Dining alone

[jefmcg]

Following the weird thread about seeing movies alone (I mean, why wouldn't you?) I thought I'd start another about dining alone.

Dining alone can be good or bad.

I once ended up Frankie and Bennys on my todd, and that was just depressing. I ordered a pizza for main, and they tried to push a starter on me - something deep fried? I really wanted to ask if I looked like I had an eating disorder. I was relieved to get back to my room at the Travelodge, that my company was too stingy to cough up the extra for wifi.

But back in earlier, glamorous days, staying at the WTC Marriot and working late, not wanting to pay $30 for an inedible room service steak, I decided to find a restaurant. It was an interesting experience, so I wrote about it.

New York Story

It was late one night, when I returned to my hotel room. After a depressed glance at the room service menu, I decided I could do better for $30 outside the room.

Finding a seafood restaurant, I ordered a Nantucket Bucket (lobster, including bib) and a bottle of wine then settled down with my Tom Wolfe paperback. It was messy, complicated food, and the novel was thick and hard to hold, and the wine required some attention, too. Eventually, I closed my book and concentrated on the food.

There was only one other table occupied in the restaurant, and they were near enough for me to be unable to avoid their conversation. Two men were listening closely to a third, who was clearly senior:

"The problem with Europeans", he began. "Oh oo", I thought.
"The problem with Europeans, is that they never take the initiative, they always wait for us to make innovations, and then they follow."

"He's going to start talking about Jews soon", I thought, burying my head in my book.

Sure enough, the next remark that drew my attention from the increasingly greasy pages of the novel was"It's a pretty big coincidence that three Secretaries of State in a row were Jewish"While I listened with increasing horror, he blamed the carpet bombing of Cambodia on "the Jews", as his companions nodded sagely. Back to my book!
Finally, they finished their meal, and the delightfully flirty waiter came out and flirted with them, and they settled their bill. A while later, when I finished my meal, he came and flirted with me. As he seemed well acquainted with the other party, I broached the subject:

"If I come back here again, do you have a no-fascists section?"
"I know", he said, "but do you want to know the worst thing? They all work at the UN. Two of them are translators, the other is a delegate."
​

 

[TVC]

When I stay in Manchester I'm booked into one of the airport hotels (my employer has a deal). Now the hotel next door does great burgers, keeps a decent Guinness and has free wifi. I'm perfectly happy to sit in the bar/restaurant for a couple of hours with my own company.

The altenative would be to drop in on @potsy, and nobody wants that, least of all @potsy.

 

[graham bowers]

Not out of choice, but when lone business travel necessitated it, I used to take a book along

 

[Vapin' Joe]

I've dined alone in a restaurant a couple of times. It's nicer to be with friends but I've never felt the need to be constantly in the company of others.

 

[Brains]

..... and now you have started a new thread, here is my dual use comments copied over

Yep, I used to do a lot of that as well, all over the world.
I've seen some amazing museums, cathedrals and castles, and a lot of films in strange places,
'Gladiator' in an Roman amphitheatre was so good I went twice (it was also the only film on the bill in English)

I've also eaten in hundreds of restaurants on my own.
The best of which, (usually in Greece oddly enough,) have a single diners table where they put you all on one table, which has occasionally lead to long evenings putting the world to rights with complete strangers.
The only place I've felt intimidated by eating alone is in Germany. It just does not seem to be the done thing there.

 

[Markymark]

Depends when and where. Been in big cities on Friday nights and its hard as bars and restaurants are packed. Not fun if on own.

 

[MichaelW2]

I've experienced the fate of single dinners who are seated by the kitchen or toilet doorway, and studiously ignored by waiters, whilst they fawn over couples.
I prefer they style of bar/restaurant where single diners can sit and eat at the bar and not pay service charge.

 

[Levo-Lon]

As a man i find it easy..the wife would go to a cafe but not a pub on her own.
i can drink or eat anywhere as i enjoy my own company and have no prob making conversation with strangers..so i usually have a natter wherever i am..

 

[jonny jeez]

I dine alone often, for work.

I travel a lot and room service seems even less social. Often a decent restaurant is the only opportunity I get to experience anything about the country, as to me, most countries consist of an airport lounge a taxi an office and a hotel.

But at home the closest I'll get is a Macdonalds. I've never "gone out" to a restaurant to eat alone at home

 

[numbnuts]

I dine every night on my own

 

[snorri]

Dining alone can be good or bad.

There was only one other table occupied in the restaurant, and they were near enough for me to be unable to avoid their conversation. ​

I can certainly relate to that situation, one which can usually be avoided during travels in places where English is not the first language! ​

 

[Brandane]

I dine every night on my own

Me too; it's great! Eat what you like, when you like, and wash up afterwards - if you can be bothered .
To be honest, I am quite happy in my own company for the most part. As far as the OP is concerned though, I don't like dining out alone as a rule.

 

[marinyork]

Following the weird thread about seeing movies alone (I mean, why wouldn't you?) I thought I'd start another about dining alone.

I suppose it depends what a motivation for a thread is. Dining together or going to the cinema together could be seen to fulfill certain social functions. Dining alone a person might be put off by things they think about what everyone else would/perceived/might think such as whether they were antisocial, whether they were single, whether they are boring to talk to etc.

It doesn't surprise me that some people would want company for a film though for non-societal reasons. They are probably off the scale extroverts and require a lot of extra stimulation beforehand/during to be able to concentrate and watch the film better. It is no different with classrooms and lectures and every other arena where things are done 'alone'. I've seen this phenomenon my whole life.

 

[Piemaster]

I've done it a fair bit. Not something I like doing at all as even with good quality food it just seems like fuelling up rather than an experience.

 

[vernon]

Dining alone has rarely been an unpleasant experience for me in the forty or so weeks of solo cycle touring in America, Canada, throughout the UK and across Europe from France to Serbia. I'm many instances I've started alone and have been joined by the restaurant/cafe owners sometimes by fellow cycle tourists and on a couple of occasions, I've been whisked away and force fed great food washed down with copious amounts of alcohol. I suppose the solo dining protocol is forcibly broken when touring and I've never considered dining alone when not on tour unless you count solo pie munching a dining experience.