Dining sanctuaries

Solitude is sought-after in 2025 as people seek out places and spaces to decompress. For hospitality brands, this means ensuring the dining experience holds appeal for those seeking quiet or alone time.

Time spent alone in general is on the rise, most notably for younger generations. According to the American Time Use survey, people aged 15 to 29 spent about 45% more time alone in 2023 than in 2010. Bloomberg even coined a term – “the introvert economy” - to capture the shift. As highlighted in Destination solitude from The Future 100: 2025 report, “me-time” is now a valued investment.

Solo dining has long carried some stigma in parts of the world, but the tide is shifting. Consider Emma Gannon’s 2025 novel Table for One, which reframes the experience as an indulgent and joyful pleasure. Or the recent New York Times piece from food journalist Callie Hitchcock which urges readers not to “pity women who eat alone.”

Multiple recent studies now point to a growing consumer appetite too, suggesting a thriving market for solo eats. In a late 2024 feature, restaurant reservation service Resy stated that “solo dining = self-care” and that solo-reservations rose 6% in NYC and up to 14% in Miami. OpenTable has also noted a 29% rise in solo dining over the past two years for the US, and reports on a similar trend in Germany and the UK. The 2025 American Diner report from restaurant software company TouchBistro reported that 49% of millennials and 46% of Gen Z in the U.S. dine alone at least once a week.

Restaurants can have smaller tables, set up partitions between seats, or create dedicated quiet areas for people to eat alone or use their smartphones without judgment.

Rose Ho

Content creator, @theintrovertedeater

In 2024, one hungry Toronto native started an Instagram account to celebrate her solo meals and review the spots she found tastiest and most welcoming. Rose Ho, aka @theintrovertedeater has led her followers to more than 100 solo-diner friendly locations since January 2024, and ranks each restaurant on a scale of 1 to 5 according to how comfortable it is for someone quiet or shy, where 1 is “loud/busy/aggressive” and 5 is “quiet/peaceful/friendly.”

Ho tells VML Intelligence that there are things restaurants can do to appeal to solo or introverted diners such as “have smaller tables, set up partitions between seats, or create dedicated quiet areas for people to eat alone or use their smartphones without judgment.” This philosophy of intentional privacy has roots in Japanese culture, where eating alone has long been accepted and restaurants (like the famous ramen chain Ichiran) offer individual booths for diners or separate spaces for solo dining.

Layout is important then, but hospitality brands also need to consider the ambiance they create says Ho, “[Restaurants] may also hire or train staff to be extra gentle and welcoming to guests while also not hovering over the diners too much. The vibe of the space can also appeal to particular diners. Quiet music, mood lighting, and spaced-apart tables can make a dining area less anxiety-inducing for someone who doesn't want to be overstimulated.”

IMG 1573 copy — Hole-in-the-wall café Mamunako Kohi, Quezon City, Philippines

Price is also a consideration, especially when dishes or tasting menus are designed to be shared. At the Michelin-starred restaurant The Progress in San Francisco, solo diners may order half-size dishes from the menu, at half the price. Plant-based restaurant Avant Garden in New York City curated a “Table for One” experience in 2024 with an exclusive four-course set menu priced at $65.

Some establishments are taking the approach even further. Anti-establishment cafes, also featured in the Future 100: 2025, offer an experience with minimal, if any, interaction. Venues like this are popular in Asia. Mamunako Kohi, a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop in the Philippines removes any risk of interaction or small talk at the counter - because there is no counter. Customers are served their coffee through the wall. “We have baristas and customers who are introverts and don’t want to be forced to talk when getting really good coffee,” director Anton Diaz tells VML Intelligence. “The hole-in-the-wall format means they aren’t forced to interact face to face. We initially thought it was a niche market, but it isn’t.”

Introvert or no, solo time that preserves and recharges the social battery is a growing priority for burnt-out professionals, students, and young people in general. Hospitality venues have an opportunity to tap this growing segment by extending a warmer welcome to those in introvert mode. Solo dining is already perceived as self-care - in the future, it may be reframed as a luxury, unlocking new opportunities for premium indulgence in the category.

Main image: Photographer Ant Rozetsky via Unsplash