Table for one?

I've done it in certain countries out of necessity (man can not live by bread alone... but he needs bread to stay alive!). No protocol, just request a table for one. True, it might look a little weird in a Michelin-starred restaurant, but one does not associate the word "budget" with the world of the Michelin guide.

Well, I do not dine in Michelin starred restaurants, so can only speak for budget to moderate dining choices. I have found if easy to dine alone in Paris as a solo woman.

And sometimes when dining alone, others in the dining room will ask you to join them. This has happened to me twice-once in Switzerland and once in England. It really made for an extra treat.

When traveling alone, I occasionally wished I had someone to share my meals with, especially when the food was delicious! I don't think it's all that odd to dine alone in Paris. Had a pleasant experience at the La Lozere restaurant at 4 rue Hauteville, near Place st Michel. They had long-ish tables for solos and duos, and the two Parisians at my table offered to share their wine. The food was good too, and fairly cheap.

On a couple of European trips with my daughter, several times we were in separate countries for a few days at a time so I had to eat solo. I found I was much more comfortable bringing a travel guide to read, or some ripped out pages to go over while waiting for the meal. This would not be recommended in posh places but I never eat at such places in Europe anyway!

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. While I am certainly not looking for any places that carry Michelin stars, I am certainly looking for a nice place or two where I can go and sit down alone, have a nice meal and a glass of wine or two. Merci!

Solo Steve,

When not travelling with a RS tour, I frequently travel (and dine) on my own. I've never had any issues with that either in France or any other countries. I tend to choose "average" restaurants most of the time, although at times I've dined in more "upscale" establishments (such as L'Antica Trattoria in Sorrento - the meal was wonderful!).

If there are other English-speaking tourists seated nearby, I usually have a short visit with them. If not, I often just "people watch", chat with the Servers or plan my next day's activities.

I'm not usually concerned with whether going out for a knock-out meal is considered "weird". I really don't care - I have to eat!

I'll also be in Colmar later this year, so it will be interesting to "compare notes" later on.

Happy travels!

Dining alone in Paris and France...my husband does it all the time so it's no problem.When I go into the city i just have a salade and might have to wait a bit for a table for one, but never noticed any anything against the alone....Yes you can reserve a table for one, and reserving is a good idea