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Name: Shared tables.

Look: Long, awkward and making a comeback.

Communal Dining is Back? Not Again. The Only Acceptable Place for Refectory Tables is the Cafeteria

Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? The younger generation, it seems. According to data from the restaurant reservations company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they like communal tables, compared with just six in ten of boomers".

I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before Complaining About the Youth of Today

Group dining in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a big thing during the second world war, in fact – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, backed by Winston Churchill.

I Suppose It Made Sense During Times of Rationing, But Why Do It Now?

It’s an alien concept for you, I know, but shared dining can be fun! As Pablo Rivero notes: "Dinner becomes a collective event," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"

The Enjoyment From Having Dinner Interrupted by Someone Explaining Loudly That Their Therapist Revealing They Are an Empath

Or sitting beside a fitness enthusiast chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a nano-influencer capturing you in the background of their reel while eating a salad? Consider this: gen Z – the most online generation, who came of age during the pandemic, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. It’s the same impulse driving the popularity of youth running groups, group hikes and crafting nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I Prefer Dining in One of Those One-Person Ramen Booths They Have in Tokyo.

This may not appeal to you, but lots of young people are lonely (Nearly half of them, according to an Oxfam study released this summer). In a 2023 US report , one-third of men aged between 18 to 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the past week. Isn’t it a good thing they’re going out and sharing meals with new people?

Perhaps. Studies Indicate People Who Eat Socially More Often Feel Happier

Talking to strangers is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Plus the Resy data highlights an additional benefit: one in seven survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a communal dining experience. Since young people are leaving dating apps, this offers a chance for a unplanned "meet-cute".

That Joke Annoys Me Nearly as Much as I Hate Communal Tables.

Mission accomplished.

Appropriate comment: "Gen Z think communal dining ate and left no crumbs."

Inappropriate remark: "Things are fine until food spills on your vintage clothes."