Nobody is looking at you. That is genuinely the main thing. But there are a few practical choices that make solo meals more enjoyable rather than merely bearable.
Sit at the counter
Bars, tapas counters, market stalls and ramen places are all designed for one person. You get faster service and something to watch.
Go early or late
Restaurants are more relaxed outside the rush, and staff have time to talk if you want them to. In Spain, Portugal and Greece, early also means cheaper set menus.
The off peak timing also solves a problem people rarely mention, which is being seated at the least desirable table in the house. During a rush, solo diners are often given whatever table turns over fastest, frequently near the kitchen door or the toilets, since the restaurant is prioritising groups that fill more covers. Arriving before or after the main rush usually means staff have time to seat you somewhere better, simply because there is less pressure on the room, and it is worth asking directly for a seat with a view of the street or the room if one is available.
Lunch is the easy meal
Make lunch your main meal of the day. It is cheaper, less formal and far less loaded than dinner, and it frees the evening for a walk.
Making lunch the main meal also changes how the rest of the day feels, not just the bill. A generous lunch means dinner can be light, quick and low pressure, a plate at a counter or even food from a market, which removes the one meal that feels most loaded for many solo travellers. It also means you are eating your best meal while daylight and street activity are at their peak, which for many people is simply a more comfortable atmosphere to sit alone in than a formal evening dining room.
Bring something, or do not
A book or a notebook helps some people and gets in the way for others. Scrolling a phone is the one option that reliably makes the meal worse.
Body language matters more than most people expect. Sitting upright, making eye contact with staff and ordering with a bit of confidence signals that you are there deliberately rather than apologetically, and staff generally respond in kind. Slouching over a phone in the corner tends to get you left alone in the way you were trying to avoid.
It is also worth choosing venues that suit the mood you are actually in rather than the one you think you should be in. A lively market stall works well when you want a bit of energy and noise around you, while a quiet neighbourhood spot with a short menu suits an evening when you would rather not talk to anyone at all. There is no need to force either.
Handling the moments that feel exposed
A few situations reliably feel more awkward than the rest, and knowing they are coming takes most of the sting out of them. Being seated at a large table meant for a group, having a waiter ask if more people are joining, or being placed near a table of couples on an obviously romantic evening are all common and rarely mean anything about how you are perceived.
The simplest response is usually the calmest one. A short, cheerful answer that it is just you, without over explaining, closes the moment quickly and staff move on within seconds. Over apologising or looking embarrassed is what actually draws attention, whereas treating it as completely unremarkable, because it is, tends to make everyone around you treat it the same way.
It is also worth deciding in advance how you will handle a restaurant that seems reluctant to seat a single diner at all, which does happen occasionally, particularly at smaller places during a busy service. Rather than taking it personally, it is usually simpler and faster to thank them and walk to the next option, since a restaurant that is not set up for solo diners that evening is unlikely to give you a good experience even if it does seat you. Keeping a backup nearby in mind before you set out means this kind of moment barely registers as a setback.
In short
Counter seat, off peak, lunch as the main event. Do that three times and it stops being a thing you think about.
