He estimates he’s been on at least 600 first dates, but this Manhattan man is still looking for “The One.”
“I would love to meet someone,” Joey Batista, a 43-year-old entrepreneur, told The Post. “I know how great it feels when you are in love.”
Batista, who owns Joey Bats Cafe on the Lower East Side, claims to have been on hundreds of first dates since moving from Western Massachusetts to New York City in 2013.
His phone is filled with the phone numbers of more than 1,000 women, whom he connected with over the years on sites such as Tinder, Match, Bumble and Hinge.
“Once I moved to NYC and changed my location on Match.com, the floodgates opened. I was getting all these messages from women. I am a super-social guy and was new to the city. It was very eye-opening. I was meeting so many interesting people,” said Batista, who once went on three separate dates in one day.
Not surprisingly, Batista has dabbled in reality television and he was even featured in a commercial for Match.com.
He also appeared on the 2017 NBC show “First Dates” and, in 2019, went on “Kate + Date,” where he had two dates with former TLC star Kate Gosselin.
“She was sweet to me. I was picked for the second date,” he said. “I say ‘Yes’ to everything because I’m single.” (At the time, Gosselin observed: “Life feels a lot less serious to him.”)
Ultimately, it was not a match.
“I don’t want to say I’m picky, but I’m just honest about wanting to feel a certain way. There have been occasions where I have been more interested than the girls,” said Batista, adding, “But I’ve had very few bad first dates. I like to meet new people.”
But don’t call him a commitment phobe. He was in a 10-year relationship with a girl from back home, which included five years of marriage. They divorced in 2011.
And in 2016, in the midst of a dating spree, he did meet a younger Colombian beauty who caught his eye.
“After a few months, we were serious. It took me by surprise because I was just in the casual dating mode. We were together for a year and a half,” he said. (He ended it.)
With such robust experience in the dating department, Batista does have a type.
His parents are from Northern Portugal and he’s fluent in their native tongue. He also speaks Spanish and is drawn to bilingual women from South and Central America.
“I believe that when you speak another language you are more open-minded,” said Batista, adding that he prefers tall, athletic brunettes who can dance.
His turnoffs including picky eaters and negativity.
“I’m always in a good mood,” he said.
On a typical first date, he takes the woman for a drink. If they’re hitting it off, he suggests they move elsewhere to grab another and maybe a bite to eat.
For a second date, he tries to cater it to the woman’s interests. “If she likes animals, maybe we go to a horse farm. I’ve taken a girl hiking and then dinner,” he said. “It has to be something fun like watching a live salsa band and dancing.”
While in NYC, the Lower East Side resident now mostly uses Bumble and Hinge. “I feel like Tinder has too many fake profiles in New York. I’ll use that when I’m traveling though.”
Lately, he has slowed his dating life as he’s added a Chelsea Market location of his eponymous cafe, which sells pastéis de nata, a Portuguese egg custard tart.
And next month, he’s due to officially open Gama Lounge, a soccer-themed cafe on Avenue B.
“Work takes up a lot of my time right now,” he said. He is also very close with his mother, Isabel Fernandes, who works at the cafe but doesn’t dish out any love advice or pester him to marry.
“She is super nice to everyone — until she thinks you’re dating me,” he said. “She is just super protective.”
And with so many past dates on the books, how would the women rate him?
“If I had to guess, they would say, ‘Joey was a gentleman and is fun. But he isn’t serious.'”
But Batista insists he’s sincere in his aim to one day settle down — even if he isn’t willing to settle on a life partner.
“I do want to get married and have kids. I want to feel that certain way. She can be an astrophysicist and beautiful, but if my insides are not feeling it, then no-go,” he said, adding, “Always follow your gut.”