Sushi could be the key to getting a second date on Valentine’s Day

Is raw fish really an aphrodisiac?


First dates must be “exciting”; Italian food will not cut it. Now, dating website Match.com – yes, them again – has found that first time you go out, you should be getting sushi. You’re not even mates on Facebook yet and you’re already exposing yourself to (potentially) high mercury levels.

In a survey of 5,500 single people aged 18 to 70, Match.com discovered going for sushi on the very first date increases your chances of getting a second meeting by 170 percent. “Sushi is adventurous,” explains anthropologist Helen Fisher, who helped with the study. “Any kind of novelty drives up the dopamine system in the brain.”

Obviously, going out to eat on a first date is a risky move. Especially sushi: raw tuna is slippery and soy sauce goes everywhere (and makes your mouth too dry for snogging). A once-a-month trip to Wagamama doesn’t give you much practice using chopsticks. Fish breath is unpleasant.

It’s pronounced ‘oh-knee-gee-ree’

However, raw fish is – allegedly – a turn on. Salmon, tuna, crab and even wasabi are aphrodisiacs – more so if the fish is raw, as the flavours are intensified. Sure.

Sushi is sushi, but apparently going for a proper sit down meal will increase your chances of seeing someone again (so pick Sushisamba, not Itsu). And incidentally, the study confirmed what we know already: drinking makes it all go smoother – 59 per cent smoother. Reportedly, cocktails are your best bet because beer and wine are a bit boring. Though don’t order a Sex on the Beach on your first date and make a bad uncle joke.