{"id":4330,"date":"2026-06-11T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/?p=4330"},"modified":"2026-06-11T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T05:00:00","slug":"are-communal-tables-the-future-for-fine-dining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/?p=4330","title":{"rendered":"Are Communal Tables The Future For Fine Dining?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Would you dare to share?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"press<\/div>\n

\u201cWhen food is passed around a table, something softens, and insecurity is removed,\u201d says Ruth Kramer, director of hospitality, concept, and design at WildLand, a collection of boutique homes and hotels on rewilded estates in northern Scotland. \u201cIn a world that can sometimes feel lonely, these evenings rank among the most memorable parts of many guests\u2019 stays.\u201d <\/p>\n

At two of WildLand\u2019s existing properties, as well as the upcoming Hope (a hunting lodge turned hotel, launching this summer), guests are encouraged to dine en masse at shared tables. \u201cHistorically in the Highlands people gathered around one table \u2014 neighbors, travelers, and those working the land \u2014 sharing food and stories at the end of the day,\u201d says Kramer. \u201cIn many ways we are simply continuing that tradition.\u201d <\/p>\n

See also: Is Dessert Back on the Menu? These Chefs Say So<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"gordon
At Gordon Ramsay High, ten guests sit around one table, overlooking the London skyline<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While communal dining might come with valid concerns around privacy, security, or just being stuck next to a bore trying to befriend you \u2014 or worse, selling you something \u2014 the trend is nevertheless growing. WildLand is just one high-end venture leaning toward shared tables. In Italy, Puglia\u2019s art-filled Palazzo Daniele emerged last summer from a careful restoration with an airy new common area where residents can meet over dinner. At boutique hotel Off Grid Girona, launched last September in a 17th-century farmhouse in Spain\u2019s Pyrenean foothills, guests dine together at a poolside table. As at WildLand\u2019s bases, they can opt out, yet few do. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had brilliant feedback,\u201d says Off Grid\u2019s founder, the travel entrepreneur Gerard Greene. \u201cMy vision was for more of a home than a hotel; in replicating a family dinner, this experience allows guests to connect and share local food in an authentic, sincere way.\u201d Other hotels arrange communal dining as part of pop-ups involving guest chefs or immersive gastronomic experiences alongside traditional restaurants. At Thailand\u2019s forthcoming KAIA Koh Phangan, for instance, groups might sign up for open-fire beachside cooking experiences. <\/p>\n

\"wildlands
Dinner at WildLand’s Lundies House <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The offering is visible, too, at new restaurants such as Corridor 109 in Los Angeles<\/a>, where Brian Baik lays on his seafood-centric creations at a 10-seat counter, or Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High<\/a>, which sees just a dozen diners occupy one table on the 60th floor of a London<\/a> skyscraper. Back in the supper-club world, upper-echelon chefs have begun providing haute cuisine in their homes. Examples include Otaku by North London-based Max Posener, previously of Michelin-starred establishments; Haawm in Bangkok, whose daring menus by Dylan Eitharong have enticed popstar Dua Lipa; Robz\u2019 Chef\u2019s Table, where hotly tipped German maestro Robin H\u00f6fer serves 13 courses in his Dubai apartment; and California\u2019s Between the Vines initiative. <\/p>\n

Launched last summer and set to continue this fall, the latter\u2019s ticketed events see the renowned Napa Valley restaurant Press host long-table dinners amid the vines of prestigious wineries. \u201cBy gathering everyone around one table,\u201d says Justin Williams, Press\u2019s managing partner, \u201cwe can connect diners with the farmers, vintners, and chefs behind each course \u2014 creating a more story-driven experience.\u201d Philip Tessier, the restaurant\u2019s chef partner, adds: \u201cCommunal dining brings the opportunity to meet new people. The energy naturally builds, evolving from a more reserved start into something celebratory rarely seen in a traditional dining room. Time and again, our guests arrive as strangers and leave as friends.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Would you dare to share?\u00a0 \u201cWhen food is passed around a table, something softens, and insecurity is removed,\u201d says Ruth Kramer, director of hospitality, concept, and design at WildLand, a collection of boutique homes and hotels on rewilded estates in northern Scotland. \u201cIn a world that can sometimes feel lonely, these evenings rank among the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","beyondwords_generate_audio":"","beyondwords_project_id":"","beyondwords_content_id":"","beyondwords_preview_token":"","beyondwords_player_content":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_delete_content":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_status":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facesjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}