Was that Jardiniere? I’ve sat solo at the bar many times before it closed while staying in SF on trips north or south. Also a packed Gary Danko with no wait at all for a bar dinner seat.
I really don’t like dining continuously alone… I have 41 days left with my housemate before she’s off to college… Making to most of it!!
As you should Nola! Enjoy it to the fullest!
Hi Noah - I am in the same situation as you are.
At first, it felt awkward to drink wine by myself. I think part of that was the stigma (i.e., alcoholics often do this) and part was missing the sharing component of a great meal/wine. With time, I gave myself permission to do what felt right, particularly when I cook at home (alone). I have no qualms now about opening whatever I want, and it generally takes me 2-3 nights to finish a bottle (which has led me down the path of searching for the best preservation method, but I digress.
For those of us who live alone and have cellars full of wine, it seems silly - to me - to deprive ourselves of the enjoyment of something we are passionate about.
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Actually it was Fleur de Lys. Jardiniere was great. I was actually the pastry chef at Chez Michel, which is the space that Gary Danko took over. We took our family meal at that bar every night right before we opened the doors, very fond memories for me.
I prefer dining with my family or friends to dining alone. But sometimes I eat alone for one reason or another.
At the evening meal, when deciding between wine with dinner or no wine with dinner, the answer is (almost) never “no wine.”
Ergo, wine alone when I’m eating dinner alone. I do, however, tend to stick to everyday drinkers when alone, or if not, something that is not among my wife’s favorites.
The adventure part is knowing I will be solo and taking it as an opportunity to dine or drink wine someplace new and unique or known and loved. The former happens particularly when I’m in a new place. But both feel like a type of adventure for me.
Agree with you 100% on work. And there the adventure part comes in for me too—finding where I will go, and then deciding whether I want a quiet table to myself or a more social interaction at the bar. I would go as far as to say it has been an essential part for me to enjoy work trips of a week or more, like a month in Seoul or a week in Cincinnati or Minneapolis. (I hate room service.)
100%. If I’m on the road and dining alone, I always go out to eat. Life’s too short for room service.
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Absolutely - just happened to me again a couple of weeks ago. Found a restaurant I really wanted to go to, and they required a 2+ person reservation.
I enjoy a nice glass of wine alone often. It’s relaxing and the serenity is welcome. 
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I’ve found the issue most common with places that you prepay via Tock. But, in my experience, most places that only have 2+ reservations online will let your book for one of you call them up and make the reservation via phone
Exactly this. I usually don’t drink alone but when I do I’ll drink some Zin or Pinot since my wife does not care for them.
I recently used Tock to book a “table for 1” at Frasca Food & Wine in Boulder, so the app does support solo diners. What I don’t like is where a restaurant has bar seating, but the app doesn’t allow you to select a bar seat…although in that scenario I would usually book the table on the the “app” and then immediately call the restaurant and explain that I made the reservation but would prefer if they could seat me at the bar so that I don’t have to take up a full table (that would be better used for 2+ diners).
I usually do this exactly–trying to open bottles I’m worried that might be flawed OR that I’m worried I might not like as much as I had anticipated when buying. Essentially “getting rid” of them from my cellar…Obviously, if it turns out to be flawed, I’ll just open something else.
I booked tables for one with Tock as well. It’s not a software issue, it’s a decision on the restaurant end. I think since Tock is mostly non refundable bookings, those restaurants have a stronger preference for pre-selling tables for 2+ people since that maximises revenue. I don’t expect restaurants to let every 2-top be booked by solo diners, but at least having a 1-2 available slots per night would be appreciated.
Do a walk-in.
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Sometimes I want to dine at a particular establishment and don’t necessarily want to travel there only to have no availability, so I try to reserve a spot if possible. And there are a few restaurants, like omakase sushi, that are much harder to do a walk in visit. For the most part though, walking in is by far the easiest and best way to do things solo and what I usually do.
To me, this is the best post of the thread (and there are a lot of great posts in the thread). Perfectly stated.
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I’ve dined alone during work travel a bunch. My job is very social so I enjoy some nights “off” during travel. I do tend to sit in the bar if there is one, but no objection to sitting in the dining room either (though have noticed it makes some of of the two-tops uncomfortable). I have done this in some pretty nice places- manresa, craigie, no 9 park, Marea…
If you aren’t good company for yourself, how can you be good company for anyone else?
At home I dine alone every other week. And open whatever wine I feel like- though mostly weekends as alcohol has been messing with sleep more as I decay. Weeks with my kids are great as they are just starting to discover wine.
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I am well past my sunset years and in the process of drinking down my cellar…admittedly the process has slowed down a bit the past year as some lovely wines caught my eye and said “buy me”…and I did…That being said, No bottle on our cellar is off limits so, whether dining alone while Jessica is away visiting our grand daughter, or its just the 2 of us or we are having company over. I pull something from the cellar that matches the food and the mood…My brother in law recently made a marvelous lasagna from scratch, there were 8 of us for dinner and I served 2013 Tignanello… A doctor that I used to work with came over one night for our quarterly wine and pizza night, typically while my wife is away…A Vietti Barolo was decadent with the pizza…Sigalas Santorini accompanied the pizza on another old boy’s wine night …Have been drinking zin and chianti lately with my wife’s grilling, Jess doesn’t drink red so just me and a glass or 3. Enjoyed a Donnhoff Reisling by myself the other day, Jess was away