Psychology suggests adults who prefer eating alone at restaurants aren’t lonely or antisocial, they’ve learned that a meal without emotional labour is one of the few forms of rest they can actually count on

At quick-service restaurants, solo orders climbed 52 percent since 2021, according to Yum Brands’ 2026 Food Trends Report. Toast, a restaurant software company with visibility into millions of bookings, showed the same climb at sit-down restaurants. Solo reservations are still a small share of total bookings, under one percent by Toast’s count. A useful Psychology Today summary of this literature makes the point plainly: authentic solitude is the kind you would choose again. The solo table is not competing with the shared one.