Correction (2 October 2026): an earlier version of this page listed places and details we could not stand behind. It has been rewritten, and every place below was checked against its own current information.
A first date wants low stakes, an easy exit and something to talk about that isn’t the menu. This page sorts five Kew dinner spots by stage. Talk-ability is read openly from what each place publishes, the price band comes from its own menu, and every pick has a plan B. Where a place uses date-night wording itself, we quote it. Where it doesn’t, we say what feature makes it suit the stage, rather than call it romantic for it.
The quick picks
| Stage | Pick | Split (from its menu) | Splurge (from its menu) |
|---|---|---|---|
| First date, low stakes | Skinny Dog Hotel | Calamari $24 | Chicken schnitzel $36 |
| Third date | Dawson Neighbourhood Italian | Burrata $27 | Bistecca $47 |
| Third date, pizza and a bar | Chicci | Cheesy garlic bread from $12 | Penne Amatriciana from $32 |
| Anniversary | Araliya | Duck kothu roti (serves 2) $43 | Jaggery beef $49 |
| Anniversary, steak | Charcoal Grill on The Hill | Price band not published where we could read it | Same |
Dawson Neighbourhood Italian — 241 High Street, Kew VIC 3101
Stage: third date. Dawson’s own menus page names the occasion: “Whether you’re joining us for a casual lunch, family dinner, date night, after-work drinks or a long weekend gathering with friends”. Hours are Monday to Sunday 11.30am to 10pm. Its 2026 menu PDF lists a margherita at $23, a burrata at $27 (burrata is a mozzarella shell filled with cream and soft curd) and a spaghetti cacio e pepe at $27 (the Roman pasta of pecorino and black pepper).
Talk-ability: we read nothing on the site about live music or a loud bar format, so we would guess conversation is easy. That is an inference, not a fact.
Split or splurge: split a $23 margherita and the $27 burrata; splurge on the $47 bistecca (steak). Plan B: Chicci, below, also does pizza and pasta. Say this: Dawson’s menu marks vegan dishes with (VGN), and the puffed flatbread with fennel salt ($12) is one of them.
Chicci — 321 High Street, Kew VIC 3101
Stage: third date, or a first date if you like a bar to start at. Chicci’s own site says “Our bar offers a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, perfect for a casual lunch, a romantic dinner, or drinks with friends”, and its navigation carries a “Romantic Dinner Menu” page. We did not capture that page’s contents, so the prices here come from the main menu, which prints “Starts at” prices: margherita pizza from $20, cheesy garlic bread from $12, homemade lasagne from $30 and penne Amatriciana from $32. Hours: closed Monday; Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday 12pm to 2pm and 5pm to 9pm; Friday 12pm to 2pm and 5pm to 9:30pm; Saturday 12pm to 9:30pm.
Talk-ability: a pizzeria and bar, with no live music mentioned on the pages we read, so likely easy; again an inference.
Split or splurge: split the garlic bread and a margherita; splurge on the $32 penne. Plan B: Dawson, which lists Monday opening. Say this: ask whether the Romantic Dinner Menu is running on the night you book.
Araliya — 1/118 High Street, Kew VIC 3101
Stage: anniversary, or any night you want something other than pizza. The site’s own words for the place are “Relaxed Fine Dining” and “Experimental Cocktail Bar”. It calls its food “Sri Lankan-inspired”, and the menu lists pan rolls (crumbed crepe rolls, two to a serve, lamb) at $21, a vegetarian hopper at $19 (a hopper is a bowl-shaped rice-flour and coconut-milk pancake), spiced chips at $15, jaggery beef at $49 and, for dessert, vatalappam (steamed coconut custard) at $18. The menu lists the duck kothu roti as serving 2, at $43. Hours: Tuesday to Thursday 5pm to 10pm, Friday 12pm to 10:30pm, Saturday 4:30pm to 10:30pm, Sunday 12pm to 9:30pm; Monday is not in its listed hours.
Talk-ability: the two self-descriptions suggest a table to linger at and a bar to start at, our inference. The site also says “We accommodate dietary requirements and have vegan and vegetarian options”, which helps if you are planning around what the other person eats.
Split or splurge: share the $43 duck kothu roti; splurge on the $49 jaggery beef and an $18 vatalappam. Plan B for a Monday: Dawson. Say this: the menu calls the duck kothu roti the “Araliya version”, so ask what makes it theirs.
