The restaurant industry has a solo diner problem.

This issue of Nomadic Spirit argues that food should be a key, if not the key, focus of personal travel. Plan the meals first. Choose the destination for the table. And on a business trip, a good dinner at a restaurant you had reserved in advance is a recognition and reward for everything else the day asked of you.

Most restaurants aren’t cooperating. Menus are built for sharing. Tables are sized for couples. The solo traveler gets the seat at the bar, the two top by the kitchen, or the greeting at the door: “Will anyone be joining you?”

Restaurants weren’t built for this, and it is beginning to show. Booking.com reports the share of travelers planning solo trips jumped from 14 percent pre-pandemic to 23 percent. OpenTable says solo reservations grew 4 percent year over year, the largest increase of any party size. And solo travelers spend more of their trip budget on food than on transportation or lodging. The seats aren’t designed for the customers who are showing up.

Travelers feel it first. Many solo travelers default to room service or the hotel bar, skipping the restaurant they came to the city to try. A discouraging welcome at the door is enough to push someone back to the hotel for the night. The trip loses its best meal.

A few places are doing this right. Ichiran in Tokyo built private booths for one person each, each with a small window for food delivery. Penny in New York is all counter seating. Avant Garden in Manhattan built a dedicated solo table and a four-course menu to match. Every sushi counter has always known what the rest of the industry is slowly discovering.

Solo travelers know what they want.