Table for one please

 

restaurantAustralian restaurant diners are increasingly eating alone, with a number of restaurants catering for tables of one.

Stevan Premutico, CEO of reservation website, dimmi.com.au, said that while ones used to be odd, they are now cool.

“There are two things that have driven this shift in social behaviour. Firstly the iPad playing the role of a dining companion, and secondly the good old dining bar making it less intimidating to eat alone,” said Premutico.

While the national average in Australian remains at 3.5 people per booking (largest in Melbourne), there is a boom in demand for tables of one.

Men are more comfortable sitting in a restaurant on their own, representing 61 per cent of all ‘table for ones’.

Interestingly 37 per cent of all bookings take place pre-dinner, between 5pm and 7pm, indicating that solo diners are more comfortable in quiet dining rooms.

Sydney leads the way in the new trend, with 37 per cent of all single bookings coming from Sydney, followed by Melbourne, and Brisbane.

Despite the high corporate activity in Perth, only 10 per cent of those dining alone originate in the city.

According to Dimmi, the 10 most popular restaurants in Australia for a table of one are Script Bar & Bistro, Flower Drum, Rare Lt Collins St, and No35, in Melbourne; Chefs Gallery, Popolo, Pony Dining The Rocks, and 4 Fourteen in Sydney; and Four Winds Revolving Restaurant and Public in Brisbane.

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