‘Table for one, please’ is often equated to being the saddest thing to say imaginable, but personally, I’ve never understood why. The only situation in which that would be depressing is if being in one’s own company is horribly boring, which really only amounts to a personal problem, not one equated to the masses. And as of recent, the shifts are turning against the anti-solo-diners.
In the US, solo-dining reservations have risen 29% over the last two years based on research taken from the reservation app, OpenTable. In the UK, such reservations have increased by 14%, whereas Germany has seen an 18% spike. In Japan, its risen to 23% in the last two years, which is an increase from 18% six years ago.
In Korea, this is commonly referred to as Honbap, which is a term that translates to the act of eating alone. ‘Hon’, means alone, and ‘bap’ translates to rice, but is also used to referred to a meal in general.
In Japan, they have a similar term, ‘Bocchi Seki,’ which translates to a single seat in public places such as cafes and restaurants. ‘Bocchi’ means alone, and ‘Seki’ means place or seat.
In the UAE, specifically Dubai, the trend appears to be rising as well, with many eateries opening in response to these popular Korean and Japanese approaches to eating. Nicolai De Guzman, owner of Ichiryu Ramen House in Dubai, stated in an interview last year that he intends for his restaurant to specifically adhere to solo diners. Patrons will even travel from Abu Dhabi to Dubai in order to enjoy the ‘table for one’ experience.
Just in the last few months, several different local news outlets have written pieces on the best ‘spots in Dubai for solo dining’, and it should come as no surprise that a majority of the listed cuisines are often inspired by Japanese and Korean traditions.
In London, however, solo diners have been charged double, one such instance gaining traction on the internet when it was revealed that the Hotel Cafe Royal implemented a two-times minimum spend for solo diners, essentially punishing people for their preference of solitude. One can understand restaurants not wanting to waste a table that could seat four people on one person, but one should hope that restaurants, especially the more expensive variety, should provide at least one or two solo tables for the occasional introvert.
With the rising trends in solo-diners, perhaps we’ll see a change in restaurant layouts to come, or perhaps the Steven Glansburg’s of the world will just continue to get charged double.
