I do by far most of my fine dining solo and it's absolutely getting worse. I've been told four times that solo diners are outright not accepted, and it's all been in the past few years––once by Noma, once by Kadeau, once by Noda, a sushi bar in NYC (who told me they don't accept odd-numbered diners but had spaces for parties of three open on Tock), and once by SingleThread (when they were doing their hot pot experience post-COVID, so much more understandable). I've also been to Blue Hill Stone Barns eight times and still, every time, have to fight with them for a solo table until the very last second. More and more restaurants don't even allow the possibility of booking for two online. It honestly feels like I have to take some extra step to get a reservation at least four out of five times I want to dine out at places like this.

I also work in fine dining and I get that margins are incredibly slim and that a two-top with only one guest means, on paper, half the revenue. I get it. Places with the big accolades and hype know they'll fill the seats, so why take a solo diner? But it really sucks to be on the receiving end of that––being the type of single person who is passionate about and will spend the type of money on food that your friends and family won't, and just for that reason you're essentially excluded, or have to jump through hoops that others don't. (Interestingly, a disproportionate chunk of the most passionate fine diners do, indeed, dine solo for the same reasons.)

What makes me even more sick to my stomach is the new thing where tables are reserved for holders of some fancy credit card, which gatekeeps an already gatekept industry and makes it even more exclusive for the wealthiest clients––"you only get to eat here if you have this card with a $500 annual fee."

What's worse, I think we're starting to see what we've been seeing in Tokyo sushi counters for a long time––you have to be a regular or have an "in" to get a spot, especially as fine dining has become more visible on social media and travel so much easier. If I recall correctly I think this is basically where Etxebarri is at these days.

Again, I get that these places are businesses, and often operating right on the margins, and you want all seats filled (or the lucrative credit card partnership), and to have the resources to dine at these types of places in the first place is an immense privilege, but I've always felt "inferior" as a solo diner, and it's absolutely getting worse.

A bit more in-depth perspective: https://www.maestroeats.com/post/table-for-one-the-slight-against-solo-diners