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Term: Shared tables.

Look: Long, uncomfortable and back in fashion.

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

Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? The younger generation, apparently. Research indicates from the dining booking company Resy, "90% of young adult patrons say they enjoy shared seating, versus just 60% of older generations".

A Sign of the Times. Before You Start Harrumphing Regarding Younger People

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

I Suppose It Made Sense During Times of Rationing, But Why Do It Now?

This might seem strange to you, I know, but shared dining can be enjoyable! As Pablo Rivero 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 Hyrox bore eating chicken to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a social media user filming you accidentally of their reel while eating 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 – love a structured communal activity. This same desire 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.

This may not appeal to you, but lots of young people are lonely (Nearly half of them, according to an Oxfam survey published in June). A recent American study , one-third of men aged between 18 and 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn’t it a good thing they’re going out and breaking bread with strangers?

I Suppose. Research Shows Those Dining in Groups Report Greater Happiness

Talking to strangers is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally the Resy survey 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 Nearly as Much as I Hate Communal Tables.

Mission accomplished.

Do say: "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."