João Cepeda

Yes, we’re biased. Communal tables are one of the sacred elements of our Time Out Markets around the world, from our five locations in the USA and Canada to our original Time Out Market in Lisbon and our most recent addition to the family in Dubai. But this is also why we’re so confident that they will become one of 2022’s strongest dining trends. We know that communal tables work, and for the simplest of reasons: a communal table, whatever the size, format or material, inevitably introduces people to one another. Even – and this is the best part – when they don’t want to. ‘May I ask what you are having? Looks delicious.’ This is how thousands of conversations start every day in a modern food-hall environment. And this is partly why this format has become so popular over the past few years, especially in big cosmopolitan cities, like London and New York, or iconic tourism capitals, like Lisbon and Madrid. These are places packed with people who share the same tastes but not necessarily the same language. MORE 2022 TRENDS:🚆 Why train travel is going to be on your 2022 bucket list🌳 From parklets to urban forests: how cities will get a whole lot greener in 2022🧙 Why 2022 is going to be the biggest ever year for fantasy on screen Breakfast joints were the first businesses to use this trick, ages ago. But the purpose back then was functional: how can you make the most of a tiny space that depends on a short peak moment? By seating them together, of course. It could have been t