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Name: Shared tables.

Look: Long, awkward and making a comeback.

The Return of Communal Eating? Oh no. 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. Research indicates from the restaurant reservations company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they like shared seating, compared with just 60% of older generations".

A Sign of the Times. Before Complaining About the Youth of Today

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

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

This might seem strange to you, admittedly, but shared dining can be fun! As the Resy CEO 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 About Their Therapy Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or sitting beside a fitness enthusiast chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "farmer’s carries"? Or a social media user capturing you in the background in their video 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 – enjoy organized group events. This same desire behind the rise of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings and art nights: they’re seeking real-world interactions.

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 and 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the past week. Isn't it positive they’re getting out and breaking bread with strangers?

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

Conversing with new people is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally the Resy data highlights an additional benefit: one in seven survey respondents said they’d found a romantic partner at a shared meal event. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this gives them a shot at a spontaneous "meet-cute".

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

Mission accomplished.

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

Inappropriate remark: "It’s all fun and games until someone drops a katsu prawn on your Y2K baggy jeans."