# Table for one is having a moment

> Solo restaurant reservations jumped 22% in a year, and the industry is scrambling to set the table for it.
- Title: Table for one is having a moment · Fox News | Shortify
- Summary: Solo restaurant reservations jumped 22% in a year, and the industry is scrambling to set the table for it. Eating alone has stopped being something to…
- Keywords: dining, solo dining, restaurants, gen z, hospitality, news, politics, Table, one, having, moment, Fox News
- Source: Fox News — https://foxnews.com/food-drink/more-americans-dining-alone-solo-restaurant-reservations-soar-data-shows
- Author: Deirdre Bardolf
- Published: 2026-09-12T00:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: dining, solo dining, restaurants, gen z, hospitality, news, politics
## Reservations for one are climbing
Toast's latest trends report found single-diner bookings up 22% year over year in the third quarter of 2025. Solo dining is shedding its stigma.
## Small slice, fast growth
Parties of one are still under 1% of all reservations. A separate hospitality report cited Brandwatch data showing interest in eating solo up 7% year over year.

> It's a small slice that is growing fast
## Nobody is waiting for a plus one
Denver private chef Stephen Ingber says about 15% of his bookings are now for a single guest, and that share rises every year. Some solo diners book weekly.

> A good meal used to require a date or a group to justify it. Now it just requires a reservation.
## What a solo diner wants
Bar seats, small tables with a view, wine by the glass or half bottle, and menus that don't assume sharing. Quick service and full service are both seeing the shift.
## Same service, bigger payoff
Chicago operator Terry Psaltakis says solo guests need the same care as a six-top. With no company to distract them, the meal is the whole experience.

> Get it right and that solo diner turns into a regular who comes back every week and knows your bartender by name
## Alone is not lonely
Grief therapist Rene Mondy says eating with people doesn't automatically mean connection. Ingber's advice: skip the phone, order the thing you'd avoid on a date.

> Nobody is looking at you, and if they are, they're jealous.
## Key takeaway

Eating alone has stopped being something to explain away, and the restaurants that treat solo guests like real guests win regulars.