Shared Dining Tables: Why Nine in Ten of Gen Z Enjoy This Trend

Term: Shared tables.

Appearance: Lengthy, awkward and making a comeback.

The Return of Communal Eating? Oh no. The Only Acceptable Place for Refectory Tables is the Cafeteria

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

A Sign of the Times. Before Complaining Regarding Younger People

Group dining in nationalistic eateries was a big thing during the WWII, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, supported by Winston Churchill.

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

This might seem strange to you, I know, but communal tables can be enjoyable! As the Resy CEO notes: "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 About Their Therapy 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 in their video as they massacre a salad? You have to remember: gen Z – the most digitally connected group, who grew up during COVID, and many of whom entered an almost exclusively digital workplace – love a structured communal activity. It’s the same impulse behind the rise of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings and art nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I’d Rather Eat in One of Those One-Person Ramen Booths They Have in Tokyo.

You might not fancy it, but lots of young people are lonely (47% of them, according to an Oxfam study published in June). In a 2023 US report a third of males aged between 18 and 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the past week. Isn't it positive they’re going out and breaking bread with strangers?

Perhaps. Studies Indicate Those Dining in Groups Report Greater Happiness

Conversing with new people is good for us, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Plus the Resy survey 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 offers a chance for a unplanned "meat-cute".

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

Mission accomplished.

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

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