Oct 13, 2026
When to go, where to sit and what to order when the table is for one
It is half past six on a Wednesday, the office has emptied out, and the thought of going home to cook for yourself completely drains you. Somewhere between the Tube and the front door there is a table with your name on it, a bowl of fresh pasta and a glass of Italian wine, and nobody to negotiate with over the menu. Solo dining in London used to feel like something you did only when you had to. These days it is a small pleasure people plan for, and once you have done it a couple of times you start to wonder why you waited. This guide covers the practical side, when to go, where to sit, what to order, and why a pasta bar takes all the awkwardness out of eating alone.
Eating alone is easier than it feels
The main thing holding people back is the idea that everyone is looking. They are not. London is a city of people eating on their own, at lunch counters, in cafes, at the bar before a show, and a person with a plate of pasta and a book is about the least remarkable sight in Soho. Restaurant teams are used to it too. A table for one is a perfectly normal booking, and the good ones will give you a seat with a view instead of the wall.
The other worry is that a meal alone will feel long but it doesn’t have to be. Pick somewhere the food comes fast and the pace is set by you, and an hour on your own with a good bowl of pasta turns out to be one of the more relaxing things you can do in the middle of the city.
Why a pasta bar is great for solo dining
A traditional three-course restaurant is built for two or more. The menu assumes you will share starters, the room is arranged in pairs, and the whole thing runs at a pace that suits a conversation. A pasta bar runs on a completely separate logic. Pasta is a one-bowl meal, so there is no sharing menu to navigate and no pressure to order a starter you do not want. It is cooked to order and on the table in minutes, so you are never sitting with nothing in front of you. And the format comes with entertainment built in, because most pasta bars have an open kitchen, and watching someone toss cacio e pepe in a pan is a far better companion than your phone.
It also suits the way solo meals tend to happen. Very often you did not plan it. You finished work, or came out of a shop, or the show ended, and you are hungry now. This is where a pasta bar beats a restaurant. No booking needed, a small table or a spot by the kitchen, and you are eating within minutes of sitting down.
Picking your time
Lunch is the easiest first step if you are new to eating alone. The room is full of people doing the same thing, the pace is quick, and nobody reads anything into a person having pasta at one o'clock. Early evening, between half five and seven, is the sweet spot for a weeknight: the after-work crowd has not fully arrived, tables are easy to come by, and you are home by eight with the whole evening still ahead.
Late is the one people forget. If you are coming out of a West End show at ten and the friends you went with are heading for the last train, a pasta bar that is still cooking at eleven is a gift. Some of the best solo meals happen after the theatre, when the day is done and the city has slowed down.
Where to sit when it is just you
Ask for a seat with a view. A table looking onto the street gives you Soho going past the window, which is a show by itself, and a spot near the open kitchen gives you the cooking to watch. Both are better than a two-top in the middle of the room. If you would rather disappear with a book, a booth or an alcove downstairs does the job, and there is no rule that says a person on their own has to sit somewhere small. On a warm evening, an outside table with a glass of wine is about as good as solo dining in London gets.
What to order for one
Keep it simple. One bowl of pasta, one side and one glass of wine is the classic solo order.. Go for a dish that is at its best straight from the pan, since you are the only person it has to please: cacio e pepe, a slow-cooked ragu, or something with a bit of heat like an amatriciana. Add a plate of focaccia or a rocket salad if you want something to pick at while you wait, though the wait will be short.
Wine by the glass is your friend here. A bottle is a commitment for one person, but a single glass of something Italian chosen to go with the dish is exactly the point of eating out. The same goes for a cocktail before the food arrives, and if you are not drinking, an alcohol-free spritz is a good option too. And if you feel confident enough - order the dessert. Nobody is watching, and a warm sweet gnocchi filled with pistachio is a better end to the day than most things waiting for you at home.
Making it comfortable
A book, a newspaper or a podcast in one ear all give your hands and eyes something to do between courses or you can enjoy sitting with your thoughts and people watching. If you are the chatty type, a seat by the kitchen or the pass usually comes with a bit of conversation from the team, and if you are not, a table by the window leaves you to it. Put the laptop away though. Working through dinner takes the pleasure out of it, and the point of the exercise is an hour that belongs to you.
One last tip: treat it like an appointment. Book the table, or decide on the walk-in, put it in the diary and go. The people who get the most out of eating alone are the ones who stop treating it as a fallback and start treating it as a plan.
Solo dining at 27 Old Compton Street
If you fancy trying it, 27 Old Compton Street is a pasta bar in the heart of Soho built around Italy's tavola calda tradition, a hot table where fresh pasta is made to order and served in minutes. Upstairs has an open kitchen and tables looking out onto Old Compton Street, and you can book ahead. Downstairs is walk-in only, with low lighting and booths for anyone making a last-minute call, and on warmer nights there are tables outside too. All the pasta is handmade and made fresh daily, the wine list is all Italian with plenty by the glass, and the cocktail list has Italian twists and alcohol-free versions. The kitchen keeps going until 1am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, so it is there for you after the theatre as much as at lunch. Tables for one or two are timed at up to an hour, which is the perfect amount of time for a good solo meal. Book a table upstairs, or walk in and grab a booth downstairs.