A first date that is worth the effort
The best first dates are not impressive. They are short, cheap, public, and easy to leave. Getting those four things right does more for your chances than any restaurant choice.
Keep it short, on purpose
An hour, in public, with somewhere to be afterwards. A first date is not for deciding whether to marry somebody - it is for finding out whether you want a second one. A long, open-ended plan puts pressure on both of you and makes an awkward hour feel like a failed evening.
Having somewhere to be is not a rejection. It is what makes it easy to say yes to a second date.
Somewhere you can talk
Loud bars and cinemas are the worst possible first dates, because they make conversation impossible and conversation is the entire point. A coffee, a walk, a quiet pub, a market. Somewhere you can hear each other and leave after an hour without it being strange.
Tell someone, and check in
Tell a friend where you are going, who you are meeting, and when you expect to be done. Share your location with them if your phone allows it. Agree a check-in time, and treat a missed check-in as something they should act on.
This is not paranoia. It costs you nothing and it is the single most useful safety measure there is, because it means somebody knows where you are without you having to ask for help in the moment.
Meet there rather than being collected
Arrive and leave on your own terms for a first meeting. It keeps your address private and it means you can end the evening whenever you want, without an awkward conversation in a car.
What to actually talk about
Ask things you are genuinely curious about rather than things you think you should ask. A job, a hometown and a favourite film will produce three sentences. Why somebody moved somewhere, what they would do with a free month, what they are bad at - those produce a conversation.
And listen for whether you are being asked anything back. Somebody who does not ask you a single question in an hour is telling you something, and it is usually not nerves.
If the date goes well, say so - a plain sentence the next day goes further than any amount of guessing. If it does not, a short, kind message is a complete answer and needs no justification.