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Name: Shared tables.

Look: Long, awkward and making a comeback.

Communal Dining is Back? Oh no. The Sole Appropriate Location for Refectory Tables is the School Canteen

Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? Gen Z, apparently. 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 older generations".

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

Communal eating in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a major trend during the WWII, in fact – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, backed by Winston Churchill.

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

It’s an alien concept for you, admittedly, but shared dining can be fun! 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 Revealing They Are an Empath

Or sitting beside a fitness enthusiast chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "farmer’s carries"? Or a nano-influencer filming you accidentally of their reel as they massacre a salad? Consider this: gen Z – 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 driving the popularity of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I Prefer Dining in One of Those One-Person Ramen Booths They Have in Tokyo.

You might not fancy it, but lots of young people are lonely (Nearly half of them, according to an Oxfam study released this summer). A recent American study a third of males aged between 18 to 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the past week. Isn't it positive they’re going out and breaking bread with strangers?

I Suppose. Studies Indicate People Who Eat Socially More Often Feel Happier

Conversing with new people is good for us, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Plus the Resy data points out another advantage: 14% of survey respondents said they’d landed a date at a shared meal event. Since young people are leaving dating apps, this offers a chance for a spontaneous "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."

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