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Name: Shared tables.

Look: Lengthy, uncomfortable and making a comeback.

The Return of Communal Eating? 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? The younger generation, apparently. Research indicates from the dining booking company Resy, "90% of gen Z diners say they like communal tables, versus just 60% of boomers".

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

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

I Suppose It Made Sense When Food Was Scarce, What's the Appeal Today?

This might seem strange to you, I know, but shared dining can be fun! As Pablo Rivero notes: "They naturally turn dinner into a shared experience," 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 Hyrox bore chomping chicken breasts to fuel his "farmer’s carries"? Or a social media user capturing you in the background of their reel as they massacre a salad? You have to remember: gen Z – the most online generation, 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, group hikes and crafting nights: they’re craving offline social connection.

I’d Rather Eat in a Solo Ramen Stall Found in Japan.

You might not fancy it, but many youths feel isolated (47% of them, according to an Oxfam study released this summer). A recent American study 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 positive they’re going out and breaking bread with strangers?

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 landed a date at a communal dining experience. Given gen Z have gone off the apps, this gives them a shot at a spontaneous "meet-cute".

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

Mission accomplished.

Appropriate comment: "Young adults believe shared meals are a total success."

Inappropriate remark: "It’s all fun and games until someone drops a katsu prawn on your Y2K baggy jeans."