Minneapolis
Alone

PRACTICAL SAMPLE

How Minneapolis Dining Works

Casual dining. Lake Street has numerous casual restaurants with counter or bar seating where you can order and eat without any awkwardness. A taqueria or a Somali kitchen there will seat a diner alone without comment. These are neighborhood restaurants, not tourist establishments.

Bar and grill establishments. Many casual bars have bar seating where eating alone is normal.

Fine dining. Higher-end restaurants are accustomed to diners on their own, particularly at the bar.

For specific restaurants by cuisine and neighborhood, see The Pleasures of the Table.

A few small habits make eating alone easier. On Lake Street and elsewhere, the bar or the kitchen counter is almost always the most comfortable seat for one: you have something to watch, the bartender or cook to talk to if you want company, and no empty chair across from you. Early evening is a calm time to arrive at a busy restaurant alone; the staff has more attention to give, and you are not competing for a table during the rush. And there is no obligation to order a full multi-course meal: a glass of wine and an appetizer at the bar is a perfectly respectable dinner, and a low-commitment way to try a restaurant.

A free excerpt from Minneapolis Alone.