‘Why Can’t Restaurants Have a Half Plate Option?’: Reddit Thread on Solo Dining Portions Resonates Widely

A post shared to r/indiasocial describes the challenge of ordering food sized for multiple people while eating alone. The original poster wrote, "This is the 1234th time I'm dining alone," adding that "the worst part of dining alone is starving yourself for an entire day so that you can eat the food that is meant for 2 people."

The poster questioned why more restaurants don't offer smaller portion options for solo diners. "Why can restaurants have half plate option for single dining people," they wrote, explaining that their goal was avoiding food waste rather than simply eating less.

One commenter reflected on the upside of eating alone, writing that "there's something about solo experiences that just forces you to actually process things instead of just vibing with whoever you're with." They added that solo meals tend to make a person "sit with your thoughts more" compared to group dining.

Another user found humor in the original poster's situation, joking that they "added a disclaimer at the end like he was genuinely scared they'd become too confident after finishing that entire dal makhani + naan alone."

Another commenter suggested a practical solution, writing, "you don't have to starve yourself...order as much as you want...take the remaining food as take away...and eat it again as breakfast."

The same commenter said solo dining lets them order freely, writing, "you get to order whatever you want without taking other people into consideration. Ps: I can never order the food I want whenever I go with other peeps cause people pleaser thing."

Another commenter agreed the takeout approach was "actually smart," writing, "Never thought of it that way. But also the people pleaser thing while ordering is SO real, I end up eating something I didn't even want just because everyone else ordered it lmao."

Another commenter described their own approach to large portions, writing, "I do this too. But the only problem is that I want to order and eat a variety of items but the food comes in bigger portions. I try like 50% of every item I order. It leads to food wastage."

Rather than taking leftovers home, where they said the food usually ends up forgotten in the refrigerator before eventually being thrown out, the commenter said they ask restaurants to package the extra food so they can give it to someone in need outside.

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the original poster's dining history or the specific restaurant referenced in the post. The details above reflect the post and comments as shared on Reddit.