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Term: Communal seating arrangements.

Look: Lengthy, awkward and making a comeback.

The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Sole Appropriate Location 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 dining booking company Resy, "Nine out of ten of young adult patrons say they like shared seating, compared with just 60% of older generations".

A Sign of the Times. Before You Start Harrumphing About the Youth of Today

Communal eating in nationalistic eateries was a major trend during the second world war, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, backed by Winston Churchill.

It Was Logical During Times of Rationing, What's the Appeal Today?

This might seem strange to you, admittedly, but shared dining can be enjoyable! As the Resy CEO 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 Having Dinner Interrupted by Someone Explaining Loudly 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 social media user capturing you in the background of their reel while eating a salad? Consider this: young adults – the most online generation, who came of age during the pandemic, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. This same desire 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 a Solo Ramen Stall Found in Japan.

This may not appeal to you, but lots of young people are lonely (Nearly half of them, according to an Oxfam study released this summer). In a 2023 US report , one-third of men aged between 18 and 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the past week. Isn't it positive they’re getting out and breaking bread with strangers?

Perhaps. Studies Indicate People Who Eat Socially More Often Feel Happier

Talking to strangers is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally the Resy survey 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 offers a chance for a spontaneous "meat-cute".

That Joke Annoys Me Almost as Much as I Hate Communal Tables.

Mission accomplished.

Do say: "Gen Z think communal dining ate and left no crumbs."

Inappropriate remark: "Things are fine until food spills on your vintage clothes."