Community Chat

[sunshine45]

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@Trinity11 wrote:

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@sunshine45 wrote:

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@Trinity11 wrote:

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@Reever wrote:

I can't  believe this much discussion is being had about a non issue. No one cares if you are dining alone. If you feel like people are staring at you that's in your head. Most people are too self involved to even notice what others are doing. So sit alone at a table or a bar and enjoy your meal. Restaurants are happy to have your business.

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That isn't what she said. She said nothing about people staring at her. What she said is that the better tables are not given to single diners. Fine restaurants have an unwritten rule that single diners are given some of the lesser tables.....not that single diners are lesser. The restaurant makes more $$$$$ from tables of 4. She is not talking about having lunch at Panera. SIGH...

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@Trinity11

well, definitely not ALL fine restaurants......because i and some others on this thread have not experienced this at all when dining alone.

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I did not mean to imply ALL fine restaurants. However, just try and eat at Nobu in Manhattan and come alone. Just see where they will seat you. That goes for many restaurants in the city. I have heard similar complaints from some of my girlfriends as well as my daughter.

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@Trinity11

i have no experience with NOBU in NYC, but i can say that i have not had that problem in NYC at OTHER fine dining establishments (and in other major cities with excellent food choices). if they are treating single customers like that i am not sure why people go back and patronize them. if i am not happy with the food or service at a restaurant, i dont go back.

[cherry]

@Moonchildebe careful or you will wind up like the lady in DEAR Heart. Remember that film? She met her true love in a crowded dining room.

[Trinity11]

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@sunshine45 wrote:

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@Trinity11 wrote:

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@sunshine45 wrote:

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@Trinity11 wrote:

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@Reever wrote:

I can't  believe this much discussion is being had about a non issue. No one cares if you are dining alone. If you feel like people are staring at you that's in your head. Most people are too self involved to even notice what others are doing. So sit alone at a table or a bar and enjoy your meal. Restaurants are happy to have your business.

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That isn't what she said. She said nothing about people staring at her. What she said is that the better tables are not given to single diners. Fine restaurants have an unwritten rule that single diners are given some of the lesser tables.....not that single diners are lesser. The restaurant makes more $$$$$ from tables of 4. She is not talking about having lunch at Panera. SIGH...

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@Trinity11

well, definitely not ALL fine restaurants......because i and some others on this thread have not experienced this at all when dining alone.

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I did not mean to imply ALL fine restaurants. However, just try and eat at Nobu in Manhattan and come alone. Just see where they will seat you. That goes for many restaurants in the city. I have heard similar complaints from some of my girlfriends as well as my daughter.

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@Trinity11

i have no experience with NOBU in NYC, but i can say that i have not had that problem in NYC at OTHER fine dining establishments (and in other major cities with excellent food choices). if they are treating single customers like that i am not sure why people go back and patronize them. if i am not happy with the food or service at a restaurant, i dont go back.

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Who said they go back? I was talking about people that like Moonchilde have experienced something similar. Just adding to the conversation in support of what she has encountered.

[Moonchilde]

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@sunshine45 wrote:

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@Trinity11 wrote:

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@sunshine45 wrote:

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@Trinity11 wrote:

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@Reever wrote:

I can't  believe this much discussion is being had about a non issue. No one cares if you are dining alone. If you feel like people are staring at you that's in your head. Most people are too self involved to even notice what others are doing. So sit alone at a table or a bar and enjoy your meal. Restaurants are happy to have your business.

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That isn't what she said. She said nothing about people staring at her. What she said is that the better tables are not given to single diners. Fine restaurants have an unwritten rule that single diners are given some of the lesser tables.....not that single diners are lesser. The restaurant makes more $$$$$ from tables of 4. She is not talking about having lunch at Panera. SIGH...

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@Trinity11

well, definitely not ALL fine restaurants......because i and some others on this thread have not experienced this at all when dining alone.

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I did not mean to imply ALL fine restaurants. However, just try and eat at Nobu in Manhattan and come alone. Just see where they will seat you. That goes for many restaurants in the city. I have heard similar complaints from some of my girlfriends as well as my daughter.

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@Trinity11

i have no experience with NOBU in NYC, but i can say that i have not had that problem in NYC at OTHER fine dining establishments (and in other major cities with excellent food choices). if they are treating single customers like that i am not sure why people go back and patronize them. if i am not happy with the food or service at a restaurant, i dont go back.

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Nor do I return, or even stay.

Because you haven’t had this happen to you, and a few others, then of course it simply never happens...not to any normal people anyway.  *sniff**   LOL.

[OKPrincess]

I wonder if a single male diner would be treated the same way. Start documenting your experiences for back up purposes. 

[magicmoodz]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@Noel7 wrote:

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@magicmoodz wrote:

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@MickD wrote:

While I've never been refused a table for one.  I would not/have not hogged a 2-4 top with an ocean view...wouldn't feel right.  It is appropriate to sit at a bar and dine as one.....done many a time...and I've met quite a few characters.

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Yet I’ve been taken right to a prime ocean view table for four by the hostess who was happy to seat me there - I didn’t even ask or expect it. 

I would never ever “just go sit in the bar.” Heck to the no. I am not an undesirable second-class patron simply because I don’t come in a pair. I have also offered, once I was seated at a prime table for four, to move to a table for two (which wasn’t available when I walked in) when a party of four walked in. 

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@Moonchilde

Do you seriously think someone who dines at the bar is an "undesirable second-class patron".

We dine out frequently and often at upscale establishments (never fast food or chain restaurants). We opt to sit at the bar.  As a result we have developed an excellent rapport with all the mixologists who treat us very well along with the managers who never fail to stop by to say hello and ask how everything is.

Different strokes for different folks.   

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@magicmoodz

That's not what she said.  " I am not an undesirable second-class patron simply because I don’t come in a pair."  Meaning, she gets the feeling others may think that way ABOUT her.

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Thank you, @Noel7. You have saved me from even having to acknowledge such deliberate cluelessness at its source.

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@Moonchilde

Well this post clearly sums it up. You are given the tables you deserve.

[sunshine45]

@Moonchilde

i did not say it never happens......

what i DID say is that it has never happened to me AND a few others on this thread.

if this is something you ARE passionate about and it continues to be a trend for you and/or a problem, then maybe you should see a lawyer as you mentioned earlier?

[cherry]

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@OKPrincess wrote:

I wonder if a single male diner would be treated the same way. Start documenting your experiences for back up purposes. 

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@OKPrincessmy son is single ,and has traveled all over the world  ,for his job. He has never had a problem, anywhere

The only  comment he has ever made was , how long  it takes to eat a meal in Europe. They take a lot of time  to dine. The courses don't come out rapidly, one after the other

He always tells them to bring his food out, as soon as one course is finished ,because he doesn't like lingering over a meal

[Yardlie]

I used to have a job that required me to travel a lot. Needless to say, I was alone sometimes at lunchtime. I hated when they greeted me with, "Just one?" My son was a waiter during college. He was trained to say, "Will you be dining alone today?"

A couple times I was told that I could sit at the counter or the bar, but I could not have a table since I was alone. I advised them that if that was the case, I would not be eating there at all that day. One waiter asked me if I would mind sharing a table with another solo diner. I just looked at him like he was an alien and walked out. I really enjoy my time alone.

[Moonchilde]

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@OKPrincess wrote:

I wonder if a single male diner would be treated the same way. Start documenting your experiences for back up purposes. 

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Hard to say; maybe or maybe not. At the least, I think the restaurant’s assumption would be that a male diner is probably on business and on an expense account and has more/will spend more $$ than a female. That isn’t necessarily true, but it’s the typical assumption.