🔗 Share this article

Term: Shared seating arrangements.

Look: Lengthy, awkward and making a comeback.

Communal Dining is Back? Oh no. The Only Acceptable Place for Long Benches is the School Canteen

Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? Gen Z, apparently. Research indicates from the dining booking company Resy, "90% of young adult patrons say they enjoy communal tables, versus just six in ten of older generations".

A Sign of the Times. Before You Start Harrumphing Regarding Younger People

Communal eating in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a major trend during the WWII, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, backed by Winston Churchill.

It Was Logical When Food Was Scarce, But Why Do It Now?

This might seem strange to you, admittedly, but communal tables 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 Enjoyment From 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 nano-influencer filming you accidentally in their video while eating a salad? You have to remember: young adults – the most digitally connected group, who came of age during the pandemic, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. It’s the same impulse driving the popularity of youth running groups, hiking outings and art nights: they’re seeking real-world interactions.

I Prefer Dining in a Solo Ramen Stall Found in Japan.

This may not appeal to you, but lots of young people are lonely (47% of them, according to an Oxfam survey published in June). In a 2023 US report , one-third of men aged between 18 to 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone 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. Studies Indicate 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: 14% of survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a shared meal event. Since young people are leaving dating apps, this gives them a shot at a spontaneous "meat-cute".

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

My work here is done.

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

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