YAS, HONEY!
I find going to restaurants where you can sit at the bar to be less intimidating than a regular sit down restaurant. I've joked a few times to the wait staff that I'm a party of 1 because I have no friends. But yeah, solo trips are great for the reasons you mentioned.
Now that I’ve gotten used to eating in restaurants alone, I just use the extra seat to put my jacket and things. It’s amazing how much space one person can take