‘Table for one, please’ – the rise and rise of the solo diner
Sharing a meal is one of life’s great pleasures – if it’s not then you’re probably keeping the wrong company – but new research claims diners are increasingly eating alone.
Analysis by OpenTable, the online reservation platform, found the number of one-cover bookings has increased by 80 per cent in New York since 2018. It’s the latest research into reservation habits by the company, which has long chronicled the rise of the lone diner.
Though unaccompanied guests represent a small slice of overall bookings – and are often less lucrative than, say, a couple – restaurants are increasingly gearing themselves up to accommodate lone diners, with many reconfiguring dining rooms to better accommodate singles.
Xu, a Taiwanese teahouse and restaurant in London’s Soho, for example, has a table exclusively for lone guests in its mahogany-wrapped dining room. “It is popular, especially for afternoon tea,” says Daniela Vizireanu, who handles reservations. The restaurant doesn’t take many bookings for the single-cover table, but “walk-ins are increasing.”
The layout of establishments such as Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs, meanwhile, which is also in Soho, draws no distinctions between lone diners and groups. The two Michelin-star restaurant seats 20 guests on a counter surrounding the kitchen, where they can parley with the chef, James Knappett, and each other, while dinner is cooked.
In New York, restaurants appear to be rolling out the red carpet for unaccompanied guests. According to the Wall Street Journal, establishments such as L’Artusi, an Italian in West Village, and Odo, a Japanese restaurant in Flatiron District, offer sweeteners to solo diners, such as a free glass of bubbly and off-menu amuse-bouches.
Other restaurants in the city are also adapting menus to suit singles, while some have reportedly created communal tables where solo diners can break bread with strangers.
Some establishments appear to have elevated unaccompanied guests to messiah status. “The way we approach it is that when we have a solo diner, it’s more of an honor than anyone else,” Andrew Kuhl, the dining-room manager at Eleven Madison Park, told the Wall Street Journal.
Why more diners are choosing to fly solo is unclear – not all are necessarily single – but the trend mirrors the findings of a recent report, which claims more people are now travelling alone.
Abta’s annual Holiday Habits report, released last year, found the number of Britons travelling solo increased by almost a third between 2011 and 2018. Interestingly, in its analysis, ABTA suggested many holidaymakers are opting to travel alone, rather than having to because they were single.
“More people are choosing to take a holiday by themselves because they don’t want to compromise on where they go and what they do,” said the report.
Unfortunately, though, while restaurants appear to be doing more to accommodate lone diners, many travel companies are penalising those who fly solo, with holidaymakers reportedly paying up to 80 per cent more for their trips than those travelling in a couple.
