Psychology says the ability to eat alone in public is a sign of quiet confidence because it takes a certain kind of security to occupy a table built for two and not feel the empty chair as an accusation

Staff do not pity solo diners. Staff quite like solo diners. Chosen alone and stranded alone are different animalsThis is the distinction that makes the whole thing work, and most articles on the subject skate straight past it. If you cannot remember the last time you ate with another human, the problem is not your table for one. Solo diners routinely underspend out of apology, skipping the starter, avoiding the wine, treating the whole exercise as refuelling.