Walk through the doors of some dineries today and you’ll find yourself confronted with something you probably thought disappeared in the 2010s: Long, shared communal tables where strangers sit elbow-to-elbow while gobbling down good food. For many people, that trend was one of the most polarizing notions in contemporary dining — half the country thought it pure genius, while the other half insists they’d never be caught dead sandwiched between two strangers making their way through a plate of pasta. But Gen Z, being Gen Z, is reviving it in an unexpected way. And frankly, it’s beginning to make sense.
A new batch of data illustrates exactly how stark this shift is. Resy and other platforms report that younger diners are far more open to communal seating than older generations. And around nine in 10 Gen Z diners say they are into sharing tables with strangers, while Baby Boomers encroach more upon the “absolutely not” territory. Gen Z isn’t just willing to accept the notion — they actually prefer it. It makes restaurants seem more social, some say. Others say it enables them to connect with new people. An inordinate chunk even confess they have landed friendships or dates as a result of the experience.
It may sound strange at first, but considering the kind of world Gen Z came up in, it makes sense. For years, they’ve spent the vast majority of their social lives online — in Discord servers and group chats and comment sections, on multiplayer games. They are used to sharing a table with strangers; it’s tantamount there to their digital life. Communal tables isn’t terrifying, forced awkward interaction to them. To them, it’s a vibe. It is cheap background noise, people watching (or ogling if you prefer) soft murmuring hubbub and the comfortable feeling of being near others without a mandate to talk if no one feels like it. And in a generation that grapples with loneliness more than any before it, the prospect of being near other human beings has a certain charm.
Restaurants, of course, are watching. Others are redesigning their layouts to revive longer tables, shared seating and menus that embrace the “order a few dishes and pass them around“ aesthetic. They understand that Gen Z is about getting experiences, not just eating. Provide them with somewhere vibrant, sociable and Instagram-friendly and they’re hooked. And from a business perspective, communal seating also maximizes space and turns tables more quickly. So restaurants love it almost as much as Gen Z.
But the trend isn’t universal. And a sizable percentage of diners, especially older ones, continue to loathe the idea. They desire privacy, quiet and elbow room enough to carve a streak without accidentally knocking over someone’s kombucha. They associate communal dining with uncomfortable silence, boisterous strangers who can’t keep it down and that one conspicious dude who pounds the table as he asks about plebian food. So despite Gen Z eating up the trend, it’s not about to engulf the entire dining world once again.
Even so, it says a lot about how younger people want to eat and gather. They’re more open to spontaneity. They’re less stiff about traditions. And they’re simply a lot more comfortable integrating some socializing with their eating. In a strange sense, communal tables are an answer to today: they allow you to be alone together. You needn’t speak, but you’re not alone either. It’s the sweet spot between connection and boundaries — one about which Gen Z appears to have a better handle than most.
So if you enter a restaurant and wind up being seated in close quarters with the neighboring table of strangers, get over it. You probably plopped down into the middle of Gen Z’s current turn at a repeat chapter of that cultural renaissance. And who knows — you may even find yourself having some fun.
