The best singles events in New York for 2026, ranked

New York singles events in 2026 are the strongest they've been in a decade. The run clubs took over the Tuesday-evening slot, the supper club format finally cracked it, and the comedy and drawing nights have settled into the canon. Speed dating exists but nobody on this list does it.

This is the working ranking — events I've been to or had consistent reports on from people I trust. If you disagree, comments. If you're new to the city, run clubs first, supper club second, drawing night third — that's the safe trio.

For the actual schedule of singles events this month, the NYC nightlife and singles feed is the place (city filter on the main feed).

1. Brooklyn Run Club Singles

McCarren and Prospect Park editions, weekly, 5K conversational pace, bar afterwards. The bar piece is the whole game — the run is just the structure that lets the bar conversation happen organically. Best ratio of any singles event in the city right now.

The Tuesday McCarren edition is the most established. Stay for the second drink, that's when people actually talk.

2. Drawing Night NYC

Life drawing for singles — Lower East Side and Greenpoint editions, monthly. You sit at an easel, you draw a professional model, you talk to the strangers either side of you about technique and pencils and chairs. The structured-but-creative format takes the pressure off completely.

The wine helps. The fact that nobody can see your drawings unless you show them helps more.

3. Stand-Up Singles Mixer

Comedy gig with a structured mingle in the bar afterwards. Comedy Cellar runs the best monthly version, Webster Hall does a quarterly bigger one. The shared laughing-at-the-same-thing does half of the icebreaker work for you.

You can also just go to a regular comedy show solo, sit at the bar, and talk to people in the breaks. Less structured, sometimes works better.

4. Supper Club for Singles

Curated dinners — eight to twelve people, application-based, rotating seating between courses. Greenpoint and LES editions biweekly. The small-table format does most of the work — the conversation has somewhere to go.

This is the best NYC entry on this list if you can get in. Some run waitlists.

5. Pottery for Singles NYC

Throwing pots together — Greenpoint and Bushwick studios run monthly editions. Skews 28-38, ratio is the most balanced of anything on this list. The hands-busy element is genuinely the best icebreaker structure I've encountered.

6. Board Game Singles

Cooperative games at a bar — Williamsburg and East Village editions, weekly — with structured rotation every twenty minutes so you change tables. Best low-pressure option for introverts. The games carry the conversation completely.

7. Tech Run Club Singles (Manhattan)

Tech-skewed run club crossover — Brooklyn Bridge and Hudson Yards starts, weekly. Mostly engineers and PMs from the obvious companies, post-run breakfast is where the actual chat happens. Skews 25-32.

8. Queer Brooklyn Mixers

House of Yes-adjacent crowd in Bushwick and Bed-Stuy, monthly, properly inclusive vibe. The post-event hang at the connected bars is consistently the best part. The format is loose — closer to a party than a structured event — which is the right call for this scene.

9. Wine Tasting Singles

Six wines, structured rotation, sommelier-led. Tribeca and West Village editions, biweekly. Wine gives you something to actually have an opinion about, the rotation means you talk to four different groups. Skews 28-40 and the conversation tends to be properly grown-up.

10. Climbing Wall Singles

Brooklyn Boulders and Movement run the singles nights in the bouldering category — monthly editions. Shared "I am bad at this" energy is the leveler, the climbing gives you something to do with your hands, everyone is too tired by the end to be performative.

What did not make the list

Speed dating in any disguise — pass. The dating apps holding "exclusive" mixers — pass, mostly lead-gen. The matchmaker dinners that cost $400 — different category, not what most readers want.

I've also avoided the chronically-online "vibe-based" mixers in Brooklyn that are basically just parties with a singles tag. They're fine, they're parties, they're not what this list is about.

How I use the list

New to the city: Brooklyn Run Club Singles → Drawing Night → Supper Club, in that order. Introvert: Board Game Singles or Pottery for Singles. LGBTQ+: Queer Brooklyn Mixers. 30+: Wine Tasting Singles or Supper Club. Tech-leaning: Tech Run Club Singles or Climbing Wall.

For the wider singles event schedule across the boroughs, save singles events on Rifio and they'll surface in your feed weekly.