I, too, often dine solo.

(Off-topic sentence: I prefer to dine..."pigs eat, humans dine")

Always prefer a table, not the bar...tho will sometimes accept the bar.

I try to be conscious of the current traffic in the restaurant, as in, is it crowded/are there groups of people waiting to be seated? Or, although the place is fairly empty now, am I arriving at a time when I can reasonably expect that the place will get busy in the next forty-five minutes? If it is or is going to be busy, I certainly understand being seated at one of the less-than-best tables.

That said, this often works for me:

I approach the podium.

Host/Hostess: "Table for how many?"

Me: (I pretend that I'm not necessarily interested in dining): "Um, I'm having a bit of a problem, and I was hoping that you might be able to help me out."

Host/Hostess: (Getting nervous now 'cause they don't know what I'm about to ask): "What can I help you with?"

Me: "I'm traveling solo tonight, but I'm still hungry. I was hoping that you could still feed me."

Host/Hostess: (with obvious look of relief): "Of course!!"

I've communicated that I'm dining alone, and not made it awkward for the host/ess to raise the question.

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(And I really like the idea upthread about making notes in a notebook, or photographing the food....I'll have to try that out!)