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Term: Shared tables.

Appearance: Long, awkward and making a comeback.

The Return of Communal Eating? Oh no. The Sole Appropriate Location for Long Benches is the School Canteen

Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? Gen Z, apparently. According to data from the dining booking company Resy, "90% of young adult patrons say they enjoy shared seating, compared with just six in ten of older generations".

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

Group dining in nationalistic eateries was a major trend during the second world war, actually – there were about 2,500 of them, supported by Winston Churchill.

I Suppose It Made Sense During Times of Rationing, What's the Appeal Today?

It’s an alien concept for you, I know, but shared dining can be enjoyable! As Pablo Rivero notes: "Dinner becomes a collective event," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"

The “Fun” of An Interrupted Meal by A Loud Conversation About Their Therapy Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or being squeezed next to a Hyrox bore eating chicken to fuel his "farmer’s carries"? Or a nano-influencer capturing you in the background in their video while eating a salad? You have to remember: gen Z – the most online generation, who grew up during COVID, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – enjoy organized group events. This same desire behind the rise of youth running groups, group hikes and crafting nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I’d Rather Eat in One of Those One-Person Ramen Booths They Have in Tokyo.

You might not fancy it, but many youths feel isolated (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 hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn't it positive they’re going out and breaking bread with strangers?

Perhaps. Research Shows People Who Eat Socially More Often Feel Happier

Talking to strangers is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Plus the Resy data highlights an additional benefit: one in seven survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a shared meal event. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this gives them a shot at a unplanned "meet-cute".

I Hate That Pun Nearly as Much as I Dislike Shared Seating.

Mission accomplished.

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."