Where are the solo diners eating?

Taiyaba Ali breaks down what food writing is really about, an excerpt from this month’s GRAIN module on Media & Storytelling. Coming up next, ‘Post-Colonial Histories of Ingredients’. Sign up here.

Single diners are typically treated as an inconvenience. A four-top occupied by a single person, presumably billing a quarter of the revenue, is rarely met with enthusiasm. But some restaurants seem to be embracing them.

Last week, I was at a Japanese pizza restaurant in Bangalore, when I noticed a single gentleman in his mid- twenties sit down to order a whole pizza. The complete and total attention that he lavished on the meal made me cast more than a few sidelong glances. (You know how watching someone truly enjoy their meal can be a deeply satisfying experience?) He finished and called for the cheque, but the restaurant surprised him with complementary dessert. The gesture was not wasted on him: he bobbed his head and mmm’d his way through the bowl.

Lupa, an Italian restaurant in the city, takes their solo diners seriously. The staff tell me about a regular who comes in alone and orders a platter of 36 oysters, which he proceeds to polish off by himself. Not a cheap date.

Based purely on anecdotal evidence, I’m fascinated.

Unlike a darshini, whose format naturally accommodates solo diners through standing counters, quick service, and allows for diner discretion, leisurely restaurants, like Lupa and Pizza 4Ps, have historically been designed around company. To face these public spaces as a single diner requires a measure of courage. And to then refuse to be relegated to the back table near the loo? You have my attention.

Reports suggest that Millennials and Gen Z diners are eating alone more often. If solo meals are becoming a weekly or even monthly ritual, what does it signal about the way we eat? The response that dining spaces adopt is also a signal: Will hospitality move to accommodate the solo diner, or will it roll out the red carpet for them, identifying them as a premium category to service well?

As a diner who eats at the same restaurant every week, I am probably not best placed to answer this. So, solo diners, please tell me, where are you eating that’s treating you well? I’m curious to know.

THIS WEEK ON GOYA

I grew up slipping between words just as easily as I slipped between one cuisine and the next. The kitchen taught me polyphony, long before I knew the meaning of the word. From my mother, I inherited the tang of fermented bamboo shoots, and the profound comfort of chicken cooked slowly with herbs and boiled vegetables. From my father, I inherited the warmth of slow-simmered gosht, the sweetness of milky sewai on Eid mornings, and the fragrance of spices from a plate of pulao. But, there are also absences, shadows of dishes that were never cooked. Tamanna Rafique’s mixed family heritage finds reflection in her kitchen. Read more.

Bhejria baigan is known by different names across the country: Sundakkai in Tamil, kottuvastu in Telegu, Bhankatiya in Hindi, Kankeri in Marathi, Titbegun in Assamese, and Samtawk in Mizo. Although the plant produces fruits year-round, summer is the season of bumper harvest. Abhijit Mohanty shares an Adivasi preparation that celebrates the ingredient at its seasonal peak. Read more.

Heirloom Rice Varieties
Tuesday, 7 July 2026
Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar, Edible Archives
Book here

Decolonising Tea as we Know It
Tuesday, 14 July 2026
Dona Aideau, Tea Producer, Taster & Sommelier
Book here

GRAIN is a monthly lecture series by Goya, that connects you with the people who are shaping the way we cook, eat, and think about food: founders, farmers, photographers, writers, stylists, chefs, writers, growers, designers and everyone in between.

#GoodThings What we're enjoying this week
1. Ginger jaggery from Jimmi’s Farm. Could eat that straight from the bag, but its also great in black coffee. Find them here.
2. Bakeree’s new savoury menu includes a selection of puffs that really hit the spot. Find them here.
3. Small batch coffee from Ānai Kādu, Coorg. Stocked here.

Until next time,
bon appétit.