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Term: Shared tables.

Appearance: Long, uncomfortable and back in fashion.

The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Only Acceptable Place for Long Benches is the Cafeteria

Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? The younger generation, apparently. Research indicates from the dining booking company Resy, "90% of young adult patrons say they like communal tables, compared with just 60% of boomers".

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

Group dining in nationalistic eateries was a major trend during the second world war, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, supported by Winston Churchill.

It Was Logical During Times of Rationing, What's the Appeal Today?

It’s an alien concept for you, I know, but shared dining can be enjoyable! As Pablo Rivero notes: "They naturally turn dinner into a shared experience," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"

The “Fun” of Having Dinner Interrupted by Someone Explaining Loudly That Their Therapist Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or sitting beside a Hyrox bore eating chicken to fuel his "farmer’s carries"? Or a social media user capturing you in the background in their video as they massacre a salad? Consider this: gen Z – the most digitally connected group, who came of age during the pandemic, and many of whom started careers remotely – enjoy organized group events. It’s the same impulse driving the popularity of young people’s running clubs, group hikes and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I’d Rather Eat in One of Those One-Person Ramen Booths They Have in Tokyo.

You might not fancy it, but many youths feel isolated (47% 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 previous seven days. Isn’t it a good thing they’re going out and sharing meals with new people?

Perhaps. Research Shows People Who Eat Socially Report Greater Happiness

Conversing with new people is good for us, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Plus the Resy survey highlights an additional benefit: one in seven survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a shared meal event. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this offers a chance for a unplanned "meet-cute".

I Hate That Pun Nearly as Much as I Dislike Shared Seating.

Mission accomplished.

Do say: "Gen Z think communal dining ate and left no crumbs."

Don’t say: "Things are fine until food spills on your vintage clothes."