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Name: Communal seating arrangements.

Look: Long, uncomfortable and back in fashion.

The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Only Acceptable Place for Long Benches is the School Canteen

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? The younger generation, it seems. According to data from the restaurant reservations company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they like communal tables, versus just 60% of older generations".

I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before Complaining Regarding Younger People

Communal eating in nationalistic eateries was a big thing during the WWII, in fact – there were about 2,500 of them, supported by Winston Churchill.

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

This might seem strange to you, admittedly, but shared dining can be enjoyable! As Pablo Rivero notes: "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 “Fun” of An Interrupted Meal by Someone Explaining Loudly About Their Therapy Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or sitting beside a Hyrox bore eating chicken to fuel his "farmer’s carries"? Or a social media user capturing you in the background of their reel 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 – enjoy organized group events. It’s the same impulse driving the popularity 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.

This may not appeal to you, but lots of young people are lonely (47% of them, according to 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 a good thing they’re getting out and breaking bread with strangers?

I Suppose. Research Shows People Who Eat Socially Report Greater Happiness

Conversing with new people is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally the Resy data points out another advantage: one in seven survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a communal dining experience. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this gives them a shot at a spontaneous "meat-cute".

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

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."