WHO'S AT YOUR TABLE — AND WHAT THEY ACTUALLY WANT

WHO'S AT YOUR TABLE — AND WHAT THEY ACTUALLY WANT

A thought leadership piece for R&CA members

Walk into any busy Australian restaurant on a Friday night, and you'll find the full spectrum of the dining public sitting within metres of each other. A table of Gen Z friends sharing plates and photographing everything. A couple of Millennials who booked a month ago for a birthday. A pair of Boomers who arrived at 5.45 pm and will be home before 8.

They all chose your venue. But they didn't come for the same reasons, they won't remember the night the same way, and getting it right for one of them doesn't automatically mean getting it right for all of them.

Understanding who is sitting across from you,  not just their order, is one of the most practical things an operator can do right now.

Gen Z: they spend more than you think

The assumption that younger diners are budget-conscious is worth revisiting. Research from Square shows that Gen Z currently has the highest average dine-in spend of any generation in Australia, coming in at $51 per visit, ahead of Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers. They eat out at least once a week at a higher rate than any other age group, and the majority plan to increase their dining-out frequency through 2026.

What they want is not complicated, but it is specific. They want a venue that feels like it belongs to a community rather than a corporation. They want tech that removes friction — fast payment, simple booking, no hunting for a staff member to split the bill — but they push back hard when technology starts replacing the human experience rather than supporting it. They want a real non-alcoholic drinks list, not a lemon lime and bitters and tap water, because they drink around 60% less alcohol than Millennials did at the same age. And they are more forgiving than older diners when something goes wrong, which matters in a kitchen that is running hard.

The biggest opportunity with this group is creating a sense of atmosphere and belonging. They are not looking for a transaction. They are looking for a place.

Millennials: the occasion builders

Millennials are the ones making the bookings. They are the group most likely to turn a meal into an event — the birthday dinner, the reunion lunch, the work celebration. Research from OpenTable shows they are significantly more likely to dine out when a venue is hosting a collaboration, a pop-up, or a special experience. Group bookings among this cohort are strong, and daytime spending is up across the board.

They have also woven dining into their daily routines in a way that other generations have not. The 25 to 34 age group is 1.5 times more likely to visit a café or restaurant than the population average, often building breakfast, a coffee stop, or a working lunch into their week as a matter of habit rather than occasion.

For operators, this group rewards creativity and consistency equally. They will come for the experience once. They will come back for the reliability. Midweek set menus, beverage packages, and private dining options are well-positioned for this audience, particularly as corporate spend slowly returns to metro areas.

Boomers: the high-standard, early-table guests

Boomers are pulling back from dining out under the pressure of cost-of-living anxiety, despite often having more disposable income and time than younger cohorts. That pullback is worth paying attention to because when they do come in, they bring high expectations and genuine loyalty if those expectations are met.

They are the most unforgiving dining audience in Australia. Over half of Boomers say they will not return to a venue after a poor service experience, compared to just over a third of Gen Z. They value consistency, familiarity, and being recognised. A neighbourhood venue where the staff know their name and their usual table is not just a nice idea for this group — it is the point.

They are also driving the resurgence of earlier dining times. The 5.30 pm to 7 pm window is quietly becoming the new peak in many suburban and regional venues, and operators who adjust their rostering, service energy, and specials to match that window rather than treating it as a warm-up for the real service will find a very loyal audience waiting for them.

What cuts across all of it

Despite the differences, there are a few things that hold across every age group. Quality of service remains the deciding factor for return visits — 82% of Australians say how they are made to feel determines whether they come back. Value is not about being cheap; it is about being fair, consistent, and honest about what is on the plate and what it costs. And the shift toward casual, neighbourhood dining over formal or chain experiences is consistent across the board, with more than half of Australian diners now preferring a local venue with a sense of place over a national brand.

The good news is that operators do not need a different venue for every generation. They need to understand what each table is coming for, and make sure the experience they deliver speaks to it. The Gen Z table wants to feel the energy of the room and know that the drinks list was thought about. The Millennials want the night to feel like it was worth planning. The Boomers want to be looked after properly from the moment they walk in.

None of that is beyond a good operator. It just requires paying attention to who is actually in the room.