Challenge of the Month: Eating Out Alone

What do you do when you reaaaaallly want to go to Waffle House but none of your friends are up for it? You go anyway!

For some reason, eating out alone is this thing that just isn’t done, which makes no sense to me; people eat alone when they’re in their houses anyway, so doing the same in restaurants shouldn’t be any different. It’s not something I’ve ever done though, so I saw no one wanting to Waffle House with me as an opportunity to have some quality Taiwo time.

So what new things have I learnt from this experience?

1. Waiters assume you’re with someone until you correct them.

“Table for two?”
“No, just one please.”
“Oh okay! So sorry!” *Cue frantic rush by waiter to get me a menu*

I got to choose where to sit though, so it was a win tbh.

2. Waiters tend to hover around more when you’re on your own. I got asked quite a few times if I was alright or if I needed anything. Pretty sure they were talking about me too, as I noticed they kept looking in my direction.

3. It wasn’t just the waiters giving me pitying looks- the other customers kept looking at me too. It was mostly older couples there, so I noticed them smiling in my direction a lot. I smiled back, ofcourse; it’s always good to be friendly.

4. It really isn’t a big deal! I quite enjoyed my meal, and I’m definitely going to eat out on my own more. I’m always getting teased for reading on my phone (articles, Ebooks etc) when I’m out with people, so being able to do so without coming across rude was really great.

For anyone who is considering trying it out and feels self-conscious, just remember that anyone who is focusing on you and why you’re eating alone, is clearly not having a good time with whoever they’re with. It’s no problem or business of theirs to be honest.

I asked the waiter to take a picture of me, and he was quite taken aback. Here’s to being a single, independent woman who doesn’t need other people to have a good time 😉