Table for One – Elevating the Solo Dining Experience

Across the globe, and largely amongst younger age groups, more and more people are choosing to go out to eat by themselves. Solo dining – a time dedicated to eating a meal alone at a sit-down restaurant – is an opportunity for diners to practice self care over a meal, whether that be by relaxing and reflecting at the end of a long day or even by engaging the mind with a book or catching up on the news. In a joint survey by OpenTable and KAYAK, 60 percent reported having dined solo at a sit-down restaurant within the past year. As we witness a rise in remote work, busier than ever schedules and evolving family structures, it is no wonder that more and more people today are engaging in solo dining. I often travel alone as a result of my career, and business travel is changing too: for many companies, having large numbers of employees traveling isn’t financially prudent – but being a solo diner doesn’t mean our expectations around our dining experience have changed. Just the “cover count.”

According to a 2024 global survey by Lightspeed, 45 percent of consumers are taking part in solo sit-down meals, and a further 34 percent categorize the experience as a form of self care – citing the peace and quiet of the meal and the opportunity to partake in people-watching as top priorities to get out of the experience. With solo dining on the rise globally, consumers are fundamentally changing the way they dine out. Considering these changes, it’s critical for restaurants to meet their diners where they are and adapt to serve their evolving customer base. The success of restaurants going forward will increasingly depend on their ability to accommodate the real-time changing preferences of diners in an intentional way, including the growing preference for solo dining. The key to achieving this is proper staff training, adopting and leveraging technology to enhance the dining experience and manage operations, as well as cultivating a personalized experience and welcoming environment for all solo diners.

Staff Training

As the team that diners interact with from the moment they enter the restaurant to when they’ve paid the bill and leave, a properly trained staff is a crucial component of any dining experience – and even more so for solo diners. As reported in Lightspeed’s consumer survey, 30 percent cited that they dine alone to try out new places, meaning that solo diners are bringing with them an opportunity to impress and retain a new customer. As such, maintaining a high level of service, from how often waiters visit diners at their tables, to offering recommendations and answering questions, is critical to enhancing the overall experience for solo diners new and returning. 

As more and more people partake in the experience and more restaurants implement measures catered specifically to solo diners, a customer-centric approach is key.

Catering to solo diners is more just than seating them as restaurants would any other customer. As a step further, offering a flexible menu catered to solo diners – with smaller portions to reduce food waste and allow the diner to taste more dishes – provides waiters with an additional opportunity to make personalized recommendations specific to these menu offerings. Offering a solo dining menu gives staff a new way to connect with their customers that is exclusive to solo diners. It’s easy to assume that a single diner is not going to bring as much revenue (or tips) to the table, but solo diners also have great flexibility in what they choose to order and the pace at which they dine. Good operators understand that the party of four that spends $250 over three hours on a four top isn’t more “valuable” than the solo diner that spends $70 in sixty minutes on a two top, or a solo seating experience. Solo diners are a good opportunity to revisit some of the basics of revenue per cover, and table turn. 

At the same time, for diners who choose to utilize the solo dining experience as an opportunity to recharge, read a book or work on a laptop or tablet, restaurant staff can respond appropriately to either not overly disrupt customers or seat them at a table away from noisier groups or loud music. In any case, training staff to accommodate solo diners and prioritize their dining experience just as they would larger parties remains an important step to enhancing the experience for customers. 

Leveraging the Right Technology for a Seamless Dining Experience

For restaurants looking to both capitalize on the rise of solo dining and maintain their success and profitability on a broader scale, evaluating the systems and technologies these businesses rely on to operate is paramount. By investing in a single POS system – equipped to manage operations in both the back and front of house while handling payments processing – restaurants take the first step toward optimizing their overall restaurant operations, and as a result, can provide a better dining experience for every customer (regardless of party size!). Single POS systems offer several features that can be beneficial to restaurants in serving solo diners – such as the opportunity to reserve a table in advance or access a restaurant's floor plans to optimize party seating. If your concept supports it, having a POS system that stores information about your solo diner: their preferences and dining history, can enable you to keep bringing that diner back over and over again. A solo diner is much easier to get a detailed dining profile from, even simply by reviewing the check. The combination of the right, diner-focused technology, with the ability to get the same (or even more) revenue per hour out of the table, means you can create an exceptionally personal experience that you might not be able to otherwise provide.

When it comes to ordering and paying, the adoption of handheld devices utilized by waiters means that diners can look forward to a quick and hassle-free process, as orders are sent directly to the kitchen and diners are offered the option to tap their credit card or phone to pay at the table. Along with streamlining the ordering and payments processes for diners, these systems are also built to provide crucial insights for restaurant owners themselves, including inventory management, customer-behavior tracking and the ability to identify top-performing staff. With these insights at hand, restaurants can better cater the dining experience for their customers regardless of party size, ensuring that their operations are running smoothly even on their busiest nights of service. 

Cultivating a Personalized Experience and Welcoming Environment

Casual dining or fine dining? Cuisine type? Restaurant layout, ambiance, menu design, atmosphere and location are all just a number of factors that make no two restaurants the same. The dining experience for a single person, two people or an entire party of fifteen will look different depending on the restaurant itself and the time of day. Keeping this in mind, how should restaurants that are looking to embrace the rise in solo dining look to respond? 

To accommodate diners partaking in a solo meal or drink, restaurants should prioritize providing a dedicated area of seating that does not limit diners to the back of the restaurant or bar seating – a location that often makes solo diners feel hidden or burdensome. Bearing in mind that solo diners may use the time to catch up on work, read the news or respond to emails, having a table set up that allows for enough room for the diner’s meal and drink along with a laptop or small tablet is just one measure restaurant staff can take. An intentional set-up, combined with a flexible menu offered only to solo diners, can be tailored to any restaurant regardless of the type of cuisine they offer or dining style and lets customers know that they are valued intentional customers, not outliers. 

While solo dining is not a new practice among diners globally, it is undoubtedly a trend on the rise. As more and more people partake in the experience and more restaurants implement measures catered specifically to solo diners, a customer-centric approach is key. Whether gaining feedback directly from customers or through an online platform, restaurants should hear what diners and their staff prefer when it comes to dining alone, and take actionable steps to respond to suggestions or recommendations. It remains a learning experience for all parties involved, but with the right training implemented and the right platform to optimize overall operations, restaurants can both elevate and enhance the dining experience for all. If you see me at your restaurant dining solo, don’t hesitate to offer me your most adventurous or new menu options – especially those smaller plates!