After so many months of being forced to stay away from other people, it’s small wonder that one of the hottest restaurant concepts at the moment is communal dining. It feels positively dangerous, subversive and naughty – what’s not to like? It also work beautifully for families having a multi-generational meal. And for a first date if you really aren’t sure that you want a deep conversation with your potential paramour. Our correspondent Abbie Martin Greenbaum has more on why communal dining tables are the most popular luxury restaurant concept trend right now, and where to experience them at their best in NYC and Philadelphia.
why is communal dining the most popular restaurant trend right now?
Communal dining is not new. Across continents, cultures, and cuisines, the idea of the communal meal – and yes, the communal table – is as old as the idea of the meal itself.
Communal dining tables are popular luxury restaurant concept trend, here’s where to experience them at their best in NYC and Philadelphia.
And dating back to their conception, restaurants have existed as much as conduits for connection and intimacy as they have for great food.
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Of course, the pandemic made the concept of communal dining much more difficult. As long as it felt dangerous to sit inside and dine with our friends, of course the idea of eating with strangers seemed downright ludicrous.
Communal dining tables are popular luxury restaurant concept trend, here’s where to experience them at their best in NYC and Philadelphia.
But now, two years later, the tides have finally started to turn. The communal table is making a comeback – even if not everyone is happy about it. And a lot of people are happy about it. Because after spending so many months with the same five faces on zoom, they’re thrilled for the opportunity to talk to someone new. And there’s something about a shared experience – same menu, same location – that makes those conversations the easiest they’ve been since 2019.
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Small wonder that communal dining is a hot trend right now. But not all communal tables are created equally. What are the restaurants that ride the communal dining trend into wonderful new spaces and experiences? Here are some of our favorites in NYC, the suburbs of New York and Philadelphia. If you’re in town anytime soon, consider giving them a try.
8 best restaurants to experience the new and popular communal dining table trend
If you’ve been feeling the urge to leave your home, try something different, and maybe even make some new friends, you’ll definitely want to spend a night at one of these eight spots.
1. Dinner Party
Snuggled into an unassuming corner in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, you’ll find Dinner Party. And unlike a lesser restaurant we might imagine, this magical place really does live up to its name – a night here feels like a dinner party in the cozy, kitschy home of a close friend.
Though there are a couple of individual seats available, the majority of the restaurant’s guests dine at one of the communal tables. There they will enjoy four courses – together. There’s one nightly seating for dinner (7:30), and also one morning seating for brunch (12 pm) for those who’d prefer to chitchat over coffee.
The menu changes weekly, but a sample includes homemade sourdough, Caesar salad, New England fruits de mer, and a berry and basil tart. There are of course vegetarian substitutes available. And even if you don’t make friends (though that seems unlikely), we can promise you that the food is always excellent.
You’ll want to make a reservation for dinner, but there are walk-in seatings available for lunch, Tuesday through Saturday.
2. Of Culture
Dept. of Culture arrived in Bed Stuy in January of 2022, and became a near-instant sensation. They were written up in The New Yorker, with the headline “Every Night is a Party at Dept of Culture Brooklyn,” and if you’ve missed parties – or if you’ve just missed eating delicious food around friendly people – then you’re going to have to give this amazing place a try.
Owner and Chef Ayo Balogun serves a tasting menu from North-Central Nigeria in two nightly seatings, at 6 and at 8:30. Each dinner is two hours long, giving you plenty of time to chat. And yes, the menu changes nightly – let yourself be surprised.
For those who want to be around people but are feeling shy, Dept. of Culture could be a great choice. Balogun himself is an active participant in the meal, coming out to talk with diners before every course.
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3. Heidi’s House By The Side of the Road
If you didn’t know, there’s a good chance you would never have guessed based on the name (or the atmosphere) – that the “road” Heidi’s House is by the side of is 78th street, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. And though they are too small for a communal table, the bar – which holds the majority of the small restaurant’s seats – provides the same sort of intimate feeling.
This is the kind of place where you wish you could be a regular, and therefore, the kind of place where you’re bound to make new friends. Though there’s no pre-fixe, the crowd-pleasing menu – only four choices, the hamburger, paella, mac & cheese, or the pasta of the day – serve to create the same convivial space.
4. Tokyo Record Bar
Even when compared with other communal dining experiences, Tokyo Record Bar is on a different level.
Created in 2017 as “an homage to the jewel boxes of vinyl in Japan,” the izakaya serves twelve patrons twice nightly (three times on the weekend) – a seven-course pre fixe menu, eaten over the course of ninety minutes. And yes, the music is a big part of the night; diners listen to a communal playlist as they eat. If there’s anything that brings people together half as much as food, it’s music, and if you have yet to experience the wonder that is Tokyo Record Bar, perhaps this is your summer.
5. Niche Niche
Niche Niche is yet another communal-dining paradise from Tokyo Record Bar’s owner, Ariel Arce. This one even more closely resembles the concept of a dinner party at your friend’s house, although, as they say, only if you “imagine that friend is a professional, but cool.” And crucially, these particular dinner parties are organized around Niche Niche’s centerpiece – wine.
Four wines are served nightly, each paired with the perfect course. And at the moment, Niche Niche is celebrating themed weeks – each week’s meal is set in a particular region, with its guests “traveling” together. This past month? Portugal, France, Italy, and Spain.
6. Kitchen Sink Supper Club
Fancy some scenery with your socializing? Grab the Metro North to Beacon, and make a day of it.
Do some nearby hiking, then end your weekend at Kitchen Sink Supper Club, where Chef Brian Arnoff serves a seasonal pre-fixe tasting menu. Every Friday and Saturday night, diners gather communally to eat delicious food made from local ingredients.
7. Her Place Supper Club
How far are you willing to travel to make new friends? Her Place Supper Club may be in Philadelphia, rather than New York, but if you’re seeking a warm and friendly atmosphere, where you’re bound to wind up in conversation with the people around you, then we can’t suggest anywhere better.
The communal dining trend in action in Philadelphia. Courtesy Photo.
We love the spontaneity of this place, whose hours change regularly, and whose experience has been likened to “showing up to your mom’s friend’s house for dinner and just eating whatever she makes.” And one thing you can count on? Good food. Though the menu changes constantly – this week, for example, it’s offering duck rillette, morel pie, poached cod, and strawberry almond pavlova – it’s never anything short of excellent.
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8. Bonus: Time Out Market
Yes, we know Time Out Market is a market, not a restaurant. They’re on record saying that “communal tables are one of the sacred elements” of their dining halls. We felt the need to include them here.
The communal dining trend is catching on in NYC. Courtesy Photo.
They too have predicted the comeback of communal dining tables as a trend. And we just hope that they’re right.
the communal dining trend and best places to experience it in NYC and Philadelphia
In this post-COVID world, we actually love that communal dining tables are the most popular luxury restaurant concept trend at the moment. Now you know why, and where to experience them at their best in NYC and Philadelphia. What do you think, dear reader? Ready to break bread with your neighbors tonight?
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Abbie Martin Greenbaum grew up in New York City and currently lives in Brooklyn, where she drinks a lot of coffee and matches roommates together for a living. At Oberlin College, she studied English and Cinema, which are still two of her favorite things, along with dessert and musical theater. She believes in magic.
