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Term: Shared seating arrangements.

Look: Lengthy, awkward and making a comeback.

The Return of Communal Eating? Oh no. The Only Acceptable Place for Long Benches is the School Canteen

What kind of adult chooses to dine alongside strangers? Gen Z, apparently. According to data from the restaurant reservations company Resy, "Nine out of ten of gen Z diners say they like shared seating, versus just six in ten of older generations".

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

Communal eating 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.

I Suppose It Made Sense When Food Was Scarce, But Why Do It Now?

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

The “Fun” of Having Dinner Interrupted by Someone Explaining Loudly That Their Therapist Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or being squeezed next to a Hyrox bore eating chicken to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a nano-influencer capturing you in the background in their video while eating a salad? Consider this: 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 youth running groups, group hikes and crafting nights: they’re seeking real-world interactions.

I Prefer Dining in a Solo Ramen Stall Found in Japan.

This may not appeal to you, but many youths feel isolated (Nearly half of them, as per an Oxfam study published in June). In a 2023 US report , one-third of men aged between 18 and 23 reported they had no contact outside their household in the previous seven days. Isn't it positive they’re getting out and breaking bread with strangers?

Perhaps. Research Shows Those Dining in Groups Report Greater Happiness

Conversing with new people is beneficial, too: it enhances our feeling of community. Additionally 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 spontaneous "meat-cute".

I Hate That Pun Almost as Much as I Dislike Shared Seating.

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."