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Term: Communal seating arrangements.

Look: Lengthy, 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? 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 60% of older generations".

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

Communal eating in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a major trend during the second world war, in fact – there were about 2,500 of them, supported by Winston Churchill.

It Was Logical During Times of Rationing, But Why Do It Now?

It’s an alien concept for you, I know, but shared dining can be fun! As the Resy CEO 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 An Interrupted Meal by A Loud Conversation That Their Therapist Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or being squeezed next to a Hyrox bore eating chicken to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a nano-influencer filming you accidentally of their reel as they massacre a salad? Consider this: young adults – the most digitally connected group, who came of age during the pandemic, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – enjoy organized group events. It’s the same impulse behind the rise of youth running groups, hiking outings and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

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

You might not fancy it, but lots of young people are lonely (47% of them, according to an Oxfam survey released this summer). In a 2023 US report a third of males aged between 18 and 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the past week. Isn’t it a good thing they’re getting out and breaking bread with strangers?

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

Conversing with new people is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Plus the Resy data points out another advantage: 14% of 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 unplanned "meat-cute".

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

My work here is done.

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

Don’t say: "It’s all fun and games until someone drops a katsu prawn on your Y2K baggy jeans."