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Term: Communal tables.

Appearance: Long, awkward and making a comeback.

The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Sole Appropriate Location for Long Benches is the Cafeteria

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? Gen Z, it seems. According to data from the restaurant reservations company Resy, "Nine out of ten of gen Z diners say they like shared seating, compared with just six in ten of older generations".

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 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, admittedly, but shared dining can be fun! 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 A Loud Conversation About Their Therapy Revealing They Are an Empath

Or being squeezed next to a fitness enthusiast chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "workout routines"? 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 grew up during COVID, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. It’s the same impulse behind the rise of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I’d Rather Eat in a Solo Ramen Stall Found in Japan.

This may not appeal to you, but many youths feel isolated (47% of them, according to an Oxfam study published in June). In a 2023 US report a third of males aged between 18 to 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the past week. Isn’t it a good thing they’re going out and breaking bread with strangers?

I Suppose. Studies Indicate Those Dining in Groups More Often Feel Happier

Conversing with new people is beneficial, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Plus the Resy data points out another advantage: 14% of 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 unplanned "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."

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