing must be done on-site.

Shindler used to run Photobooth on Valencia, which was a walk-in portrait studio, though last year he scaled back his operation. He still does events occasionally, but your best chance to get a tintype photograph is by booking a private session. It’s more appropriate for an anniversary or wedding present than a casual date because his services aren’t exactly cheap, but I guarantee they’ll be the coolest pictures you’ve ever taken. Every freckle and strand of hair will be highlighted, and you’ll never look more beautiful.