NEW YORK — Parisa Imanirad, a scientist and cancer researcher from San Francisco, may have a busy life with a loving husband and a wide circle of friends, but she still makes time for herself. Once or twice a week, she goes to a restaurant by herself.
For Imanirad, dining alone is a form of self-care. It gives her time to think, read, and enjoy the silence without the distractions of her phone. “It’s like a spa, but a different type,” she says during a recent solo lunch at Spruce, an upscale restaurant in San Francisco.
And she is not alone in her desire to be alone. In the United States, solo dining reservations have risen by 29% over the last two years, according to OpenTable, the restaurant reservation site. This trend is also evident in other countries, with a 18% increase in Germany and 14% in the United Kingdom.
In fact, solo dining has become so popular in Japan that it has its own term, “ohitorisama,” which means “alone” but with honorifics spoken before and after the word to make parties of one feel less hesitant. A recent survey by Japan’s Hot Pepper Gourmet Eating Out Research Institute found that 23% of Japanese people now eat out alone, up from 18% in 2018.
As a result, many restaurants in Japan and around the world are adapting to cater to solo diners. They are redesigning their seating arrangements, changing their menus, and adding special touches to make dining alone a more enjoyable experience.
“Even so-called family restaurants are increasing their counter seats for solitary diners, and restaurants are offering courses with smaller servings so that a person eating alone can enjoy a variety of dishes,” says Masahiro Inagaki, a senior researcher at the institute.
Debby Soo, CEO of OpenTable, believes that the rise in remote work is one reason for the increase in solo dining. With more people working from home, they may be seeking a break from their home offices. But she also sees a deeper reason for this trend.
“I think there’s a broader movement of self-love and self-care, and really enjoying your own company,” Soo says.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also played a role in the rise of solo dining. With social interactions being limited, eating out alone has become a more feasible and less daunting option for many. And with the help of smartphones, solo diners can still feel connected to others even when they are dining alone.
Anna Mattila, a professor of lodging management at Penn State University who has studied solo dining, believes that the social norms around dining alone have also shifted. People no longer view solo diners as “loners” and instead see it as a choice made by independent and empowered individuals.
This trend is also reflective of the increasing number of people who are living and traveling solo. In 2019, the Pew Research Center found that 38% of U.S. adults ages 25 to 54 were living without a partner, up from 29% in 1990. In Japan, single households now make up one-third of the total and are expected to reach 40% by 2040, according to government data.
The growing interest in solo travel, particularly among travelers aged 55 and over, is also contributing to the rise in solo dining. And for many solo travelers, dining alone is an essential part of their journey.
On a recent solo trip to Lucerne, Switzerland, Carolyn Ray was pleasantly surprised when the hostess led her to a beautiful lake-view table set for one, complete with a small vase of flowers. As the CEO and editor of JourneyWoman, a website for solo women travelers over 50, Ray has had her fair share of experiences where restaurants have tried to seat her at the back or questioned if someone would be joining her.
Ray advises women planning to dine alone to go somewhere else if they are treated rudely or given a bad table. “It’s almost like the world hasn’t caught up with the idea that we are on our own because we want to be on our own. We are independent and empowered, and we can go into any restaurant we want and have a table for one and feel good about it,” she says.
Shawn Singh, a Houston-based content creator and restaurant reviewer, estimates that he eats alone about 70% of the time
