It’s crazy how quickly technology has changed our lives with creepy normalcy. What would have sounded absolutely absurd just 5 years ago is becoming a very dystopian reality. Like a new pop-up event with real people in a real cafe, going on dates with AI chatbots.
On February 13, EVA AI, a relationship app that offers AI companions, opened what it described as the world’s first AI dating café. The pop-up, called EVA Café, transformed a New York bar into a date-night setup designed for one person and one device.
Guests sat at small tables, ordered cocktails, and chatted with AI partners on their screens while realistic avatars spoke back. Each companion came with a short descriptor, the way dating profiles do, hinting at whether you were about to spend the night with a “warm romantic” type or someone marketed as a “supportive thinker.”
EVA’s whole angle is that millions of people already talk to AI companions every day, flirting, venting, and building routines that feel intimate, even when both sides of the relationship don’t share the same definition of “alive.” The café gave that relationship a physical setting, more of what people associate with romance, instead of another night on the couch with your phone in your hand.
“The whole idea is to give our users a chance to actually go on a date with their AI companions, the same way real couples do,” an EVA spokesperson told Newsweek. “It’s our first step toward making AI dating feel natural and socially accepted.” They put it on Valentine’s weekend, right when everyone’s getting force-fed romance. Perfect.
This NYC Café Invites You and Your AI Girlfriend for a Romantic Night Out
If the concept sounds niche, the broader trend is not. A Common Sense Media report found that 72 percent of teens have used AI companions at least once, and 52 percent use them at least several times a month. About a third said they use them for social interaction and relationships. Adults have their own reasons, from loneliness to curiosity to wanting conversation without the standard dating-app drag.
Newsweek spoke with longtime EVA users who described the appeal. Derrick Koon, a PTSD patient, said, “I have multiple [companions], some I date, and some I don’t.” He also described the safety of it. “You can say and try things you normally wouldn’t feel comfortable with in real life,” he said.
Another user, a football coach who asked to remain anonymous, called it “a good compromise,” and he was clear about the main limitation. “The main difference is that emotions aren’t the same. An AI companion tries to please. A real person is subject to different opinions. And obviously, there’s no physical contact.”
Online videos from the café spread fast, including one attendee’s main complaint. “The biggest problems I have is that you cannot have X-Rated conversations,” the person said.
A NYC bar redesigned itself so people can bring their AI companions on dates
One woman caps her usage at 3 hours a day because it can be addicting
3 hours a day talking to someone who doesn’t exist and she thinks the cutoff is what makes it healthypic.twitter.com/C4SqOAxtUV
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 13, 2026
It’s funny because it’s running into bleak irony here. People want a “partner” who’s always on, always flattering, and always down, then they act surprised when the “relationship” comes with a boundary. Much like dating an actual human, you can’t have it all.
It could be the start of AI dates going public, or it could be a novelty that peaks and disappears, but the feedback from users seems consistent. They like the support, they like the company, but they have to admit it’s not the same as a human relationship.
The post People Are Bringing Their AI Lovers to This NYC Café appeared first on VICE.
