Red Lobster’s Quarantine-Appropriate Date Night Deal Has Spotify Playlist and Zoom Backgrounds

Restaurants have closed across the country because of the coronavirus pandemic. And while a true restaurant experience can’t be replicated at home, Red Lobster is doing their best to bring the excitement of date night to you—and they got four hours of love songs to prove it.

Red Lobster has introduced a new line of Date Night Deals, a pretty straightforward set of meals for two: choices of an appetizer, an entrée for two (like lobster or surf and turf), a family-size side, two desserts, and four Cheddar Bay Biscuits.

The real fun begins with the seafood chain's Spotify Date Night Playlist, which has over 60 songs across more than four hours of Red Lobster-approved love tunes. They're also offering ten Zoom backgrounds to spice up your online chats.

With the playlist, your auditory adventure starts with the 2011 Beyonce hit “Love on Top,” ends with the 1984 saxophone-driven Sade classic “Your Love Is King,” and weaves its way through hits from all sorts of eras and genres: the big band staple “Beyond the Sea,” the disco falsettos of “How Deep Is Your Love,” and even Ol’ Dirty Bastard makes a guest appearance thanks to Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy.” The collection is cheesier than any biscuit, but it just may be the isolation soundtrack you need (in part because I’m not sure how much you’d want to put on this playlist in a group setting).

Meanwhile, the free downloadable Zoom backgrounds offer up a view of the Red Lobster bar, the seaside, or even just a pile of Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Sure, the whole Zoom angle here is questionable: If the Date Night Deal is enough food for two, then you’d be eating together, so why do you need to video chat as well? Red Lobster suggests you can “choose the perfect Zoom background for a double-date night,” but now I’m wondering about what sort of message the Spotify playlist is sending.