Communal restaurant tables: 90% of gen Z like them – but why?

Boomers are nowhere near as keen, with only 60% up for bumping elbows with a stranger at a big table. What explains this generational divide?

Name: Communal tables.

Appearance: Long, awkward and back in fashion.

Communal dining is back? Oh no. The only acceptable place for refectory tables is the school canteen, and even then they’re pretty terrible. Who would voluntarily eat with strangers as an adult with free will? Gen Z, apparently. According to Business Insider, data from the restaurant reservations company Resy reveals “90% of gen Z diners say they enjoy communal tables, compared with just 60% of boomers”.

I’ve never felt more out of touch. Before you start harrumphing about the youth of today, communal eating in patriotic “British Restaurants” was a big thing during the second world war, actually – there were about 2,500 of them, supported by Winston Churchill.