SFflyer123

Other diners will think you're lonely. Some people are self-conscious about that; some are okay with it.

PFKMan23

I can only speak for myself but I like dining alone. It helps me clear my head.

Steph3n

I always strike up a chat and learn something when dining alone!

Swanhunter

^ Some me time without others intruding.

BearX220

Me as well, especially after a long day of enforced interaction. A whole day performing for clients can be like hosting a ten-hour television show. You don't want to see anyone afterwards, least of all your studio audience.

black dawn

I've dined out alone, and I've ordered room service. It really depends on what the dining out choices are. If they're boring (or if it's late), I'll do the room service.

Jazzop

When dining at top restaurants (Michelin-starred, and the ilk), I generally prefer to do it alone. Without another person at the table and conversation to distract me, I can focus better on the food and wine. My formation of taste memory is orders of magnitude stronger when dining alone.

I typically have the full tasting menu and enjoy discussing the wine pairings and such with the staff.
Once I had a very enthusiastic sommelier in Europe who was so shocked that I was an American (apparently I didn't fit his negative stereotype) that he gave me a custom wine tasting with each course. "Here," he would say, "is the wine paired on the menu with this dish. Here is the one I prefer. And here is the one the chef prefers." 3 glasses of wine per course, for 8 courses-- I was hammered! If I had had a dining companion, the sommelier would have almost certainly kept his distance and done the cool, Continental thing, as protocol prescribes. And I probably would have ended up paying for two dinners and still not have gotten laid.

antirealist

I dine alone much more often than not, and enjoy it. But when I go to a nice restaurant for a meal, I expect to be given some time to appreciate the experience. This is a pet peeve of mine.

Some restaurants seem to be under the impression that solo diners want to get in and out of the place as quickly as possible, picking up the empty app plate with one hand and depositing the mains with the other. On occasion, I've been force fed and handed the bill 40 minutes after arrival while I'm still drinking my aperitif, when diners who arrived at the same time as me are still waiting for their apps.

SFflyer123

When I have dined alone, I listen a lot more. You cannot help hearing the conversation at the table next to you. You've nothing to distract you. You hear the entire conversation, like it or not...

silver-tls

+1

If you're in public, don't expect a conversation is private.

dd992emo

I've had that happen to me. At a restaurant in SDF they brought my salad and entree at the same time. It was a popular chain and they had comment cards, so I mentioned it as a training issue. Got a nice email from the GM with some $$$ off tickets for use at their restaurants.

MisterNice

I had the same thing happen in Seattle and, surprise! surprise! the ice cream dessert was delivered 5 min later. With that I requested to see the manager and within 5 min the waiter said no charge for the meal. Oh yes, I left no tip as I later exited.

MisterNice

Shangri-La

I wonder if tourist spots, especially Vegas, are more open to people dining alone compared to other spots?

ScarletHarlot

I have eaten alone at restaurants many times. Usually this is while I'm travelling on business but I have also done so while on vacation. I enjoy it. I don't like getting room service, so either I go out or do takeout. I have no problem being alone. I enjoy the downtime.

When I would go to work in NJ I tended to go to Legal Sea Foods at Short Hills Mall for dinner at least once per trip. I'd sit at the bar with a magazine and enjoy a margarita and some lobster bisque. I often ended up chatting with the bartender or other solo diners nearby. Once or twice I sat at a table and I remember one time the server was a really nice guy who chatted with me every time he came by.

On a trip to Vegas last year Mr. Harlot had a dinner out with his hockey team one night that I did not care to attend. Instead I went to dinner at Noodles in Bellagio by myself. I didn't enjoy the food but that was because I ordered poorly, not because I was a solo diner.

I had two bad solo dining experiences. One was at a touristy shrimp restaurant in Savannah. They obviously wanted to get me out of there as fast as possible. Another was at a Red Lobster in Oxford, AL. They had no idea how to treat me. The server approached me with great nervousness every time. I was not offered dessert at either place. Seriously, a female dining alone, and you don't offer dessert?

thegeneral

When traveling I often dine alone. I'm traveling alone. I don't limited to certain types of places. That said, I rarely find it worth sitting around, eating way too much at a restaurant. I'd rather do room service or just pick something up to bring to the hotel. The ambiance isn't really beneficial when its just you getting nourishment.