Restaurants in Barcelona are banning solo diners

OPINION

As an extrovert, there aren’t many things I love to do alone. But when I’m travelling, as unusual as it may seem, sitting at a cafe or restaurant alone is one of my greatest pleasures.

For all the talk about how awkward or uncomfortable it is to ask for a table for one, I really have no issue telling a waiter that, no actually, no one will be joining me for coffee, lunch or a cocktail. That, in the words of the ancient Roman politician Lucius Lucullus, “Dost thou not know that today Lucullus dines with Lucullus?”.

What I do have an issue with is being hustled towards the table by the bathroom, hung on the edge of a bar or turned away altogether when there are tables sitting empty by waiters that look at me and see half a bill they could get from a couple or a group.

So, if local reports are true, I should be wary of what restaurants I visit while travelling alone around Barcelona.

That’s right, a group of Spanish restaurateurs in Barcelona have started banning patrons from booking tables for one, arguing it is bad for business.

The restaurants tend to be smaller, inner-city tapas bars with terraces that fill up quickly during the peak seasons.

As a traveller, my thoughts immediately go to the poor solo visitors who wouldn’t be allowed to enjoy these bars’ atmosphere and food, alone. However, locals haven’t been shy in vocalising their displeasure either.

Speaking to Spanish media, locals say they’ve been lied to and shamed by restaurants who have asked them to leave after realising they’re alone, claimed free tables are reserved or told they have to eat fast and get out in 45 minutes.

My personal passion for solo restaurant trips aside, what gets me feeling irritated is how it suggests people are only as valuable as their cold, hard dollars. It’s the same reason why tourism ministers who declare they only want ‘high value’ visitors feels, yes financially astute but also exclusive and elitist and pretty darn sad.

Sure, a full table is a better return on investment (in space and time) than a lone diner, and I’m not naive enough to suggest restaurants should actively lose money by taking the moral high road and placating singles. But I do think there can be workarounds, such as setting up high-density seating areas like bar stools or large shared tables.

Because, while trying to stop a single person from taking up a table can make sense, banning customers based on how much money a restaurant thinks they’ll spend feels like a slippery slope of discrimination.

And where is the line? Would it be fair to turn away young people or adults with small children? How about students or customers who don’t order a lot of food or don’t look wealthy?

Sure, you could become the most financially optimised restaurant on the block but perhaps not one that is very much fun.