Shocking! Barcelona restaurants ban solo diners

A group of Spanish restaurateurs in Barcelona, the cosmopolitan capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, have started banning solo diners.

According to reports, some bars and restaurants have started rejecting solo diners, saying it is bad for business. It has become a hot topic in Spain. Many people reportedly claimed that they have been turned away for having nobody to eat food with.

Reportedly, these restaurants are giving importance to bigger-spending groups of tourists. This has angered local people in the city. 

After hearing this news, Catalan journalist Mayka Navarro wrote on Twitter, “What is this shit?” Alejo Schapire, another fellow journalist, wrote on Twitter, “How can you be rejected for eating alone at a restaurant? Civilization is at stake.”

According to Spanish daily newspaper El País, this problem has become common for local people in the city, especially on Carrer de Blai in the Poble Sec area and the Eixample neighbourhood.

A person told national newspaper El País, “On the first terrace where I got a table, a waiter quickly arrived and told me that it was reserved. It was not. As soon as I got up, a group of foreigners who were behind me sat down.” Some people also claimed that they were asked to leave.

Restaurant staff have started refusing solo diners, saying that the restaurant is fully booked. According to reports, solo diners who want to eat food are usually stuffed away in a corner, or by the bar, kitchen or toilets.

One person revealed that several local restaurants turned him away in the same evening. He expressed sadness over this issue.

In the spring and summer, restaurant terraces are in high demand. Now, groups of tourists are taking priority on the restaurant terraces, and locals who wish to eat alone are turned away.

Various locals shared the same stories.