One-on-one dates make you nervous? Try having a threesome with new social dating concept Grouvly
Let’s be honest: First dates are hard. What to wear? Where to go? What if the conversations get awkward? Who picks up the tab? On a bad day, these questions can make you throw your hands up and cancel on a romantic prospect. Luckily, there’s an app that makes dating or meeting new friends in Singapore a whole lot easier with its unique three-on-three concept. In a brave move (courage is still necessary), we rounded up the single ladies in the office to give Hong Kong-based Grouvly a go, and lived to tell the tale below.
How it works
First things first: what exactly is Grouvly? Essentially, it’s an app that hooks you and two of your friends up on a blind date with three guys or girls. This means you get to suss out three potential partners or friends at the same time, plus shy folks will feel more comfortable with their pals around. Grouvly specially hand-curates the group dates based on your Facebook interests, so you’ll have a better chance of kicking it off with the other party.
Setting up a date on Grouvly is straightforward and easy – none of that mambo jumbo questionnaires and tedious forms to fill. One of you simply needs to log in with your Facebook account, choose a day with your friends, and Grouvly will handle the rest. We received an e-mail few days after we booked a date, informing us of the time and place (you don’t need to rack your brains on where to go!): 8.30pm at classy rooftop bar ME@OUE. If the dates were bad, at least we have a killer view of the city!
Date night
In giggly anticipation, we reached the bar a little earlier than the stipulated time, and were pleased to find that the guys were already waiting for us upstairs – brownie points! Three pretty decent dudes greeted us (phew!) and we exchanged pleasantry before ordering our first round of drinks. The casual setting eased us, and we soon began talking like long-time friends. It also helped that the boys share similar interests: they enjoy travelling, are total foodies, and have hilariously-snarky British humour that kept us in stitches all night. We ended up chatting till the bar closed and would have continued to Kyo if not for work the next day. So instead, we exchanged Facebook accounts, with plans to hang again someday.
The verdict
Going on the date with friends certainly took away any squeamish first-date moments. There were no awkward silences and hardly any pressure to impress. It was also comforting to know that we have our girl pals to save us if things got weird. Though we won’t go as far as to say Prince Charming was on the menu, but there’s always the chance that you’ll find that special person on the next date. Nevertheless, Grouvly is also a great way to widen your social circle, especially if you’re new to the city.
Grouvly charges $25 per user ($75 per group), and it includes one round of drinks at the bar. A small price for a good time!
This article is brought to you in association with Grouvly.