The World's First One-Person Restaurant - Neatorama

Table for one, please! At Eenmaal, a new restaurant in Amsterdam, that's your only choice. All of the tables seat only one person each. Jeroen Beekmans of Pop-Up City writes:

“‘Eenmaal’ is a restaurant like any other restaurant, but one thing is totally different: you only find tables for one person here. ‘Eenmaal’ is an exciting experiment for those who never go out dining alone, as well as an appealing opportunity for those who often eat alone at restaurants”, explains social designer and initiator Marina van Goor.

Being alone has a negative image, according to Van Goor. Her one-person restaurant is part of a wider mission to break this taboo and to make it more attractive for people to be alone in public space. She’s definitely on something here — particularly in contemporary urban design public space is perceived as a place for people to meet and gather, rather than a place to be quiet and relax, alone.

Link -via Oh!Gizmo | Restaurant's Facebook Page

The pun is that "eenmaal" means "once" and "een maal" is "one meal".

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I had a job that involved traveling once, and the company had offices in great places: London, Paris, Munich, Sydney... being able to sample the restaurants in those cities on the company's account was a great perk. But one of my co-workers was so intimidated by eating alone in public that she would take all her meals in her hotel room. Even in Paris! It hurts to think about. I wonder if eat-alone restaurants would have helped her, poor thing.

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I have NEVER understood why people have a problem eating in a restaurant unless there is another person at the table. Why? Are they afraid people will somehow judge them? Anyone who would do so is someone whose opinion is beneath notice! If you're that uncomfortable drinking in your surroundings and savoring your meal, read a book. But, as to the single-diner restaurant featured --yuck. The stark and unfriendly design turns me right off (especially the table with the wall inches from the diner's face.)

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I thought that's what bars and counters were for. I hate dining alone at a table. But it's not so bad at all at a countertop style seat. It not only feels less weird, but occasionally also encourages a little social interaction to actually be less lonely. If the person next to you is friendly and interesting, you're no longer dining alone, but meeting someone new.

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As someone who has ate alone plenty of times while traveling, I really hate this restaurant's design. There's no room for a reading book or computer, which are the two things that make dining alone pleasant. It's like the restaurant wants you to focus on the fact that you're alone and not supposed to socialize.

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I've had the most interesting conversation with fellow diners precisely because I was dining alone and so were they. The above arrangement assumes no one wants to talk to each other. More like grown children who are taking 'a time out'.

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