In a small Italian restaurant on Melbourne’s bustling Brunswick Street, dozens of people gather every Wednesday night to have a prosecco and a pizza with a stranger.
La Vineria By Noi started its “dine with a friend” event in November as a way to boost business during the mid-week slump.
But Naples-born owner Stefano Meffai said it had also helped customers forge friendships in challenging times.
“During the three years of COVID-19, people have become more social with their phone and are very antisocial when it comes to personal contact with someone else,” he told AAP.
“We found that young guys, girls, they struggled to make new friends. But this is a vehicle for them to get to know another person like them in the Melbourne society.”
The dinner takes on all the best things about Italian culture: good food, good company and good conversations.
Customers pay an up-front fee and get a glass of prosecco and a main of their choice before the Fitzroy restaurant turns into a dancefloor.
“We’ve had people that have been coming back for 20 Wednesdays in a row,” Mr Meffai said.
“They love the atmosphere and they get a new connection every Wednesday.”
Melburnian Lily Kalash, 26, hasn’t been to 20 dinners but she admits she’s somewhat of a regular.
“Obviously Melbourne is known for its nightlife, but on a Wednesday there’s not much to do,” she said.
“It’s just a great way to have a cheap meal and hang out and have fun.”
Other restaurants in Melbourne host similar communal dining experiences, including Yeah Boy in Windsor and Marameo in the city centre.
They all have the same goal – to foster connections between people after years of lockdowns and isolation.
The majority of Australians report feeling more alone since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to one survey, with young people the most likely to feel high levels of loneliness.
Even with pandemic restrictions gone, it can be hard to make new friends as an adult, Miss Kalash said.
“A lot of people are almost scared to step back into that character they probably once knew about themselves,” she said.
But the dinners break down barriers, especially those built up by social media, she added.
“People have this automatic response of a judgement about someone on the basis of how they look or how they act.
“There, it’s just completely dropped. You get to know someone’s personality rather than the judgment you’ve made in your brain.”
Australian Associated Press