Originally Posted by cubbie

I (a woman) dined alone frequently when travelling for work for a few decades, so from a social perspective, it doesn't bother me at all now that I don't travel so much for work anymore.

I'm fine with eating at the bar, except for one thing -- the crappy ergonomics of most bars for eating a meal. Some bars have a foot rail that sticks out so far, and/or a big curved piece of wood molding on the edge of the bar, that it is hard to get close enough to the bar to eat comfortably. I understand the practical purpose of the foot rail but not so much the big bar molding --- are glasses and plates and bowls sliding off bars really that much of a problem? Never seen one slide off once in all my life.

These things aren't such noticeable obstacles when you're reaching for a drink or a slice of pizza so much as when you're trying to lean near a bowl of soup or plate of food (the bars at the Flat Top Grill chain come to mind).

This may be less of an issue for the average man, who is about 5 inches taller than the average woman. Frankly, the foot rail is often of no use to most women, who are not tall enough to be able to put their feet on it and sit comfortably on the bar stool at the same time. All it does is make it hard for them to move the bar stool as close to the bar as they would like to be able to eat comfortably. I'm 5'5", by the way, which is the US average height for a woman. I would usually prefer to sit at the bar to eat, drink, and watch TV when I'm out alone, but if I'm trying to eat a meal and the foot rail and bar rail make it too uncomfortablle, I'll ask to switch to a table.