Mouthing Off | From ramen bars to Michelin-star restaurants, dining alone is losing its stigma
- Like watching a movie by yourself, eating alone doesn’t mean you are lonely like it used to
- But there are many couples who sit together who might as well be alone, too busy on their phones for conversation
Dining is supposed to be social and convivial. You break bread (or eat a bowl of rice) with family and friends as a way to connect and bond more tightly.
But there will always be times when we end up eating dinner alone. For most people, that means a night at home of leftovers or pizza delivery. But more and more of us have come to terms with going into a restaurant and stoically asking for a “table for one”.
Dining alone used to be embarrassing. It also meant eating at the bar. The assumption is everyone in the restaurant is staring at you and thinking, “who’s this pitiful guy dining by himself?”
Self-conscious anxiety automatically reminds some of us of the high school cafeteria. Once again, we’re the nerd, the pariah, the outcast, with no one to eat lunch with.
If we’re feeling especially pitiful, All By Myself by Celine Dion is playing in the background in this memory.