It’s the bane of many a solo traveler’s existence: dining out alone.
Just because you’re traveling alone doesn’t mean you should deny yourself all the incredible foodie experiences in your new destination, but when eating is widely considered an experience that’s meant to be shared, sometimes it’s easier to grab fast food and pig out in your hotel room than sit at a table for one. After all, while some solo travelers are completely comfy with the idea of grabbing dinner without company, it can be hard to enjoy the latest take on molecular gastronomy when you feel like everyone else in the restaurant is watching your every bite with a sense of curiosity about why you’re eating out alone.
But solo travelers do not need to dine in solitude any longer — at least, not in Amsterdam. At Eenmaal restaurant, you won’t find anything other than tables for one.
Eenmaal, or “One Meal,” embraces the concept of dining alone through much more than one-top tables. A simply designed interior and no WiFi means eating at Eenmaal is a distraction-free chance to truly be comfortable with eating by yourself.
There’s no doubt that a restaurant catering to solo diners will do away with all of the potentially awkward moments that keep many from eating alone. You wouldn’t have to pretend you didn’t notice the hostess raise her eyebrows when you asked for a table for one. The table wouldn’t be suffocated in uncomfortable silence as the server clears the table of the other three place settings. And when your food finally arrives, it doesn’t come with a side of paranoia as you wonder if everyone really is staring at you.
Owner Marina van Goor hopes to expand this solo dining concept to other European cities and the U.S. later this year.
(Main image: Instant Vantage used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license)
