Dining Alone

[reesek]

some places treat the lone diner better than others. any tips on good spots? someplace you could take a book/magazine and it wouldn't be rude, but also someplace that is lively enough that if you didn't have anything to read, you wouldn't feel awkward.

edited to add - and of course by "you" i meant...me.

Edited April 13, 2004 by reesek (log)

[tsquare]

Treated very well at Matt's, Zoe, Brasa - at the bar, eating dinner, with book or not. Yup, that's me. And any neighborhood place, ethnic type place, or lunch spot I can think of.

Any type of place or location you are especially interested in?

[reesek]

thanks tsquare those are good - matt's in particular is a good call. what's the bar like at chez shea? (chez lounge?? - is it the area you walk through on the way into the main dining room?)

what about places like union...? lark i think would be awkward - the bar area is tiny and always cramped. neighborhood places are fine - i typically prefer to share food - so i guess eating alone i'd prefer a place that had a dish too good to share.

[Really Nice!]

what about places like union...? lark i think would be awkward - the bar area is tiny and always cramped.

Now that I live about 50 steps from it, I walked by Union a couple times last week after their March madness sale...

Monday night, 7:30PM: Not one person in the place. Not even at the bar.

Tuesday night, 8PM: 8 people - 4 at one table, 2 at 2 other tables.

Wednesday night, 7:30PM: 12 people - 2 4s and 2 2s.

Perhaps people are Union'd out? We visited it four times in March so we're taking a bit of a break ourselves.

I noticed on Saturday night that it was hoping like usual. But I think if you go there early in the week you'll be able to stretch your legs around the bar.

Mostly off topic: As Tsquare mentions, Zoe is a good place for a single. We were in there last night for their half-price wine promotion. Note: Not all wines are half price. They customize the list for Monday, perhaps to move slower moving wines through the cellar?

Missing from the list was the 75cl '98 Altesimo Brunello, which I came for specifically because I saw it on their wine list about two months ago. They did, however, have the half bottle on the list. I asked why the 75cl wasn't on the list, which I could see behind the bar, and the waiter said that the deal was only for wines on the list. So me suspects a wee bit of cellar cleaning is occuring.

[tighe]

what about places like union...? lark i think would be awkward - the bar area is tiny and always cramped. neighborhood places are fine - i typically prefer to share food - so i guess eating alone i'd prefer a place that had a dish too good to share.

I would think Union would be a good place to go solo. Great bar area and you could choose either a table or the bar itself.

[Sleepy_Dragon]

Are there places that actually treat lone diners badly? I've never had that experience in Seattle. Well, ok just once but that's only once in around 11 years, and I mostly chalk up that once to ditzy service overall.

I just go before a place gets busy, and hit them on weekday evenings. It's nice to be recognized as a regular, and I figure it's easier on the restaurant as well. They get a low maintenance repeat customer during a time when they want more customers, and I get to be there when they're not overly harried. I bring my book, enjoy my food, and whether or not anybody else is in the place doesn't matter because it all falls away.

Should mention that I generally don't go to the higher end places, so I don't know if I'd get treated differently at a place like Rover's, Troiani, etc. Especially considering I'm allergic to alcohol.

Pat

[Sleepy_Dragon]

I would think Union would be a good place to go solo. Great bar area and you could choose either a table or the bar itself.

Yeah, Union was fine for me as well. I went during the March Madness promotion, and just made sure to get there at 5pm in order to get an actual table.

I also did that when Marcha was there instead of Union, and that had been fine. Boisterous partying all around me, but who cares when the book is good.

Pat

[malarkey]

I'll second the recommend for Matt's in the Market. Great place to go alone. Sit at the bar, chat up your neighbor. Or they'll chat you up. Or not, if you are absorbed in a book.

I love that place.

edit: breakfast out alone: My sentimental favorite is Lowell's. Sit and watch the ferries come and go while reading the morning paper...

Edited April 14, 2004 by malarkey (log)

[Really Nice!]

breakfast out alone: My sentimental favorite is Lowell's. Sit and watch the ferries come and go while reading the morning paper...

Le Pichet...

[LEdlund]

I think the bar at Union is a fine place to dine alone. Jason (?) and Avel are great, friendly bartenders. As a matter of fact, both of them came from Shea's Lounge (Chez Lounge?). I haven't been to Shea's Lounge in a while, but it seems like it could be a fun place to dine alone.

Portalis in Ballard is another good place to sit alone at the bar and dine. I have met some really fun and interesting people doing just that.

Of course if I really want to just read while I eat, I try to scope out more casual, diner-like places. Varsity Inn, Rusty Pelican (both in Wallingford) and CJ's (Belltown) are some places I have been.

[Coop]

I have dined alone at The Oceanaire, Dahlia, Daniel's Broiler, and Campagne. All but Campagne at the bar. All excellent experiences. I find I concentrate more on the food when alone. That is both good and bad. I usually over eat. It's easier to hand in a larger bill on my expense account. That way it looks like I've been extravagent with a client, not with my self. Shhhhh.

[tsquare]

what about places like union...? lark i think would be awkward - the bar area is tiny and always cramped. neighborhood places are fine - i typically prefer to share food - so i guess eating alone i'd prefer a place that had a dish too good to share.

Lark has been very good - early, at the bar. But I want to try more choices, so eating alone is actually a bit limiting. Though I don't have to share, which is good.

Troiani's bar is also good - they have a nice bar menu, as well as all those pastas and appetizers.

Most bars will make non-alcohol versions of drinks if you want to sit at the bar and feel comfortable. Zoe and Marjorie have a nice menu of these drinks.

Cascadia's bar would be good as well. Personally, I'm not wild about Chez Shea or the lounge. Never been to Rover's. That would be a stretch for dining alone. Felt the same way about Le Gourmand - but tried the attached SamBar - it was fun, but not terribly enticing.

The best way to be treated well - be a regular - as Sleepy Dragon suggests.