The Solo Traveller
Your independence, passion, and lifelong memories.
Confidence and Safety
Photographer: Deepal Pallav Suthar.
“Just you, is it?”
By Geoffrey Williams
Briefly …
Eating alone on the road is one of those defining solo traveller moments – equal parts liberating, awkward, revealing, and occasionally unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. We explore how solo travellers can reclaim the experience with confidence, curiosity, and a little help from experienced solo travellers who’ve discovered ways to match the challenge of dining alone.
I will never forget these four words: “Just you, is it?” Four words delivered with such disdain and something close to smug, self-satisfied ridicule, I might as well have turned up at the very expensive resort’s restaurant for dinner … well, I don’t actually know how else. I certainly wouldn’t have made it this far naked … or armed. But here, it suddenly appeared as though the worst thing I could have done was turn up for dinner by myself.
Then, having instantly been considered completely worth less, I was led to a small table in a corner of the expansive restaurant with its sweeping desert-garden views. The other place setting was summarily removed, the menu handed to me … and I was abandoned to stare at the brick wall that would apparently be my view for the evening.
Today, my reaction would be entirely different, but on this occasion I was a much less experienced solo traveller, entirely oblivious to how little value I clearly represented when compared to the couples, families, and groups who also had nowhere else to go for dinner.
The wait staff never returned to my little corner that evening – or at least not during the more-than-moderate amount of time I spent in it … counting bricks. I’m certain they didn’t even realise I had left, returning to my room hungry and, yes, sad. Eating alone can be challenging at the best of times, but this took the concept of challenging to a whole new level.
“Eating alone can be challenging at the best of times, but this took the concept of challenging to a whole new level.”
For Micko, the Founder of Primal Recovery, the best tip for eating alone when travelling solo is to “… stop overthinking it and lean into the adventure of not knowing a single thing about what you’re about to walk into. My favourite meals were never in fancy restaurants, they were in tiny street-side noodle huts I stumbled across while riding around completely lost on a motorbike. You just pull up, point at a pot, nod, smile, and sit down. You don’t speak the language, they don’t speak yours, but it never matters.”
“Food has its own language. They cook, you eat, they get paid, everyone smiles. It’s simple, pure, and real – no awkwardness, no loneliness, just a moment between humans on different sides of the world who both appreciate good food and good energy. Eating alone becomes easy when you treat it like part of the adventure rather than something to hide from. The more random the place, the better the story … and the better the meal.”
“Eating alone becomes easy when you treat it like part of the adventure rather than something to hide from. The more random the place, the better the story … and the better the meal.”
“One thing that makes solo meals easier,” Cristian-Ovidiu Marin, CEO of Online Games, tells us, “is choosing spots with a lively, welcoming atmosphere, which takes the pressure off and makes you feel like part of the environment. I also pick restaurants with counter seating or communal tables because they naturally encourage light conversation without forcing it.”
“On days when I want quiet, I treat the meal like personal downtime and bring something that makes the moment feel intentional, like journaling or planning my next stop. My biggest tip is to lean into the experience instead of trying to distract yourself the whole time. When you let yourself be present, solo dining becomes less about being alone and more about having the freedom to enjoy food and explore at your own pace.”
“I also pick restaurants with counter seating or communal tables because they naturally encourage light conversation without forcing it.”
Caleb Johnstone, SEO Director at Paperstack, agrees that counter seating allows us to relax into the dining experience of the restaurant without the isolation of sitting at a table alone, while the openness of the kitchen also allows us to become more involved within the environment of the restaurant. “Bartenders and chefs often have conversations with each other and other solo diners at the counter as well, which means that when you strike up a conversation with another diner, it occurs naturally without feeling like anyone is forcing a conversation to occur.”
“I ate at a yakitori location in Melbourne, Australia, three times within one week because the counter where I was eating was right in front of the grill and the chef would explain the cooking technique of each skewer, as well as suggest sake pairing combinations for the different dishes. My genuine interactions with the chef made the meals even more enjoyable.”
“I ate at a yakitori location in Melbourne, Australia, three times within one week because the counter where I was eating was right in front of the grill and the chef would explain the cooking technique of each skewer, as well as suggest sake pairing combinations for the different dishes.”
Deepak Shukla, Founder and CEO of Pearl Lemon Adventures, uses a simple rule he created while training for ultramarathons: “If I feel awkward eating alone, I give the feeling exactly two minutes to exist. After that, it’s not welcome. Once you stop babysitting your own discomfort, solo meals turn into tiny meditations. You taste slower. You think clearer. And you walk away feeling strangely proud you didn’t need anyone to witness it.”
“Once you stop babysitting your own discomfort, solo meals turn into tiny meditations.”
For Allan Hou, Sales Director at TSL Australia, meals have become his favourite way to actually experience places instead of just passing through them. “Instead of dining at tourist-focused restaurants, go to places where being by yourself is the norm. Talking to your server about their favourite dishes creates conversation, so your meal feels less isolating.”
“Food markets and hawker centres allow you to dine by yourself without the formalities associated with sit-down restaurants. When you sit at a community table or at a bar, you're surrounded by other diners, and I've had many impromptu conversations with others that have resulted in meaningful business relationships or genuine friendships.”
“Dining at lunch time also allows for more opportunities to explore, because during the day it is easier to approach a new location. Locals will be grabbing an informal, quick lunch, and I often find myself watching the rhythms of the people and the restaurant, which provides more insight into the cultural norms of a city than any travel guide.”
“Food markets and hawker centres allow you to dine by yourself without the formalities associated with sit-down restaurants.”
What becomes clear is that solo dining isn’t a test of our worth or something to endure, it’s something to claim. It can be an adventure, a meditation, a moment of connection, or simply a pocket of calm in a noisy day. Sometimes you point at a pot in a street stall, sometimes you join the rhythm of a busy communal table, and sometimes you give your discomfort two minutes and then let it go.
The magic is in choosing the kind of memorable experience you want it to be – and for all the right reasons.
Geoffrey Williams is The Solo Traveller Group’s Founder and Publishing Curator.