🔗 Share this article

Term: Shared tables.

Appearance: Long, awkward and back in fashion.

Communal Dining is Back? Oh no. The Sole Appropriate Location for Refectory Tables is the School Canteen

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? The younger generation, it seems. According to data from the dining booking company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they like shared seating, versus just six in ten of older generations".

A Sign of the Times. Before Complaining Regarding Younger People

Group dining in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a major trend during the WWII, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, backed by Winston Churchill.

I Suppose It Made Sense When Food Was Scarce, But Why Do It Now?

This might seem strange to you, admittedly, but communal tables can be enjoyable! As Pablo Rivero explains: "Dinner becomes a collective event," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"

The Enjoyment From An Interrupted Meal by A Loud Conversation About Their Therapy Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or sitting beside a Hyrox bore eating chicken to fuel his "farmer’s carries"? Or a nano-influencer filming you accidentally of their reel as they massacre a salad? Consider this: young adults – the most digitally connected group, who grew up during COVID, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. This same desire driving the popularity of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I Prefer Dining in a Solo Ramen Stall They Have in Tokyo.

This may not appeal to you, but many youths feel isolated (47% of them, according to an Oxfam study released this summer). A recent American study a third of males aged between 18 to 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn't it positive they’re getting out and sharing meals with new people?

Perhaps. Research Shows Those Dining in Groups Report Greater Happiness

Talking to strangers is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally the Resy data points out another advantage: 14% of 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 "meat-cute".

I Hate That Pun Almost as Much as I Hate Communal Tables.

My work here is done.

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

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