About this event
On Friday 20th November, we’re back at Bermondsey Bar & Kitchen in London Bridge for an evening of matched group dates and live music.
And we’re so excited to introduce this month’s theme: Après-Ski 🎿
Ski gear is encouraged, but of course not compulsory, and we’ll have prizes for the best dressed. Think goggles, retro jackets, ski suits - or just your favourite first-date outfit and a “sorry I couldn’t dress up, I came straight from work!!” explanation, which is honestly fair enough lol x
The space has heaters above every table and is fully covered, but given that the British summer is behind us, we thought we’d pick a theme where big coats and fluffy socks can become official date attire…
The plan
From 6pm - come and join us
Our team will be on the door, ready to introduce you to some new people. Most guests come not knowing anyone, so we’ll connect you with some new faces to grab a drink with straight away x
We’ll also let you know where to find your table numbers for your group dates.
7:30pm - your first group date
Head to your first table to meet a group of around 6–8 people. We spend a lot of time thinking about who sits together. When buying your ticket, you’ll fill out a form that helps us understand your personality, interests and what you’re looking for.
Our matching technology uses those answers, alongside age and dating preferences, to help us build your groups. The aim is to introduce you to people you have things in common with in a way that feels organic, having used a bit of science behind the scenes.
There’s no swiping, there’s absolutely no pressure and it’s designed to feel like grabbing a glass of wine with some new friends. We keep dates short and sweet: you’ll spend 20 minutes per table and meet four different groups of people x
After the group dates - stay for the après
Live music starts and there’s a chance to chat to everyone else in the room, or reconnect with someone from earlier. Our team are on hand to make introductions and have a chat too x
11:30pm - sometimes unofficial afters
Sometimes we end up “out out” somewhere nearby, normally after being convinced to do so by one of you guys lol
11:30pm is when the Haystack event officially finishes at BBK x
We’re a small business with a big mission - to make dating fun again. We feel really passionately about connecting fun, interesting people and put our heart and soul into every event we host.
We couldn’t feel more grateful for the absolutely lovely community we’ve built - feel free to read what some of our guests have had to say here.
If there's anything at all you want to see us do differently, please reach out; we read every email and we care a huge amount about you guys!
But for now, if you’re open to meeting some new people, we’d love for you to join us for a drink after work in London Bridge!x
FAQs
Are dating events worth it?
We have worked very hard to create events for single people that don't feel like typical ‘dating events’, which we know can sometimes feel overwhelming. We hire great venues, invest in fun entertainment and bring compatible single people together in groups, so you can go on multiple low-pressure dates in one evening. There are always new dating apps popping up, but let's be honest - we can barely keep up with our family's WhatsApp chat, let alone another dating app. We're all about getting people off their phones and meeting in real life.
What are your dating events?
Our events use a combination of technology and human judgement to bring single people together. When you arrive, you'll be greeted by our lovely Haystack host/s, who'll help you settle in before introducing you to your matched groups. Depending on the event, you'll meet different groups of people throughout the evening. We host everything from relaxed drinks in beer gardens to arcade games, crazy golf and sporty activities. The whole idea is to make meeting new people feel as natural as having a drink with friends - with the added bonus that everyone happens to be single.
How do you match single people?
When you book, we'll ask you a few questions about yourself, your interests and your dating preferences. Behind the scenes, we use a combination of matching technology and our team's judgement to put together groups of people we think you'll get along with. Depending on the event, this might involve our own software, AI-assisted tools or manual matching. We consider things like age, dating preferences, shared interests and the overall balance of each group. The aim? To make meeting new people feel as natural and pressure-free as possible. Some sensitive matching information requires your separate consent, and you can find the details in our Privacy & Data Protection Notice.
We know making friends as an adult isn't exactly easy, so we now also optimise groups for friendship matches too!x
What should I wear?
We get this question a lot - our recommendation is something you'd wear to a