I feel obligated to once again point out that the dinner scene takes place very early in the expac, before the Final Days are even retriggered. We'd just cleared the Tower in Thavnair. People like to characterize it as happening later on, after the Final Days have started up again, as though we're grabbing a bite to eat while people are turning into Blasphemies, but that's far from the case.

It's very clear that the issue isn't the scene, it's the characters in it and the fact that people like one character in particular.