Eat at a restaurant alone

I brought a book and I ate dessert alone. It was fun! People kept looking at me almost like they were waiting for somebody else to show up a bit later.

I loved this!

I took by book, savored my dinner and enjoyed the thought of people gossiping over why I was there alone!

xxx

... eating there all by myself. People seemed to be quite surprised :D
It was really fun ;) All alone with my thoughts…

You can take your time to eat, stare out the window, read a magazine, or just sit and think and admire the decor.

I definately recommend this.

Take a book, or anything to read.
I actually enjoy this, frequently more than eating out with company.

Worth doing, I do it more than twice a week.

I ate alone a lot while I was in Europe. (One of the things I noticed there was that when the sidewalk cafes got busy, strangers would sometimes ask to share your table – perhaps a function of my being a pretty foreign girl?)

The service, as a woman eating alone, is really hit-or-miss. Some places pretty much treat you like dirt. Others are very friendly and solicitous.

As for the boredom some people have expressed, well, I have always been a people watcher. If you want to eat alone, sidewalk cafes are good because you feel like a part of the social life going on all around you. Also, it’s definitely a good idea to get a drink you can enjoy during the lulls in your meal – something with flavor like a tea or coffee drink. Then get a water, too, so you don’t drink it all at once!

I don’t mind to do this while at a fast food restaurant..you’re not there long and it’s common/accepted for people to eat there alone…I would even say I enjoy that as it gives me freedom. I’ve had to do this a bunch while travelling for work, and I didn’t really enjoy that part so much. If I was prepared with things to occupy me, and not look like a nutso, like a journal or a book, then typically it’s ok. One of the first times I tried, I didn’t think to bring anything, and that was when the wait for the food was particularly long, and I felt ridiculous, not even having anything to look at. Maybe if I were a more social person, it wouldn’t have seemed so strange.

In college I ate alone in my dorm room almost all the time because I was insanely busy and my friends were always free when I wasn’t or vice versa. And although I felt like a loser by always getting a take-out container in the dining hall, it was better than the awkwardness of actually eating there alone!

Now I live in China and I have to do it a few times a week. However, I mostly just go to tiny noodle shops. But I’m going to the Philippines and Malaysia alone in February, so then I will have no choice but to eat alone wherever I can.

Eeeeeeeekkkkkkkkk. :)

And it wasn’t bad. I brought a book with me and read in between courses. I went to Olive Garden and enjoyed their soup, salad, and bread sticks lunch. I do think that the group of young girls at the table next to me thought I was a bit odd dining by myself, but I don’t care what they think. I had a great time today. I shopped I saw a movie, I had a late lunch, and I shopped a little more before coming home.

I’ve done this moreso a few years ago, but since moving back home, I have friends and family to go with. I’d do it again.