Santa Barbara
Alone

PRACTICAL SAMPLE

Dining Alone, and Being Approached

Eating well alone here is easy, for reasons worth knowing before you sit down anywhere. Counter seating is common at the more casual, food-forward restaurants in the Funk Zone and along lower State Street, and a counter seat facing an open kitchen is one of the most comfortable configurations for a solo diner anywhere: something to watch, a natural reason not to make conversation if you would rather not, and staff used to serving single diners. At a full-service restaurant, ask for a smaller table rather than accepting the first one offered, which is sometimes a two-top wedged by the kitchen door. Most hosts will happily reseat you.

Different meals reward different seating, and thinking about it in advance removes a small daily bother. Breakfast is the easiest meal to take anywhere, including standing at a coffee counter with a pastry, since it rarely needs a reservation. Lunch works well at a counter, a bar or a small outdoor table, and the casual, food-forward restaurants clustered in the Funk Zone and around the harbor are built for exactly that kind of flexible single seating. Dinner is where a little intention helps: a small table by a window if you would rather watch the street.

A free excerpt from Santa Barbara Alone.