Featured in Dara Rae Matchmaking's 2026 Philly Dating Guide

Graphic: Dara Rae Matchmaking

Picking a first-date spot in Philadelphia is harder than it should be. Dinner is a lot of pressure for two people who just met. Drinks can turn into an interview. And most "fun" activities put you side by side, staring at a screen or a lane, instead of across from each other. So when a professional matchmaker publishes a list of the places that actually work, it is worth paying attention.

This month, Dara Rae Matchmaking released its 2026 Philly Dating Guide, and Cork & Candles made the cut as one of Philadelphia's top date spots. We are honored, and we are also not surprised. Date night is the thing our Center City scent bar was built for.

What the Philly Dating Guide is

Dara Rae Matchmaking is a Philadelphia matchmaking service founded by Dara Rahill, who draws on a background in psychology and recruiting to help singles across Greater Philadelphia meet people they would not find on their own. The Philly Dating Guide is her team's free, 49-page October 2026 edition, and it is organized the way a good friend would organize dating advice:

• How to meet people organically, with real-life ways to meet someone across Greater Philadelphia
• 98 date spots in the city and the suburbs, each with a note on why it works for a date
• The first date, with practical advice on showing up calm and present

That middle section is where you will find us. Out of a city full of restaurants, bars, and things to do, Dara Rae's team picked 98 places worth taking someone, and our Center City candle making studio is one of them. You can download the full guide here. It is free, and even the parts that are not about us are genuinely useful.

Why a scent bar works as a date

A matchmaker thinks about dates differently than the rest of us. The question is not "is this place cool," it is "will these two people actually connect here." That is the question we asked when we designed the experience, so here is why the answer is yes.

You sit across from each other. Every couple at Cork & Candles gets their own table, set face-to-face the way you would sit at dinner. Your Chandler serves your table individually, like a waiter, so there is no instructor at the front of the room and no group you have to perform for. It is just the two of you, a Scent Library, and a reason to talk.

There is something to do with your hands. The Signature Experience runs about 90 minutes. You smell your way through 60 fragrances, each of you picks the two that feel like you, and you pour two 8 oz. candles to take home. The activity fills the quiet moments without taking over the conversation. Nobody has to be good at it. Nobody has to be artistic. You just pick scents you like.

Scent is memory, and memory is a shortcut to a real conversation. Hand someone a vial of Apple Cider or Hot Cocoa and watch what happens. People start talking about their grandmother's kitchen, a campfire in October, the first apartment they ever had. In 90 minutes you learn more about a person from the scents they reach for than you would from an hour of "so, what do you do?"

It is BYOB, and we open the bottle. Center City sells wine on-site, and you are also welcome to bring your own wine or beer. Your Chandler will open it for you, so there is no wrestling with a wine key on a first date. The room has a warm, Napa-style, wine-bar feel, which is exactly the energy you want when you are getting to know someone.

How to plan the date

Our Center City scent bar is at 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 115-S, inside The Philadelphia Building, a historic office tower a few blocks from Rittenhouse Square and the Avenue of the Arts. That puts you within walking distance of plenty of places for a drink or dinner before or after, which makes it easy to build a full evening around it. If you want ideas, our date night guide for Center City walks through a few routes.

Sessions are $62 per person, and we recommend reserving ahead, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. If you are already thinking ahead to Valentine's Day, know that it sells out every year, so book weeks in advance rather than days.

A few insider notes from the Chandlers:

• Smell the scents in each family before you commit. The pairing that surprises you is usually the better one.
• Each candle blends exactly two fragrances, so if you want a crowd-pleaser, pair a year-round favorite like Crisp Champagne or Rose Bubbly with something seasonal like Juniper and Apple Barrel.
• Your candles cure for seven days before the first burn. Yes, that is a built-in excuse to text them in a week and compare notes.

The second date is already planned

Here is the part a matchmaker would appreciate. You leave with a scent-tracking card that lists the two fragrances you chose. Come back and you can recreate your candle exactly, try the pairing your date picked, or make one as a gift. Plenty of couples who met here on a first date come back for an anniversary, and that is the kind of story we love hearing across the table.

Not in the city? The guide also covers the suburbs, and so do we. Our King of Prussia and Ardmore scent bars offer the same Signature Experience for anyone dating on the Main Line or out by the mall.

Thank you, Dara Rae

We are grateful to Dara Rahill and the Dara Rae Matchmaking team for including us, and for building something that helps people in this city actually meet each other. If the guide sent you our way, welcome. Grab the person you have been meaning to ask out, pick a night, and reserve your table in Center City. We will have the corkscrew ready.