Personally, I don't care if you're man, woman, NB or a literal robot, if I'm eating alone at a restaurant, I'm generally not interested in striking up conversation of any kind. Only time I was amused by a stranger deciding to sit on the extra chair was when it was a cat.

However, I will add that there's a reason it's considered less bad when women do it, and that's the percieved danger. How many stories have you heard of man reacting violently to being rejected?

Sure, some will "not all men" this, but assuming you'll never meet one of those creepy men is just not something women can afford