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Name: Shared seating arrangements.

Appearance: Long, uncomfortable and making a comeback.

Communal Dining is Back? Oh no. The Only Acceptable Place 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 enjoy communal tables, versus just six in ten of older generations".

I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before You Start Harrumphing Regarding Younger People

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

It Was Logical When Food Was Scarce, What's the Appeal Today?

This might seem strange to you, I know, but shared dining can be fun! As Pablo Rivero explains: "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 Revealing They Are an Empath

Or being squeezed next to a Hyrox bore chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "farmer’s carries"? Or a social media user filming you accidentally in their video while eating a salad? You have to remember: young adults – the most online generation, who grew up during COVID, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. It’s the same impulse driving the popularity of young people’s running clubs, group hikes and crafting nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I’d Rather Eat in One of Those One-Person Ramen Booths Found in Japan.

You might not fancy it, but lots of young people are lonely (Nearly half of them, as per an Oxfam study released this summer). In a 2023 US report 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 a good thing they’re getting out and sharing meals with new people?

I Suppose. Studies Indicate People Who Eat Socially Report Greater Happiness

Talking to strangers is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Plus the Resy data points out another advantage: one in seven survey respondents said they’d found a romantic partner at a shared meal event. Since young people are leaving dating apps, this offers a chance for a spontaneous "meat-cute".

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

Mission accomplished.

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

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