Last month, Alex Dilling at Hotel Cafe Royal, which boasts two Michelin stars, announced it had started charging solo diners the minimum fee a couple would pay in order to accommodate the sudden surge of interest, explaining that it has “to limit the availability to solo diners to make [the] business commercially viable”. Meanwhile, last week reports circulated that various restaurants in Barcelona had started turning away solo diners to save tables for groups.

The stories divided Twitter, with many calling for justice for solo diners and citing other examples of discrimination, like being told restaurants only take bookings “for even numbers” or being denied entry altogether, highlighting just how in demand a fair and fun solo dining experience is today. One survey by Open Table found that 87% of people would dine alone, while only 7% would negatively judge someone they saw eating on their own. Clearly, attitudes have changed. After all, why should anyone be denied the indulgence of a restaurant meal just because of their relationship status or their decision to go out without their partner?

Up until last week, I’d only dined solo on holiday. Something about doing it abroad felt far less intimidating – maybe it was the sweltering evening heat or the fact that I was so excited to be in another country and anonymous. Eating alone in London, though, feels like a bigger challenge, but also something that could be incredibly rewarding to overcome.

“Restaurants are making solo-dining harder than ever. But there’s so much to be gained from a meal alone”