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How to Eat Alone in a Restaurant
Tips for dining alone in a restaurant.
How to Get a Table
-Be assertive about where you are seated
-Always make a reservation
-Walk in (or speak on the phone) with a self assured attitude.
-Dine at less Crowded times, for example have
lunch at 2 or 3 or dinner at 4 or 5 (before 6)
Restaurants often become frustrated at seating
a single during busy times.
-PDA Games
-Plan ahead. Discuss seating possibilities
when you make your reservation. Say what
you don't want and what you do want.
-Problem is lower tips from singles
-Explain what kind of table you want when you
make your reservation
-Request a table for 1 or a table for 2?
-Pretend you are your assistant when you reserve?
-You might get picked up if you sit at the bar or in the
lounge
-Insist on a good table
-If you are led to a poor table, be very nice
about explaining to the waiter where you want
to sit, and you don't mind waiting a few minutes.
-Persevere until you get the table you want.
-Communal tables
-Select a restaurant that caters to business people,
who often dine alone.
Other Tips
-Never act like you feel out of place. Sit
proudly and don't slump. Take your time eating.
-Order as you normally would with wine and dessert.
-Making friends with servers and management can
sometimes be good, but don't treat them as if
they were your companions for the evening.
-Make eye contact and smile if people stare.
(make them feel comfortable with you dining alone)
-Take something to read, but not a book or a
magazine.
-Request a table out of the traffic pattern
-Act important
-low back chairs facilitate eye contact (if you want it)
-Don't read while you are eating.
-Write postcards
-Pamper yourself by ordering the best!
-Study the menu
-Don't eat alone when you're feeling lonely
-Study fellow diners
-Select a restaurant with a beautiful view
-Ask if you will be comfortable eating alone in
their restaurant
-Some restaurants have maverick tables
-Look good
-Appear relaxed and confident.
-Feel totally secure
-Avoid looking sad and lonely
-Read a book or a newspaper (but not in an upscale restaurant)
-Get to know the waiters or restaurant management.
A man I use to work for got fantastic service by doing
this and by repeatedly visiting the same gourmet restaurants.
-How to Avoid having people pity you
-View travel brochures
-Bring a notebook and write
-Plan the next day's activities
-Talk on the phone?
-Work on your computer?
-Strike up a conversation with fellow diners?
-Ask hostess to pair you with other single diners
-Where to look?
-Observe your surroundings
-Savor your food and drink
-Think and relax
-People watch
-What to do when people stare? (smile, wink, wave, stare back?)
-Will a single get good service?
-If the service is good, tip well (so singles
won't get the reputation of being poor tippers).
Avoiding dining alone:
-Join a club like Rotary that has dinner meetings
in many cities
-Eat in a bar
-ASmile at other solo diners... maybe they
will join you
Elsewhere on the Web:
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SoloDining.com,/a>
See also:
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Walking Tour of Historic Honolulu
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Other Historic Sites in Honolulu
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Related Links
Dining in Hawaii - Main Menu
Islands of Hawaii
Hawaii for Visitors
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