Are you brave enough to eat dinner in a nice restaurant all by yourself?
 

Not a fast food place and not a casual chain restaurant like Outback Steakhouse or Applebees but a decent real restaurant, perhaps even a nice restaurant, without bringing a book/newspaper or talking/fidgeting with a cell phone the whole time... but just being completely alone...

And not because you are forced to because you are travelling, etc but doing it because you WANT to... Are you brave enough to do it?

Yeh sure, nothing wrong with that.
If they have nice food then thats where i am gonna eat :thumbsup

Yes I would and have. I also find the poll problematic as it requires zero bit of bravery so there is no proper answer.

I suppose the only way the poll works in anyone's mind is if they are either neurotic or way to concerned with what other people think, especially people they do not know, will not know, nor more than likely ever meet again. Plus who the fuck would laugh at someone for real if they showed up alone to eat? Particularly if it is a nice place and not a chain as suggested.

lol whats the big deal? i've done that shit on numerous occasions just because i wanted good food and good service.

I love to eat alone. It lets me collect my thoughts and have a few moments to myself.

I'd do it but a book/newspaper is a necessity. :2 cents:

I probably wouldn't choose a high society type restaurant if I'm by myself though

I read about eating alone on-line and some people commented that when they saw someone eating alone they felt "sorry" for that person, even though that person may be perfectly happy content to be eating alone.

I don't get it. I'd rather eat in a nice place alone than eat in a chain resturant with friends. Although I'd have to say if it's well lit I'd take a notepad to scribble away on if I couldn't have a newspaper or book... I don't really see what the difference is. Eating alone is eating alone.

I ate at Boston Market tonight by myself with a newspaper,

noticed the young couple struggling to carry in their kid and how it looked like life had them so tied down and that they looked like they were just going through the motions of an existence of fewer choices and freedoms..

.. and alluding to the previous poster's comment, I actually felt a little sorry for them.

:pimp

And can I or you read their minds let alone would I at least really care if they felt sorry for me? Fuck people stare at me anyways, the idea of what people are thinking is the least of my concerns and I would feel bad for anyone that dwelled on what others were thinking.

I've been browsing forums where people discuss eating alone and a lot of posters say they don't mind eating in a casual place but they would feel self-conscious in a fancy place because that's usually for couples or people to come in groups etc. A lone diner would stand out more in a fancy restaurant vs a casual chain restaurant...

My question was if one would have the guts to eat in a fancy restaurant alone because it would cause more self-consciousness.

Yes, get really high, drink a bottle of wine, and smile while watching all the losers trying to impress some chick to get laid. Hit on the cute waitress

http://photosnag.com/img/846/x08r1110yqwd/confused.gif

i really enjoy to eat alone in a good restaurant

I'd love to have the courage to eat alone - same for just going for a pint by myself, but unfortunately, I'm constantly too tied up about what other people think of me, or making sure that I fit in with the norms and conventions of society.

Sigh...

You are funny... sorry, not everyone is brave like you! For some wimpy people it requires bravery to eat alone...
Some people cannot even do it at all...

fuck bausch you make it sound like it would be the end of the world if you ate alone at a nice restaurant.

i've shown up by myself to ritzy fucking reservation only restaurants in a backwards cap, t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. because i just wanted a few drinks and some good food. you might catch a couple glares and someone asking you about your attire, but that isn't something a smile or a benjamin couldn't handle.

Exactly what I was thinking

Still think it requires no bravery. Think it just requires no self consciousness issues.
If someone is that concerned with it, especially if they have read forums on what others think. Perhaps they should just bring a friend. However I will assume that such a person more than likely is to self conscious to have many friends or much care for them.

QFT

8char

Yep, I'm there for food not company.
The other day I went to the cinema on my own, the woman selling the tickets said 'What on your own, just one ticket?'
Why is it odd, you go watch a film does it matter if you're alone, and nope I'm not a sad loner, the missus didn't want to see the film.

im actually surprised the poll is as close as it is. some very self conscious people out there. must suck to live a life according to what others think is acceptable.

