Just get up, get out and have a lovely dinner by yourself. I have proudly and happily enjoy dining by myself in restaurants (including fine dining) on six continents.

People are way too concerned with what others think. People actually don't care if you are dining alone so you shouldn't. Bring a book if you are anxious about dining alone. I got over the dining with a book a while ago. Now I enjoy my wine, my food and people watching.

There are so many great restaurants in Berlin, which I have dined in alone, and I hope you experience at least one of them.

BTW, not that it matters but I am female.

Good luck.

What shame are you talking about? It's entirely in your head.

I love sitting at the bar by myself and having dinner with a good book, or chatting with the people next to me.

Wow! Just ten mins after my post I get four replies.

I'm afraid I am sitting in a Dolores burrito bar. Maybe next time I will try your suggestions. For now, I will sulk alone eating a complicated, tasteless, messy burrito before heading back to the hotel for a change. I have clients to entertain in a cocktail bar at 10pm.

What a dreary weekend.

You made it so.

Germany has many places, where you can eat on large tables and meet new people. It might be a little to cold for the beer garden (and frankly that's not what Berlin is know for), but there plenty of bars, eateries you'll be happy.

Go local and you'll meet potential new friends. ;)

(I did that in Tokyo. I did go to Izakayas and small eateries, sat down next to locals (which coincidentally spoke English), got help ordering food and had brief conversations. It was simply fantastic).

Yep. I deserved that comment. My fault!

Next time, try one of these fancy currywurst restaurants: More relaxed ambiance and local flavors :eek:

That would be an option but I do not eat pork. I'm difficult am I not?!

As a couple posters mentioned there is nothing wrong with eating alone. Here are a couple things that could help with the anxiety if it bothers you.

Bring a book. It will look like you plan on being there alone, didn't get stood up. It will give the other people context. I have even see people bring a laptop, but that might not fit in a very high end place.

As other people mentioned you could go to a place with communal seating or seating at a bar area.

Wear more business attire. This would give people a social context on why you are there alone.

You could also bring a briefcase or backpack with you that would give context of out of town/business.

I'm in Copenhagen right now by myself and I ate dinner alone toight (went to Copenhagen Food Stalls which is great by the way) and will do so tomorrow night too. I've traveled all over the world solo and never once have I worried about dining alone, nor have I ever gotten any real hassles from restaurants for doing so. It's a great way to get reading or crossword puzzles done too.

Actually, maybe I can be the voice of dissent here. I know it is a new day over there by now, but it sounds to me that your problem isn't that you are embarrassed or afraid to eat alone. Sounds to me like the real issue is that you feel lonely, hate the fact that you are stuck on a weekend a place you dont want to be doing something you dont want to do. All the rest is just ways of covering up that fact that you don't want to admit to yourself. As much as we like to boast that none of the rest of us have been there, the fact is I think most of us have.

So, for next time, or for when anyone else is feeling like this, here is what I do.
1) figure out what kind of comfort food you most want - forgetting completely about the national cuisine, and go get takeout.
2) also find a place that sells really good sweet things for desert that you can pick up too
3) a bootle of wine, beer, or sugary drink - whatever comforts you most
4) IF you can find a drug store like a CVS or something, most cities have something, pick up a few of those battery operated candles.

Then go back to your room, set up the candles, play some relaxing music on the computer, maybe take a bath, and just chill to yourself - take a vacation from world for a few hours. Face the clients - tomorrow. Just focus on yourself unwinding tonight.

I love dining out alone!

That's not to say I don't enjoy a social meal as well, but I find something particularly relaxing about the experience of selecting exactly where I want to eat, getting the table I request (either a window for the view or good lighting for reading), pacing the meal to my slow eating speed, etc.

I haven't read all 200+ posts in this thread, but I've read about half, and something struck me as I was reading. It seems like a number of the posters who say they don't like dining alone lack confidence in that situation, and seem concerned about what others think. It made me wonder: did they grow up dining out often, or was being in a restaurant a rare experience?

So for those who don't mind sharing, 2 questions:
1. do you like dining alone occasionally?
2. did you eat out often (not fast food) growing up?

I did dine out as a kid, but with parents who made it clear that misbehaving in a restaurant was grounds for something approaching capital punishment. My siblings and I knew the rules and followed them, and I think that might be one reason why I'm quite comfortable going to restaurants on my own.

^^^ As do I. For many different reasons. In fact I MUCH prefer it to dining in groups of over 4.

I personally know several people who have the phobia about solo dining, and I've never understood it at all.

I've got a couple of things working against me (flawed personality acknowledged, but set aside here): I travel perpetually solo for business. Any socializing with clients would result in immediate termination. Add in the fact that my wife died at 47, I'm destined to many years to solo dining. Fortunately, it feels like a completely natural thing now. If others watching me - or restaurant management - feel uncomfortable or that I'm breaking some sort of cultural norm, they're going to have to get over it.

It is interesting that the Opentable reservation system offers more choice to parties of two than parties (is it still a party?) of one. Then again, I understand the cost involved.

I was also taught "restaurant culture" from a young age especially by my dad. We lived and travelled abroad to quite some extent, and I think to have been eight years old when tasting my first frog legs (loved them) and escargots (also yummy) etc.

So similar story, kind of relate to past memories each time I sit down at a restaurant and feel very secure and comfy in most places.

Must be a common trait in many FT'ers...:)