My first black table was a particleboard side table from a flat pack set, and within a year the corners had gone soft and pale where the laminate chipped off, like it was turning gray from stress. What it taught me is that black is the color that shows every flaw on cheap furniture, it hides nothing, it just makes the damage look worse by contrast.
A true matte black or a deep charcoal with almost no sheen is the easiest version to live with, it reads as neutral rather than heavy, and it sits quietly next to wood tones, white walls, whatever rug you already own. Glossy black is trickier, it shows dust and fingerprints constantly and can tip a room into looking like a showroom nobody actually lives in. I'd avoid putting a black table somewhere with a lot of other dark furniture already, a black dining table in a room with black chairs, a black buffet and dark floors just goes flat, you need at least one or two lighter things nearby, a pale rug, a cream lamp, something to give the eye somewhere to land. Small, dim rooms with little natural light are not the place for a big black table either, it can swallow the space rather than anchor it.
The difference between a good one and a bad one usually comes down to what's under the finish. A well made black table, metal or wood, uses a powder coat or a proper painted finish that's baked on, not a thin spray that scratches if you drag a plate across it. On wood, I look for a stain or painted finish over solid wood or good plywood, with joints that are screwed or doweled rather than just glued and pinned, because that's what keeps a table from wobbling after a few years of actual use. Metal tables should feel solid at the legs, not tinny, and the welds should be smooth, not rough and visible. I've had a black metal side table move house three times and still look sharp, and I've had a black wood table lose its finish in patches after one spilled glass of red wine sat too long. Spills are the real test, a good finish wipes clean, a bad one stains and dulls no matter how careful you are.
Before you buy, measure the space you want it in and then measure the table itself, including how far the legs splay out, because black furniture tends to look bigger in a room than pale furniture of the exact same size.
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