🔗 Share this article

Name: Communal tables.

Appearance: Long, uncomfortable and back in fashion.

The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Only Acceptable Place for Refectory Tables is the School Canteen

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

I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before You Start Harrumphing About the Youth of Today

Communal eating in nationalistic eateries was a big thing during the second world war, actually – there were about 2,500 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, I know, but communal tables can be fun! As Pablo Rivero notes: "Dinner becomes a collective event," and "You never know who you’ll be seated next to; that’s the fun of it!"

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 "workout routines"? Or a social media user filming you accidentally of their reel as they massacre a salad? You have to remember: 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 behind the rise of youth running groups, group hikes and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I Prefer Dining in One of Those One-Person Ramen Booths Found in Japan.

You might not fancy it, but lots of young people are lonely (47% of them, according to an Oxfam survey published in June). In a 2023 US report a third of males aged between 18 and 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn’t it a good thing they’re getting out and breaking bread with strangers?

I Suppose. Studies Indicate Those Dining in Groups Report Greater Happiness

Talking to strangers is good for us, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Additionally the Resy data highlights an additional benefit: 14% of survey respondents said they’d found a romantic partner at a communal dining experience. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this offers a chance for a unplanned "meat-cute".

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

My work here is done.

Do say: "Young adults believe shared meals are a total success."

Don’t say: "It’s all fun and games until someone drops a katsu prawn on your Y2K baggy jeans."