Solo Diners of the World Unite

[Carrot Top]

Has anyone seen this The Lunch Club? 

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The Lunch Club site reminded me of a place in Little Italy (NYC). Was it Puglias?

On the corner of Mott and something-or-other?

Long tables filled the rowdy garlic-and-tomato scented place. It didn't matter whether you went to eat alone or with others, everyone just gathered round the tables, pulled up a chair and ate and laughed and had a great time.

I bet Pan knows of the place, if it is still there.

Edited July 26, 2005 by Carrot Top (log)

[Pan]

Karen, I've never been to the place, but I've passed it dozens of times. Here's their menupages.com page.

[Daniel Rogov]

For me, as a professional restaurant and wine critic, the internal rules of the game may be somewhat different.

First of all, I never hesitate, whether dining as part of my work or simply for my pleasure, to dine alone and any restaurant that relegates me to the bar instead of a table is a restaurant that will never see me again (unless I have to write a future review). I am aware that the ideal and most efficient table for a restaurant is the table for four (maximum profit and turnover with a single waiter) while the table for one is least profitable (same effort goes into the table as if there were four diners). As much as I respect restaurants, chefs and restaurateurs, when I dine alone that is, as the French like to say "tant pis" (just too bad). I do tend to tip higher when dining alone though being aware that the waiter/waitress has to put as much effort into my meal for one as he/she would for two.

Second, if I have something I truly want to read and am dining on my own I will take it with me. I restrict myself in this case however to what we usually think of as small-format pocket books as they take up less room, do not interfere with the table or food setting and are less conspicuous. Most of the time however I simply settle in to enjoy the passing show (being well aware of course that I am part of the passing show of others), and find that my pleasure can be heightened simply by quietly (never obtrusively) watching the goings-on around me. Beats the heck out of most tv shows and even most of what you find in the cinema.

In truth, I prefer most dining in the company of one other person, sometimes two or three, rarely more, but dining with myself as company is not at all a bad thing to do. I am reminded of the story (probably apocryphal) of the night that the famous Roman gastronome Lucullus dined at home alone and his servants prepared a simple meal of gruel for him. Lucullus was outraged and told his servant: "Do you not know that tonight I am entertaining my most honored of guests? Tonight Lucullus is dining with Lucullus".

One last note. In my role of restaurant critic I have a policy of never writing a negative review of a restaurant after just one visit. Everyone, after all, is entitled to one bad night. In those cases where I do have to return because of shall we say "earlier suffering", I almost always return alone. I return with the hope that things will be much better of course, but no need in subjecting someone else to the experience if things are equally bad or perhaps even worse.

[joiei]

I dine alone at least once a week. And now that my regular places know me, it is fun. I will sit either in the dining room or the bar and will refuse poor table locations. Sometimes I will take a book, depends on my mood and how into the book I am.

When restaurants look down on single diners, they really do themselves a diservice. If I have a good time and a good meal when solo, then I will bring friends and/or talk up the restaurant to friends as a place to eat. If I get an attitude from the front of the house staff, I will most likely not go back. I have also been known to complain to the management.

I do not understand the attitude that as a person, I have to have another person along to enjoy myself. I feel bad for people who can not be alone with themselves.

[lala]

I dine out alone at least once a week, and since I tend to travel alone, I do it on vacations, too. I love eating out alone! I'll bring a book, but usually don't read it, as it's delightful to just enjoy the food and setting, and eavesdrop on my neighbors. There have been times when I've automatically been led to a seat at the bar, but I've never had a problem if I preferred a table. And I'm not at all shy about asking for a better table if I'm put in the dark, dank corner - it helps to ask for a specific table: "Could I sit at this table?", as I walk towards it always works.

[silverbrow]

Picking up on Daniel's point, in the UK at least if you're dining alone restaurants assume you might be a critic. As such, and counterintuitively, you tend to get better service than you might if there were four of you.

[duckduck]

I dine alone frequently and I tend to sit and write. It's one thing when I have a pad of paper but when I whip out a piece of stationary and a fountain pen, it always seems to intrigue people. I'm confident enough by myself, it always seems to set me apart anyway but the writing a letter I guess seems to give me an air of mystery or something.

[Ninjai Fanatic]

I've never liked eating alone- unless the only other person(s) are people I don't like.. but recently I've been getting used to eating alone.. :'(

[fiftydollars]

WD-50 is a great place to eat alone.

I called about an hour before our reservation when I realized that, after that wedding the night before, number 2 was not going to be able to make it to dinner and I told them I would be dining alone.

When I showed up a couple of minutes late (2 minutes late and partly because I walked right past the place the first time around) they greeted me by name and promptly seated me at a very nice table. To my right was a British gentleman who was as experienced a diner as I have ever encountered. At some point it became apparent that he had dined at just about any top rated restaurant anyone could think of on either side of the Atlantic. We briefly talked about San Francisco restaurants and this somehow led to a shameful admission that he had not been to Per Se. But it wasn’t long before the couple next to him commandeered him and pretty much forced him to spit out endless details about his considerable dining experience. The woman was somewhat obsessed with fashion and with telling people how she is not from New York, but rather the Midwest yet no-one would ever guess (on account of her sophistication, you see). The man with her was obviously wealthy, older, actually sophisticated, and giftedly patient.

The British man was astounding in his command of fine dining. I didn’t get to talk to him much once the New Yorkers got a hold of him, but I did overhear some wild details about some mythical restaurants. There was a guy nearing the end his meal at the table next to the man and woman that was a recent CIA graduate and who briefly played the part of the skeptic, asking the British man for details he believed would reveal him as a fraud. The British man quickly won him over and soon he was fielding comments from other, more distant, tables.

The dinner was outstanding and the dishes so engaging that I think it would have been a distraction had I actually had a dining partner. I also quite enjoyed being able to breathe in the surroundings and analyze the service and food in greater detail without the distractions inherent to eating at a table with others. I know I would have enjoyed the food just as much no matter what (I still have vivid hallucinations about the egg), but it would certainly have gotten less of my attention. The service was excellent and thanks to their speed on the pour, I was never really alone.