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Name: Shared seating arrangements.

Appearance: Long, uncomfortable and back in fashion.

The Return of Communal Eating? Not Again. The Only Acceptable Place for Refectory Tables is the School Canteen

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? The younger generation, apparently. Research indicates from the restaurant reservations company Resy, "Nine out of ten of gen Z diners 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 Regarding Younger People

Group dining in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a major trend during the second world war, actually – there were about two thousand five hundred of them, supported by Winston Churchill.

It Was Logical When Food Was Scarce, What's the Appeal Today?

This might seem strange to you, I know, but shared dining 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 Having Dinner Interrupted by A Loud Conversation That Their Therapist Revealing They Are an Empath

Or being squeezed next to a fitness enthusiast eating chicken to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a nano-influencer capturing you in the background of their reel as they massacre a salad? Consider this: young adults – 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 behind the rise of youth running groups, group hikes and crafting nights: they’re seeking real-world interactions.

I’d Rather Eat in One of Those One-Person Ramen Booths Found in Japan.

You might not fancy it, but many youths feel isolated (47% of them, as per an Oxfam survey released this summer). A recent American study , one-third of men aged between 18 to 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn’t it a good thing they’re going out and sharing meals with new people?

Perhaps. Research Shows Those Dining in Groups Report Greater Happiness

Talking to strangers is good for us, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Plus the Resy survey points out another advantage: one in seven survey respondents said they’d found a romantic partner at a communal dining experience. Since young people are leaving dating apps, this offers a chance for a unplanned "meat-cute".

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

Mission accomplished.

Appropriate comment: "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."