Charcoal Grill on The Hill — 289 High Street, Kew VIC 3101
Stage: anniversary, for steak. The Kew Junction directory describes it as “For steak & wine with passion!” and “Fully Licensed”. Its hours are dinner Monday to Saturday from 6pm and lunch Thursday to Friday 12pm to 3pm. The venue’s own site is a thin page with address and phone only, so the hours come from that directory, and we found no priced menu from the venue itself.
Talk-ability: a dinner-led steak-and-wine format, which is our inference for a quieter room; the listing does not say. Split or splurge: no price band published where we could read it, so ring ahead. Plan B for a Sunday: its listed dinner nights run Monday to Saturday, so try Dawson. Say this: the directory says its bread is by French Fantasy and its fruit and veg are supplied by Toscano’s.
Skinny Dog Hotel — 155 High Street, Kew VIC 3101
Stage: first date, low stakes. The pub’s eat and drink page says “Whether it’s a casual lunch, date night, or weekend feast”. Trading hours are Sunday to Wednesday 12:00pm to 10:00pm, Thursday 12:00pm to 11:00pm and Friday to Saturday 12:00pm to 1:00am, and its FAQ says the kitchen wraps up at 9:30pm every day, 9pm on Sundays. Its Spring 2026 food menu has calamari at $24, beef brisket nachos at $29, a chicken schnitzel at $36 and a vegan choc mud cake at $19.
Talk-ability: the pub lists “Live Music Every Friday”, so Friday is the louder night; Sunday to Thursday is the safer bet if talking is the point, which is an inference from that listing.
Split or splurge: split the calamari and nachos ($24 and $29); splurge on the $36 schnitzel. Plan B: Chicci. Say this: the pub’s site says it has been “serving up cold beers and good times since 1853”, which is its own claim and a decent opener.
Quick answers
Which Kew restaurants say they suit a date night?
Dawson and Skinny Dog Hotel both use the words “date night” on their own sites. Chicci’s site says its bar suits “a romantic dinner” and links a “Romantic Dinner Menu” page. Araliya and Charcoal Grill on The Hill are here for their dinner formats, not date-night wording.
Which date-night place is open on a Monday?
Dawson lists Monday to Sunday 11.30am to 10pm. Skinny Dog Hotel lists Sunday to Wednesday 12:00pm to 10:00pm. Charcoal Grill on The Hill lists dinner Monday to Saturday from 6pm. Chicci is closed Mondays and Araliya’s listed hours start on Tuesday.
Where can two people share a main in Kew?
Araliya’s menu lists its duck kothu roti as serving 2, at $43.
Where can we have dinner late on a Friday or Saturday in Kew?
Skinny Dog Hotel’s trading hours run to 1:00am on Friday and Saturday, but its FAQ says the kitchen wraps up at 9:30pm every day, 9pm on Sundays, so the late close is for drinks, not dinner. Araliya lists Friday and Saturday to 10:30pm, and Chicci lists Friday and Saturday to 9:30pm.
Which of these places has vegan or vegetarian options?
Araliya says “We accommodate dietary requirements and have vegan and vegetarian options”. Dawson marks vegan dishes with (VGN) on its menu. Skinny Dog Hotel says its menu “has a range of options that can accommodate for vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options”.
How we checked
On 2 October 2026 we confirmed each address at two independent sources: the venue’s own website, plus OpenStreetMap or the Kew Junction Business Association directory. Prices are from each venue’s own menu: Dawson’s and Skinny Dog Hotel’s menus are PDFs that print bare numbers with no dollar sign, so we have added the dollar sign, and Chicci’s menu prints “Starts at” prices. Charcoal Grill on The Hill’s hours come from the Kew Junction directory because its own site is a thin page, and we have printed no price for it. Hours and menus change, so check before you book. We found no accessibility information in the pages we read, so this page says nothing about it; ask the venue. The “Talk-ability” lines are inferences from what each venue publishes, not reports from the room. The photos are illustrative, from Unsplash: they show the kind of scene, not the venue.
Seen something out of date? Email [email protected] with the page link and what has changed, and we will check it again.
Sources
- Dawson Neighbourhood Italian: website, 2026 menu PDF and the Kew Junction directory
- Chicci: website, menu, trading hours, the Kew Junction directory and OpenStreetMap
- Araliya: website, menu and the Kew Junction directory
- Charcoal Grill on The Hill: website and the Kew Junction directory
- Skinny Dog Hotel: website, FAQs, eat and drink, live music, Spring 2026 food menu and OpenStreetMap