No, not really... just type in "eating in restaurant alone" and other variations in google.. there is so much info about the topic... everything from people discussing it on different forums but also articles and blogs about, even articles from NY Times and other such publications... They even have tips on how to eat alone, like bring a book or newspaper etc.... I didn't know people were so concerned with it... It's just very fascinating... And a lot of people say they love it and do it all the time... and others say they are scared and afraid...

I just find it an interesting topic... that's all.

what is with your prejudging use of the words "sad" and "loner" together?

That's quite the test of bravery. I'm not sure many could handle such a task.

Can you eat alone at such a place?
You also entered in that search phrase. Pretty sure that is about the same as reading forums about it etc. You researched it.

I think I could... I never tried it though... A lot of nice restaurants offer takeout too though... I have a habit of surfing the internet while I am eating so I kinda like takeout.

I probably would never do that, if I want to go out, i'll ask someone to come with me. I just wouldn't be comfortable eating out by myself. Now fast food, that I have no problem with.

For once I think Bausch was just making conversation.

Sure, I have done it a few times. Usually for breakfast or early lunch, never dinner. It's as if the social rules change during dinner time and dining alone looks somewhat pathetic.

I think most of the time she is making conversation. Even when things or topics get a tad weird.

"No, eating alone is weird. I am afraid I will look like a loser and people will laugh at me!"

That is the most pathetic thing I've ever heard of. I love eating alone and I do it a lot, even at restaurants.

If anything I think it's kinda cool. Like.. "I'm don't have to need to impress a friend or date to be here" or "I'm into good food and will treat myself" or "I'm a confident secure person with no social issues". If you were a sad loser you'd sit at home eating takeout chinese watching Everyone Loves Raymond re-runs.

That's the way I was being judged by the cinema lady, she even stuck me behind a pillar.

I don't think it's as simple as that.

Some things you don't do alone because of social norms.

Would you ride a ferris wheel alone (as an adult)?

Sure, you could, but it's probably one of the things that shouldn't be high on the list of things to do solo.

Eating dinner in a nice restaurant alone isn't preferable to eating in the company of a lady, so, instead it's more fitting to do it where all the other solo saps like us do it... at the greasy spoon diner or place that has sports on big screens. They made Hooters for a reason yunno.

Bad food and boobs?
What if some is gay, should it still be a lady - social norm yunno?

Now, I rarely eat alone anyways. Just find these expectations and such absurd.

I don't mind if i'm on a business trip, usually you end up meeting someone or chatting up a girl anyways.

They are, but it's the way it is.

Some people prefer to buck the status quo in situations like this.

But, is eating alone really necessary enough in a person's life to go against the grain and stand out for?

I imagine a person would have to have the character make up of Robert Crumb to feel the need to make that statement.


Heh, I dunno, I just don't find the pleasure of dining alone at dinner time enough to outweigh the brief moment of being a social outcast. It's just not that big of a deal.

you should make a new poll about going alone to the theatre :winkwink:

but with restaurants, no, I would rather not go alone to a restaurant

fast food - yes
spending an hour at a restaurant table alone - never..... (unless I'm a tourist perhaps)

Why, have you ever gone to the theater alone? And if so how was it?

I am with you on this one. I enjoy going to the movies alone sometimes just to not have to hear someone else talking in my ear! Or if I just need some time to myself. I don't know what the big deal is. I think it's very relaxing and nice :thumbsup

As far as eating out, I would have to say if I saw someone alone at a fancy restaurant I wouldn't think much of it. I would just assume they stopped off and were hungry for something good and just didn't have anyone with them. What's the big damn deal?

I have a friend who won't go out to eat or to the movies alone, and I think she must feel really bored sometimes! She can't always go with someone and she'd rather sit at home bored. I think it's pretty pathetic :2 cents:

Maybe it's a cultural thing.. We don't really have shitty diners. It's probably better to eat alone at a nice resturant than it is to got to a bar or pub to eat alone here.