Eating alone in public is often considered strange – something to be gawped at. We’re so afraid of it, there’s even an official term: Solomangarephobia. So when the rapper Jack Harlow was spotted dining solo in New York this Valentine’s Day, it was no surprise the internet pivoted its collective eyeballs and sent images of the musician sipping on wine and enjoying a bread basket alone astronomically viral.
Such is the stigma that a table for one carries, Harlow was even praised for his “bravery” for eating alone. Yet the number of people taking themselves on a solo dinner date is actually on the rise, despite this seemingly communal terror. Thirteen per cent more people are eating alone in restaurants this year compared to the last, according to the most recent data shared with The Independent by OpenTable.
