Friday night dinner is the weekly dinner meeting of Emily, Richard, Lorelai and Rory Gilmore in the Gilmore Mansion. It was originally a requirement of the loan Emily provided Lorelai for Rory's Chilton tuition. According to Emily, if she was going to be financially involved in Lorelai's and Rory's life, she wanted to be personally involved in their life as well. Rory seems to adjust quickly to the commitment, Lorelai, on the other hand, bristles at attending.

The dinner frequently becomes a platform for airing current grievances on both sides, sometimes ending in shouting matches. Lorelai often ends up being utterly exhausted by the end of the dinner.