MisterNice

I will eat at a few selected bars with known attentive bartenders but usually it is awkward and uncomfortable to eat at a bar.

MisterNice

dd992emo

Ask my wife. I don't go to places without a bar....

Yes, I realize it's a choice. It is very difficult to make me feel awkward or uncomfortable, but that's just me.

silver-tls

I'll usually see how busy the restaurant is. If its jammed I won't bother because as a single diner they'll just try to get rid of me quickly because they know the tip won't be as good as say, a party of 2 or 3. I'll just grab some takeout and head back to the hotel.

Jazzop

Not necessarily. An experienced waitstaff understands that turning tables is just as important as the bill itself. A single diner is usually going to leave much sooner and require less attention than larger parties. It's like having a bonus table in your section, because the extra work is negligible.

braslvr

I find eating at the bar, sitting on a bar stool much more physically comfortable than at a table.

I also prefer eating alone - anywhere. One companion is OK, two is marginal, and any more than that is miserable. I try to avoid it like the plague.

Steph3n

I have gotten used to dining alone. My tips show if you were waiting on me well or not. Even if I eat at a casual place I leave at least $5(I may have spent just $12 on the meal), when people around me these days seem to be leaving nothing to $1-2. !

vasantn

I love dining alone, with a good book as my companion.

Mr H

Seoul is problematic for the lone diner. At one restaurant, I ended up having to buy a huge plate of food that would have comfortably fed four or more people just because they didn't do single portions. I left most of it - but finished the half bottle of spirits. I think it is a cultural thing in Korea - people just don't do anything on their own. Everyone is in a group of some kind. Fortunately, though, I found people were friendly and tried to accommodate me with my bizarre behaviour.

braslvr

Seoul is actually a piece of cake compared to smaller cities and towns there, but nowhere do I remember seeing less than 4 people doing Korean BBQ. Personally (after over 30 times), I don't care for it at all. The meat is always much too fatty and unsalted for my tastes. Many do like it however, and the side dishes can be quite good. My butt still hurts from sitting on the floor for 4-5 hours, time after time after time (with men only) for the eat/drink-fest. Probably the worst hours of all my time there.

SFflyer123

When I travel to Europe for conferences/meetings, I usually dine alone. It's actually very fun. I rarely dine alone in the states though (mainly because I'm home with my family & friends), but even traveling in the states, I'll get takeout instead of eating out. In europe, however, I have no qualms about plopping down in some italian restaurant/german beer house and just going to town with the food & drink by myself!

Doc Savage

What is the perceived problem with dining alone?

BearX220

I recall the exact opposite treatment many years ago, when I was new to business travel, and I think it traumatized me.

I was sent to the DFW area for professional training and my employer put me up at a sort of apartment-hacienda format motel in a desolate suburban area with no car. There was no evening meal served on the premises. I was alone and hungry in the evening and the only option was a Holiday Inn about a half-mile hike away. It was a dry county and I had to buy a drinking license in the bar, which I then learned had no food. To eat you had to go to the vast, brightly lit sit-down restaurant. I debated just slinking back to my hacienda but my stomach got the better of me. I went to the door and asked for a table for one. A sadistic hostess seated me in a sort of gazebo-riser thing by myself in the middle of the room. I was the most visible person in there and the only solo diner. Everyone stared up at me in the gazebo. The room was silent but for the clink of my silverware. I had forgotten to bring a book. The food took forever to come and I couldn't taste it when it finally did. I should have gone hungry.

26 years later I eat at the bar with my Kindle, get room service, or do a Subway bring-back. Anything but a table for one.

N965VJ

Perhaps the notion that "dining" in the true sense of the word should be a shared experience.

I don't mind being alone, but I have to have something to read. Even if it's Auto Shopper, I can see what '88 Grand Ams are going for in the local market.

harpodamann

X-2 I actually enjoy sitting at the bar, when alone. Watch sports and usually great conversations at the bar with other patrons and the bar staff.. ^

donnde

On a couple of recent travels I have had wonderful meals sitting at the bar of nice restaurants. A few weeks ago I had a great meal at B&B at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Great bartenter who knew the menu well and matched me up with some very good wines. Last year did the same at BLT at the Ritz in San Juan. That night I ended up talking to a couple of other diners who were doing the same. I usually try to break away for a solo meal from my fellow travellers, especially with friends in Las Vegas. The thing I like about eating at the bar is that I have much better control over the pacing of the menu by ordering each course separately or letting the bartender know that I am not in a hurry and want time in between.