🔗 Share this article

Term: Communal seating arrangements.

Look: Long, uncomfortable and making a comeback.

Communal Dining is Back? Not Again. The Sole Appropriate Location for Refectory Tables 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, "90% of young adult patrons say they enjoy shared seating, compared with just six in ten of boomers".

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

Group dining in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a big thing during the second world war, 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?

It’s an alien concept for you, admittedly, but communal tables can be enjoyable! As the Resy CEO explains: "They naturally turn dinner into a shared experience," and "You never know who you’ll be seated next to; that’s the fun of it!"

The Enjoyment From An Interrupted Meal by A Loud Conversation That Their Therapist Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or sitting beside a Hyrox bore chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a social media user filming you accidentally in their video while eating a salad? You have to remember: gen Z – the most online generation, who came of age during the pandemic, and many of whom started careers remotely – love a structured communal activity. It’s the same impulse behind the rise of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings and crafting nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I’d Rather Eat in a Solo Ramen Stall They Have in Tokyo.

This may not appeal to you, but lots of young people are lonely (Nearly half of them, as per an Oxfam study published in June). A recent American study , one-third of men aged between 18 and 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn't it positive 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 beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally the Resy survey 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 unplanned "meat-cute".

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

My work here is done.

Appropriate comment: "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."