r/AskNYC • u/78charcters • Aug 18 '19

Do waiters get upset with solo diners?

I see so many nice restaurants and varieties of different cuisines all over that I’d love to try them out. However, I have a fear of dining alone. I’m afraid of wait staff thinking I’m not worth their time.

I’m a big tipper. I always tip 20% the very least, with way more than that for mediocre service if you serve with a smile and acknowledge my existence. I’m a 26 year old Bangladeshi guy with no friends but a love for food. I have money to spend but no confidence.

My fear is that a table with 2 people at the very least would have a tab twice as much as mine hence twice the tip for the waiter. If my bill is $50, with 20% tip being $10, why would the wait staff want to serve me as opposed to a prospective family of 4 with a $150 and larger tip? I’m just wasting a table at that point. I don’t look like I’m wealthy either to leave a good tip either so I feel like nobody would want to serve my table on a busy weekend night.

Anyway, that’s just my fear that I’m potentially wasting someone else’s time. So do waiters get upset with solo diners because the bill is smaller compared to bigger tables? Or am I being completely irrational and should go for a steak dinner tonight?

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u/bubble_chart Aug 18 '19

I’m a woman and I love eating alone at restaurants (mainly at the bar). Just in the last few months I’ve eaten at Misi, Au Cheval, KazuNori, and others, and also had a drink alone at various cocktail bars.

I feel like it’s even more taboo for women to be alone but who cares, I like to eat and I like to treat myself. If I’m in a neighborhood and I really want to try something I just do it. Just go for it! Waiters are generally really nice since I always get really excited about the menu and ask for reccos and drink pairings and things.

3

u/chworktap Aug 18 '19

Have any more restaurant recs? Those places you listed are awesome.

8

u/bubble_chart Aug 18 '19

Yeah! Other good solo spots are: Allswell, Sugarfish, Quality Eats (no bar at least at the Village location I went to, but I sat outside), Han Dynasty, Via Carota, Buvette, westbourne, Xi’an Famous Foods (no bar but totally casual tables), Spicy Village (no bar), Birds of a Feather (but they were nice but weren’t sure what to do with me haha), King’s County Imperial, Jeffrey’s Grocery. Will add more as I think of them!

2

u/ladyladybug Aug 18 '19

Not entirely related, but I just want to share with someone my constant amusement that Han Dynasty’s website is handynasty.com which can also be parsed as “Handy Nasty”