RESTAURANTS have confirmed they refuse booking for lone diners not because they take up a table for two with a meal for one but because they ruin the mood.
Single bookings are routinely turned down by restauranteurs as money-losers because their visible isolation puts off more cheerful and socially adept clients.
Luigi di Cartello, who owns a Southampton bistro, said: “It’s unbearable watching their hangdog faces loom over the top of their menu, crossword puzzles and the phones they’re undoubtedly watching porn on.
“It’s awkward for other couples, who assume they’ve been stood up and I have to explain no, this person came here without even the hope of meaningful interaction with a human.
“We can’t have them sat by the window, putting off smiling diners with functioning personal relationships off, but sitting them opposite a mirror to create the illusion of another person just has them gazing unavoidably at the reason why they’re alone.
“Even when we park them by the kitchens they put the chefs off by weeping into their bowls of tagliatelle or making desperate conversation with the waiters because they’ve not spoken to another person for 72 hours.
“Really, the only good thing about them is that they order more wine than a party of six.”
