A "stammtisch" is a table reserved for a group of regulars at a restaurant or pub, designated by a reserved sign at the center of the table. Initially, it was where the people of higher status in a small town gathered together. It has evolved to become a regular group of a dozen or more people who gather to talk about a particular interest or hobby. As a result, there are stammtisches for languages, stammtisches for members of the same professions, stammtisches for philosophy or politics.*

*Courtesy of DW-World.de