And the OP says “angry e-mail”, but “good luck with your dating/life” doesn’t really sound like she’s flinging daggers his way, just really annoyed, which is pretty reasonable.
Of course, we don’t have her e-mail to read, so maybe she was really nasty, but I don’t think we can assume she was, either.
I’d say if he goal was to go on a date, but he botched it up so that he never went on the date/accomplished his goal, he failed at dating.
You should have asked to see his dating coupon, and then left beccause his date couldn’t be redeemed without one.
Angry was a bad term to use. It was obvious she was upset, but the email wasn’t especially vitriolic, so that wasn’t particularly fair of me to say “angry.” Of course, I don’t know if I was filtered before or after the apology; either way, I can’t say I blame her.
Lessons learned, and all that. And it never occurred to me to call the restaurant until now, so there’s that, too.
It’s obvious I’m not very good at this 
All my relationships to date have all been picking up from established friendships – this is really my first foray into the shotgun dating approach.
Take heart - dating is a learned skill like most others. The more you do it, the better you get at it.
This is true, and there is some good advice in this thread.
Next time, meet in a more familiar place! 
This happens to me on more than half of all dates, and on the couple of occasions I’ve received some kind of explanation it has been utterly without apology.
Welcome to the party. Welcome to LA.
Stranger
This is salvageable, but you’ll have to pay for it. Don’t give up yet!
Explain exactly what happened and be honest. You were probably a little nervous right, and that caused you to … walk in the wrong direction (this is hilarious, from an outsider’s viewpoint, by the way).
If she is at all the kind of person you want to be dating, then she will give you a second chance.
…a little easier on the makeup, perhaps?
I’m pretty sure he said he tried this, and it didn’t work. In fact, attempts to contact her have been blocked by some “Oh Hells No, Don’t Ever Message Me Again!” filter she has set up.
People should just me like me, and give up on attempting to be happy with another person altogether. Learn to love something useful, like bourbon.
Ah, OK sorry, I didn’t read the whole thread. 
+10
hugs headrush Aww, hun. You twaddle-headed goofball. gives noogie
Ok, so now you know the drill
1- scope out the location previously.
2- don’t be directionally challenged.
3- if you don’t exchange phone numbers, call the restaurant to have them track her down and beg her to stay will you run in the proper direction.
That being said, let me commiserate with you! I remember the angst of dating, and the idiocy of the few. I once went on a date that required me to drive 2 1/2 hours to meet the guy and couldn’t find the location. I did have a cell phone, however, so I could call.
Turns out that i had driven 2 1/2 hours to meet him at this little hole in the wall chinese place with bad service and suspect food. And I’m usually not one to complain about chinese. Then instead of going to the movies as we had discussed, he suggested walking around the mall.
Yeah, I was wearing high heeled boots that didn’t enjoy walking across the slick marble tiles of the mall. Oh, and turns out he was like 3-4 inches shorter than originally revealed and he had a back problem so he hunched even more. Not that I cared, I just would have worn flats rather than being in all my 6’2" with heels glory . . .to his 5’6" manliness.
And I’m sorry, but walking the mall is just not romantic to me. . . .
Surprisingly, I cut the date off after 2 1/2 hours due to the long drive back, and made a booty call on the way home. (I had to get the fishy-kiss feeling he left there off my face.)
When I first read this part, I just made the assumption that you lived in DC.
Boy, was I ever wrong.
Oh I know! You could send her a picture of your penis! We all know that all women LOVE to get penis pictures in their email. Especially if they have young children that might happen to be about. Weeee! Penis pictures!! Works every time!
I’m a little jaded with the online dating…
4- Bribe the entire staff so that as soon as you come in, someone comes up to you and says “Andre will be thrilled that you could come, he wants to get your opinion on next season’s menu. Shall I show you to your usual table, Ace?”
This is just a widespread joke, right? Please tell me there aren’t guys who actually do that.
I got one at 7am today, and it has not been the first time, by far.
Wow. So that’s the level of competition I’m up against, huh?
I have to admit, it *was * the biggest penis I’ve ever seen- however, that is not a selling point with me. I’m petite, and that just hurts.
Before I get smacked down again for going off-topic, I’d like to point out that I’m showing the OP that other men fail so completely worse at dating than he did, and I’m sure he feels better now. 
But I cut back to only two coats of foundation as it is.
But her love in return is tempestuous and often destructive if received in excess. An abusive lass she is, although not nearly as bad as her Mexican cousin.
With the field being handicapped like this, it seems like I should easily be in the top ten percentile. And yet, I can barely get any responses to a well-composed, literate message, and end up either being classified at the extrema of the Nice Guy/Jackass axis. What the hell?
Stranger