Hear from The Sole and Joey's, finalists in the search for Best Date Night Restaurant

WORCESTER — Two popular Worcester restaurants are competing for the distinction of being the Best Date Night Restaurant in Central Massachusetts.

The Sole Proprietor, the 45-year-old dining institution at 118 Highland St., and the 18-year-old Joey's Bar & Grill at 334 Chandler St., emerged from an original field of 16 in the Telegram & Gazette's latest reader poll .

Nominations from readers shaped the list of 16 restaurants.

After three rounds of voting, with each weeklong round cutting the field in half, The Sole and Joey's were left standing.

The final round ends at 6 p.m. Monday. (Scroll down to vote.)

More: Dinner for two: Search for Best Date Night Restaurant in Central Mass. down to a pair

The Telegram & Gazette caught up with a representative from each of the remaining restaurants:

Caitlin Carolyn, president of the Worcester Restaurant Group, which includes The Sole Proprietor as well as One Eleven Chop House and VIA Italian Table, and Erika Rovezzi, who co-owns Joey's Bar & Grill with her husband, Joey, each talked about what makes their restaurant the perfect place for a date.

"I think the atmosphere is lively. I think our bar scene is great. And I think we got a lot of different options for guests, whether they want to be more towards the action or they want to sit a quieter, private area," Carolyn said of The Sole. "Our food is, obviously, seafood-centric but we have lots of options for people who don't enjoy seafood. We have everything. Our menu makes it so that you can't not have a great time."

"We're a casual, relaxed place. So you can come on a Monday," Rovezzi said of Joey's. "You can come on a Saturday and make it fancy. We got a menu that covers all the basis. If you want to come in and do apps and drinks for a first date kind of thing or if you want to come in a celebrate an anniversary, you can do something special off our regular menu or our specials. We give great service. Our service is friendly. It's kind of the 'Cheers' of the city, if you may."

The two women were asked if they see a lot of couples come in that are on their first date or early in their relationship.

"Sometimes, you tend to know which ones, maybe, are on a first date," Carolyn said. "Sometimes the customers let us know that, but sometimes it's just people who have been together for a long time. We often see a lot of anniversaries celebrated. We have a lot of success stories. We have people who will come in and say, 'We got engaged in your restaurant... we had a rehearsal dinner in your restaurant... and now we're coming back for our fifth anniversary.' We're definitely a date night spot."   

"We've had everything from proposals in here to first dates, first dates to 10-year anniversaries. It spans the gamut," Rovezzi said. "We get a lot of first dates. We get a lot of engagements. We get a lot of people who celebrate their anniversaries… And it's not always the first date when you're 20. It sometimes the first date when you're 40, 50, 60."

Carolyn and Rovezzi discussed the perfect date night dining experience.

"If you love fresh seafood, I think getting some raw bar options are a great way to start," Carolyn said. "We've got great champagne, one by the glass, great cocktails, so I think maybe a drink at the bar first if that's what you're in to, with maybe a little raw bar and moving into the dining room, letting us take great care of you. Get some more raw bar and move to our entrée course and we have some great desserts also. For me. it would be oysters, a shrimp cocktail… a whole lobster or a fillet with a lobster followed by, probably, black bottom pie."

"All of our apps are great for sharing, so I think you could pick any appetizer, depending on what you like," Rovezzi said. "I don't think I would go with chicken wings or ribs. Something that would be easier to share as an app or a nice salad. Then, obviously let your date pick their own meal, which depends on what they like. One of our fan's favorites is the chicken frangelico. It's been on the menu since we started. We can go anywhere from steaks to burgers. If you're a teenager or a college kid, you might just want to have a couple burgers… and the specials are always very good."  

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: The Sole and Joey's, finalists in the search for Best Date Night Restaurant