Have you considered that not everyone finds their coworkers insufferable, actually finds the camaraderie enjoyable, and do make friends at the office?

What gave you the impression that the individual you are responding to would find their coworkers insufferable, or any of the rest?

I'm the insufferable coworker. I do it on purpose so that people leave me alone and let me work.

Actually no, I'm highly skeptical that happens outside of sitcoms

You've seriously never had a fun time out to lunch or drinks with a coworker? I suppose it is possible!

Also happened in old star trek

It lacks the social component.

That being said, and to your point, taking oneself out to a restaurant, especially a new one, is worth trying for anyone that hasn’t.

And I’m showing my age. Not like dining alone means things like SMS stop working. Or whatever people use these days. It can be social.

im puzzled by people assuming its either with coworkers or alone

“Going with coworkers” - Typically means going with predominantly coworkers with perhaps some plus ones showing up. So going without coworkers, at least in context, sounds much more like the decision to go alone than to find other, non-work-colleagues to go with.

Assuming the word choice was deliberate, which, no reason to not, if it were about coworkers vs not coworkers a more typical phrasing would have been “with friends from outside of work instead,” or even “with other people you know instead.”

It doesn’t have to be an assumption that those are the only two choices. Enumerating all choices wouldn’t be helpful, as there’s more than three.

Replacing group A with group B is less interesting, more obvious, and potentially not an option, or at least not an easy one. If it were, said lamented would likely be eating at a new restaurant with friends rather than lamenting. Or their friends aren’t brave and hate new restaurants, which functionally is the same as not having a group in that case. If they are all at McDonalds because “going to that little place on the side street that looks dingy and smells amazing” is scary, well…

Going out alone is less universally accepted, some find it weird, some find it uncomfortable. But a lot of us enjoy it. (Literally dozens of us). So sharing that idea will likely lead to more interesting conversation.

It's amazing - the weekday lunch date with the wife while the kids are at school was never possible when I worked an hour from home.

I do that all the time. The point is to socialize with coworkers.