Omnivore - Ziba’s offers communal dining date night

Ziba’s Restaurant & Wine Bar in Grant Park plans to start “Dinner Party Roulette” on Saturdays in June, in which outgoing couples can opt for communal dining to take an ordinary date into a potentially extraordinary, definitely randomized experience.

When manager Jeannine Doerfler saw quiet couples scattered across her dining room, she thought, “Wouldn’t they all be having so much more fun if they were seated together at that beautiful family style table in the middle of the room, getting to know each other?”

Once four couples have reserved 8 p.m. roulette reservations, Ziba’s will seat them together and provide the table with two bottles of wine and after-dinner hookah on the house. Diners must bring their own chemistry.

Cliff Bostock recently discovered a great vegetarian find at Ziba’s, which serves Mediterranean cuisine in a mix of small bites and big plates.

But will the dinner party work?  Free wine will probably get some couples in the door, but gamblers know that roulette is a game of luck. Communal dining can be daunting, but Ziba’s may find a fresh spin on date night.