Solo Female Diner Recommendations?

I just moved to Chicago from Canada and this is my first post.

I have been dining solo as a young female professional for as long as I can remember(be it in the city I livein , or trips elsewhere), and never did it cross my mind that I might be conceived as working girl. After reading this thread, I decided to post for recommendations or comments about your exprience as a solo female diner

As a habit, I like to dine out alone in a mid to hight end (entree around $20) place every other week or so, as a way to reward myself and enjoy some quiet time. I usually choose a weekday, off the rush-dinner hours to enjoy my meal.

I have visited the recommendations to Bin36 and Mirai and thoroughly enjoyed my exprience, but do I have other choices?
I am looking for a few things in my solo dining experience:
1. I like to sit in the dining room, not at the bar.
2. I enjoy wine pairing with my meal
3. I'd prefer a seafood-oriented over meat-heavy menu (I adore sashimi).
4. A downtown location would be ideal.

This site has been tremendously helpful not just for food recommendation but also for orienting myself when meandering in the different neighbourhoods.

Thank you in advance for any suggestion or comment.

Try Naha. It's great for solo dining, as I've done it several times. Service is great, food is better and you don't stick out there by being solo because of the great servers and spacing in the restaurant.

I think they are balanced as far as the food goes, so not more seafood than meat or vice versa. You'll love the wine program there too.

Avec!

viewtopic.php?p=218223#p218223

While solo diners often prefer the bar, you can certainly get a seat at one of the "end" tables if you go very early after work (or as early as 3:30, when they open), or very late.

My current recommendation is a stunning fall vegetable and crispy chicken thigh clay pot, probably more than enough food for one for $10. Find a good port and order some of the stuffed dates as well if you're in a really good mood (or need to be in one).

Meiji is right next door for a sashimi round as well - you'd probably dig it. Down Randolph Street are Izumi and Starfish, also excellent places for quieter solo dining with some style and a little bit of a scene. I don't currently recommend Sushi Wabi.

Welcome to Chicago, Happy Camper.

I, too, often dine alone, both because I travel a fair bit and because I sometimes want a good meal without having to "arrange an evening" with someone. I've found that most places are becoming accustomed to women dining alone -- or solo diners of either gender. Sometimes, other solo diners are on their own because they're from out of town, but I can remember being at Alinea once when we noticed a lone diner and, being in a merry group, we asked our server if the lone person would like company. We were told that no, this gentlemen came often, always alone, because he wanted to focus on the food, not on people or conversation. And they were cool with that.

One of my favorite "hang outs" is a fairly high-end place out in the suburbs (not in the city, as you specified, but used as an example). Le Titi de Paris has a great $16 fixed-price lunch, and I'll often go, curl up in a booth, and read a book. After I've enjoyed my lunch, they'll keep on refilling my iced tea for as long as I stay, which has sometimes been a couple of hours.

But I've found that just about everywhere I've been, I've had no problem at all dining solo. However, I have had situations like the one in the thread you reference where I waited for far too long (sometimes after asking several passing staffers where my wait person was) -- but that was actually when I was with someone, or even several someones, and not alone. So I'm not sure being overlooked is really necessarily connected to dining solo.

I'll leave the general urban recommendations to the group's city-dwellers. When I'm in the city, it's usually for high-end or funky ethnic, so not much of that "in between" stuff to recommend, at least not in the seafood-dominant category. But I haven't run into any real issues with dining alone anywhere. Though I do always take a book -- just to fill in those time gaps when service is slow.

So I'd say just search the site for places that sound good to you, and check them out. If for no other reason than the fact that this is a huge convention town, most restaurants are cool with lone diners.

HappyCamper,

I am your male doppelganger. I am a happily married man with a reasonable number of potential dining companions, yet every couple of weeks I insist on dining alone, usually with a good book in hand. We don't share the preference for sitting in the dining room, as I'm more of a sit-at-the-bar guy; however, some of my regular solo stops would probably still work well. Tops on my list is the pretty-famous Frontera Grill, where I've had nothing but the friendliest service as a solo diner . Wine pairings are certainly doable, though Frontera also makes what are likely the best margaritas you'll ever have. The people watching is hard to beat, but the food is what draws me in regularly. Just make sure you get there early, as the reservation-less restaurant can get packed later in the evening.

Actually, as I think about the rest of my usual jaunts, I'm not sure how comfortable table-dining would be for a solo diner. If you get over the bar aversion, Paramount Room, Avec, the Bristol, and Bistro Campagne are all welcoming places with outstanding food.

Also, though I've only been there once and I was not alone - the comfortable, neighborhood vibe at the restaurant where Sweet T cooks, along with plenty of by-the-glass wine selections makes me think that Chaise Lounge might work for you too.

Kennyz

Hi HappyCamper,
I welcome you to Chicago as a fellow Canadian who is now only somewhat new to the city! Your list of requirements is similar to mine, except that I prefer to be outside of the downtown area, as I don’t want to have to worry about (valet) parking.

That being said, one of my favourite places to eat solo at is Sweets and Savories. Despite their excellent food and service, they never seem to be full, which is a bonus for me, as I can go anytime without feeling like I need to rush to let someone else have my table. I’ve also had great experiences at A tavola and Bistro Campagne. Starfish was a good suggestion, but I believe they closed sometime in the summer. A tavola is the closest to “downtown”, Sweets & Savories next ( in Lincoln park) and Bistro Campagne is much further north.

Sweets & Savories
1534 W Fullerton
Chicago, IL 60614

a tavola
2148 w. Chicago ave
Chicago IL, 60622

Bistro Campagne
4518 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60625

Thank you all for the detailed advice and recommendations.
Santander, the link to the Avec thread was very useful. I actually live in the neighbourhood and had been unsure about visiting there by myself since it always seems to be full-house. I will be sure to venture in if I get off work early.

Kennyz,

Kennyz wrote:Actually, as I think about the rest of my usual jaunts, I'm not sure how comfortable table-dining would be for a solo diner. If you get over the bar aversion, Paramount Room, Avec, the Bristol, and Bistro Campagne are all welcoming places with outstanding food.

all great recommendations! Thank you.

JermAngela,

JermAngela wrote:Sweets & Savories
1534 W Fullerton
Chicago, IL 60614

a tavola
2148 w. Chicago ave
Chicago IL, 60622

Bistro Campagne
4518 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60625

Thank you! Sweet and Savories definitely looks like my kind of place. It's great to meet another member north of the border here. I actually really love the culinary scene here and look forward to your recommendations.

HappyCamper wrote:Santander, the link to the Avec thread was very useful. I actually live in the neighbourhood and had been unsure about visiting there by myself since it always seems to be full-house. I will be sure to venture in if I get off work early.

I think you can go there any time, even when it's busy. The thing to realize with Avec is that they have "communal seating". In addition to the 8 or so seats at the bar, the rest of the seating is at tables of eight. Unless it's pretty empty, they will seat you at a table with others (strangers to you). It's practically expected that you will talk and socialize with others at your table. As a result, it can be a lot of fun; it's just a different experience from going to a restaurant where you want to be left alone. Also, yes at most times they get busy, with lots of people waiting to be seated. (They don't accept reservations.) However, it can be a bit quicker for a solo diner to get seated, since that only needs one empty seat in the restaurant.