As if modern dating weren’t difficult enough, the internet has become obsessed with finding niche compatibility tests and categorizing the differences between partners. Many of these so-called “relationship gaps” are trending on social media platforms such as TikTok these days.
Now the latest one has arrived, and it’s already proving to be polarizing: the restaurant gap.
Described by The New York Times as “a misalignment in tastes, spending habits, and culinary curiosity,” a restaurant gap can take many forms. Take a picky eater and an adventurous foodie, or even a devout reservation chaser who incessantly scrolls through Resy versus someone who couldn’t care less as long as food is served.
For many on social media, the gap rings true to life. “As someone that doesn’t often enjoy fine dining, I will not continue a relationship with someone that loves it,” a user said on X, responding to a thread on the topic posted by Elena Burger, a new media writer for Andreessen Horowitz.
As part of that same thread, Burger shared a screenshot from Hinge with a reply that read, in part: “What if I said I’d take you to Nobu Malibu for oceanview drinks . . . ?” Burger then commented: “I take back everything I said. Restaurant gaps are real.”
Another X user replied: “Lost me at Nobu.”
The latest in a flurry of viral relationship gaps
While wage and age gaps have long been mainstream labels for relationships, newer variations have taken over social media. Notoriously, a “swag gap” refers to a relationship with an imbalance in style and coolness.
