Getting comfortable with dining solo
So, you’ve been brave enough to head out into the world (or the next suburb), with just your own excellent self for company. Firstly, good call! There’s no need to wait for someone else to show up to start exploring. But what about eating out? If you’re anything like me, I dread the ‘Just for one?’ greeting you often get as a solo diner. That implied judgement can make you feel like turning on your heel and running back to your hotel for room service! But that would mean missing out on some of the best experiences of a new place. Don’t be put off by unenlightened waiters; eating a meal alone, fully immersed in the experience of that place and the food on your plate and the wine in your glass, without the distraction of another person’s needs, can be a wondrous thing.
To help you build confidence to dine solo, here are some ideas:
1. Start with breakfast or lunch. Lots of cafes will have communal tables with daily newspapers or magazines that encourage the solo diner to make themselves at home. Build your solo dining chops by getting comfy in an environment where there are likely to be other people dining alone so you don’t feel self-conscious about it.
2. Time to graduate to dinner? Head to a wine bar. Wine bars are practically made for Ones, with their barstools and small plates and wines by the glass. You will usually find someone behind the bar happy to have a chat about the wine or food on offer if you feel like interacting.
3. Look for a restaurant with bar seating that runs along a busy, open kitchen. Watching the chefs work is a great way to immerse yourself in the food – it’s like dinner and a show all in one!
4. Once you’ve built up some solo dining swagger, start asking questions about how the restaurant could look after you! For example, some restaurants will do single serves of larger dishes, so you can try a few things on the menu without over-eating or over-spending Look out for half bottles of wine on the wine list if you feel like more than a glass, but can’t quite stretch to a bottle!
The shift towards open kitchens and communal dining spaces found in many new and popular restaurants will be a great thing for the Ones out there. As more restaurants normalise this way of eating, the stigma of the sad solo diner will become a distant memory and instead replaced with warm welcomes, tables or stools with a view, interesting wines by the glass and share plates you can order in a half serve.
Have you got a recommendation for all those fearless Ones out there? Where do you like to eat alone?
