11 Top Los Angeles Restaurant Communal Tables

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Communal dining is making a big impact on America’s great food cities. Plates have become more shareable and are often served family style, so why not have the dining experience be a group activity, too? Learn about 11 favorite communal tables at Los Angeles restaurants, listed in alphabetical order.

Milo & Olive


Communal Table Los Angeles

Milo and Olive is the latest restaurant from husband-and-wife team Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan (their others are Huckleberry Café, Rustic Canyon, and Sweet Rose Creamery). At this Santa Monica cafe, all the seating is rather communal. The restaurant is on the smaller side and the seating consists of two eight-person tables and eight counter seats and that’s it. Montalba architects created the Carrera marble-top tables with custom steel bases. Loeb and Nathan consider Milo and Olive as the workshop for all of their restaurants, where the team gets to play around with delicious and seasonal ingredients and discover the next great menu addition. For now, some great sharable dishes are the pizzas and the gnocchi. [Photo courtesy of Emily Hart Roth]

Son of a Gun

Communal Table Los Angeles

Chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo made a splash with their first restaurant, Animal, in 2008 and have received many accolades and awards since then (like FOOD & WINE 2009 Best New Chefs). At Son of a Gun, their communal table seats 20 and is made of reclaimed wood. Big Daddies – a store in Los Angeles – constructed SOAG’s tables, and the design was a collaboration with set designer Ruth DeJong. Everything on the menu is served to the center of the table, so come to Son of a Gun and have a lovely, communal dining experience. [Photo courtesy of Son of a Gun]

Sotto [CLOSED]

Communal Table Los Angeles

If you’re in the mood for some Southern Italian cooking by Chefs Zach Pollack and Steve Samson, you’ll be able to enjoy a Neapolitan or Guanciale pizza amongst fellow diners at a beautiful communal table. Sotto has two communal tables, one that seats eight and the other six, that are kept for walk-ins. The tables themselves are made out of reclaimed oak and maple from an old barn that used to be a whiskey distillery in Alabama. Interestingly, about the time that Sotto was opening, the tables’ designers were opening their studio called Croft House and together, Chef Zach and the two designers customized these tables for commercial purposes.

The Tasting Kitchen

This California-influenced Mediterranean restaurant fits right in on Abbot Kinney, with its contemporary California design and earthy materials. The landscaping is thanks to Sean Knibb while the sculpting comes from David Irwin. The two communal tables are located right in front of the bar area. Each of these heavy, stained wood tables seats 12 diners. At The Tasting Kitchen, the communal tables are normally reserved for larger parties, which often order from one of Chef Casey Lane’s tasting menus. If you’re just looking to share an a la carte dish, go for pasta. [Photo courtesy of The Tasting Kitchen]

Wurstkuche

Communal Table Los Angeles

Cousins Joseph Pitruzzelli and Tyler Wilson have two Wurstkuches and each location has three grand, communal tables, seating anywhere from 15-45. The tables are made from Baltic birch and steel and covered in Kraft paper. Inside, you feel like you’re in a bierstube and it’s hard not to enjoy the warm feeling of the place. After grabbing a bratwurst and some Belgian fries with several dipping sauces, you’ll revel in the communal dining experience and perhaps meet some new people. [Photo courtesy of Wurstkuche]

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[…] and see where it goes from there. If no one continues the conversation then reflect on that. (List of top communal seating restaurants in LA) also see links at the bottom of […]

Great coverage and curation of some very cool looking communal table restaurants. I’ll be on the lookout for a number of these spots!

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