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

Name: Communal tables.

Appearance: Lengthy, awkward and making a comeback.

Communal Dining is Back? Oh no. The Only Acceptable Place 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 dining booking company Resy, "Nine out of ten of gen Z diners say they like communal tables, versus just 60% of boomers".

I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before Complaining Regarding Younger People

Group dining in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a big thing during the WWII, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, supported by Winston Churchill.

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

This might seem strange to you, I know, but shared dining can be fun! As the Resy CEO explains: "Dinner becomes a collective event," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"

The Enjoyment From Having Dinner Interrupted by A Loud Conversation About Their Therapy Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or being squeezed next to a fitness enthusiast chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a social media user filming you accidentally in their video while eating a salad? You have to remember: gen Z – the most online generation, who grew up during COVID, and many of whom started careers remotely – love a structured communal activity. This same desire behind the rise of young people’s running clubs, group hikes and crafting 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 (47% of them, according to an Oxfam study released this summer). A recent American study , one-third of men aged between 18 to 23 reported they hadn’t seen anyone outside their household in the past week. Isn’t it a good thing they’re going out and breaking bread with strangers?

Perhaps. Studies Indicate Those Dining in Groups Report Greater Happiness

Conversing with new people is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Plus the Resy survey highlights an additional benefit: 14% of 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 unplanned "meat-cute".

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

My work here is done.

Appropriate comment: "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."