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Name: Shared tables.

Look: Lengthy, awkward and back in fashion.

Communal Dining is Back? Not Again. The Only Acceptable Place for Long Benches is the Cafeteria

Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? The younger generation, it seems. According to data from the restaurant reservations company Resy, "90% of young adult patrons say they like communal tables, versus just six in ten of older generations".

I’ve Never Felt More Out of Touch. Before You Start Harrumphing Regarding Younger People

Communal eating in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a big thing 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?

It’s an alien concept for you, I know, but shared dining can be fun! As Pablo Rivero notes: "Dinner becomes a collective event," and "The excitement lies in not knowing your neighbor!"

The “Fun” of An Interrupted Meal by A Loud Conversation That Their Therapist Says They’re “a Highly Sensitive Empath”

Or being squeezed next to a Hyrox bore chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "workout routines"? Or a social media user filming you accidentally 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. It’s the same impulse driving the popularity of young people’s running clubs, hiking outings and crafting nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I’d Rather Eat 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 released this summer). In a 2023 US report a third of males 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 breaking bread with strangers?

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

Conversing with new people is beneficial, too: it gives us a greater sense of belonging. Additionally the Resy survey points out another advantage: 14% of survey respondents said they’d found a romantic partner at a shared meal event. Since young people are leaving dating apps, this gives them a shot at a unplanned "meat-cute".

That Joke Annoys Me Almost as Much as I Dislike Shared Seating.

Mission accomplished.

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."