Would you eat alone in a restaurant?

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

Obsessive cook
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I was thinking about when I lived in London on my own, in my early twenties. It was a shared flat and although we had a reasonable kitchen, I wasn't much of a cook back then. But I loved good food! I used to treat myself once (sometimes twice!) a week by going to a restaurant alone. I really enjoyed it immensely. I'm not talking here about informal cafes or fast food outlets for lunch, but fairly formal restaurants in the evening. Have you ever done that?
 
I wouldn't choose to eat alone in a restaurant again. I have done many times in the past because of work commitments, being away from home and the likes and living out of restaurants. Did I enjoy it? Yes and No. More no I think to be honest. But I married almost straight after uni and married someone I met at uni so I have always been with someone so eating alone without him is strange to me.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
I wouldn't choose to eat alone in a restaurant again. I have done many times in the past because of work commitments, being away from home and the likes and living out of restaurants. Did I enjoy it? Yes and No. More no I think to be honest. But I married almost straight after uni and married someone I met at uni so I have always been with someone so eating alone without him is strange to me.
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Trouble is, I like being alone. I love cooking on my own and not so much if others join in! Obviously I don't like being alone all the time! Eating out with someone else is different from eating out alone. The thing is, that most people only eat out in a restaurant alone if they are away on business - that's not the same as choosing to do it when you don't have to. I haven't done it in a while. But I'm thinking I should. I also like going to Pubs on my own...
 
Eating is a social thing to me,but at work we have regular solo diners ,both leisure and business ,business diners often sit and read a book at the same time,and the leisure diners prefer to hide away and are a bit more descret
 
morning glory said:
Trouble is, I like being alone. I love cooking on my own and not so much if others join in! Obviously I don't like being alone all the time! Eating out with someone else is different from eating out alone. The thing is, that most people only eat out in a restaurant alone if they are away on business - that's not the same as choosing to do it when you don't have to. I haven't done it in a while. But I'm thinking I should. I also like going to Pubs on my own...
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I guess I have been attached to my husband for too long. When he's not there I miss his company. For me, eating out is a social thing, but I don't eat out with others because I find it too stressful. My husband knows where I can and can't eat, or will accept moving on to somewhere I can ensure I can eat out without an issue. Others thing we are snobbish for insisting on PizzaExpress when there is a Pizza Hut down the road and that is where they always east pizza. But and this is a big but, I can eat in PizzaExpress whereas I can't in pizza hut. PizzaExpress now do a 3 course vegan option. Pizza hut haven't anything last time I looked...

Eating alone is something I can easily do and frequently do at home. At least 2 meals a day at home are eaten alone. I don't see the point in paying to do that. I guess growing up in a disfunctional family where we never sat down to eat together and not only did I have to cook my own meals but then would usually escape back to my bedroom with it has left me not wanting to eat alone more often than I need to!
 
I was single for many years once my first marriage ended and I would go to restaurants and eat alone. At first I felt kind of out of place but after I got use to it, it wasn't so bad. When you are single you have no choice but to do things alone. Sometimes it use to bother me though when I seen all the happy couples out on dates enjoying their meal together. When I was home I had to eat all my meals alone so it was nice to get out among other people on occasion.
 
Eating out alone at a restaurant does not appeal to me. There were about 2 or 3 occasions when I was working and I opted to go to a fast food restaurant during my lunch hour to get something to eat. Usually I would order a take-away and eat in the lunch room at my workplace. But on these 2 occasions, I decided to eat right there at the establishment rather than having a take-away. I cannot say that I enjoyed it much. I felt kind of out of place, especially since I saw other people there who all had company with them. Doing something like that at a fancy restaurant, whether it was lunch time or night time, would feel rather strange to me. I think eating out at restaurants is more of a social thing, and to be enjoyed, it has to be done with either one other person or a number of persons, no matter how nice the meal is.
 
I still have to experience eating in a classy restaurant by myself. All of my sojourn in restaurants were with my family or colleagues or friends but never alone. Maybe if I was famished, I would dine alone. For me, dining in a formal restaurant is to break bread with someone, so to speak. Last Friday we were in a hotel's buffet dinner from 6:30pm up to 9:30pm. So that's obviously eating with conversation for 3 hours. That's enjoyable and worth the cost of the food and the place.
 
Yes, and I do it all the time! It is more fun to eat with people of course, a shared experience. However, I am not married at this time, nor do I have many friends in this area, so when I go out it is usually alone. I prefer the company of people, but it isn't always possible. I am not going to deny myself the pleasure of eating out, just because I don't have someone to go with!
 
I honestly can't say I've done it for formal dinning. Maybe in the mall just a few times. I actually don't like eating alone although I don't mind being alone. I have one girlfriend who says she does it quite comfortably. My husband is a 'couch potato' of sorts when he's not being a workaholic, so I used to drag my son with me everywhere even when it came to dinning.
 
Shermie said:
I've eaten alone in a restaurant dozens of times. :wink:
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I like to hear that! Why should good restaurants be mainly for couples or groups? There might be a good business opportunity here for a 'singles only' restaurant. OK, I'm sure its been done. I'm going to resist Googling it, right now!
 
I always want that I am in the company of my husband and my family when I am going out either going to some places to travel, going to the mall, doing the groceries and going to some eating places. I think I cannot eat alone by myself because I am already use being with them. But maybe when the situation calls for it and that I should eat alone I think I can do it because I had no choice.
 
At Christmas time when I was working hotels all the single diners would sit on the captains table and as head of departments we would host the meal
 
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