diff --git a/web/src/recent_view_ui.js b/web/src/recent_view_ui.js
index 01095dc5f0..10fb7d9142 100644
--- a/web/src/recent_view_ui.js
+++ b/web/src/recent_view_ui.js
@@ -96,6 +96,12 @@ let dropdown_filters = new Set();
 
 const recent_conversation_key_prefix = "recent_conversation:";
 
+let is_initial_message_fetch_pending = true;
+
+export function set_initial_message_fetch_status(value) {
+    is_initial_message_fetch_pending = value;
+}
+
 export function clear_for_tests() {
     filters.clear();
     dropdown_filters.clear();
@@ -341,6 +347,12 @@ export function revive_current_focus() {
     // to the focused element, this function attempts to revive the
     // link and focus to the element prior to the rerender.
 
+    // We want to set focus on table by default, but we have to wait for
+    // initial fetch for rows to appear otherwise focus is set to search input.
+    if (is_initial_message_fetch_pending) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
     // We try to avoid setting focus when user
     // is not focused on Recent Conversations.
     if (!is_in_focus()) {
diff --git a/web/src/ui_init.js b/web/src/ui_init.js
index fb6ea0bb6c..391cfa9347 100644
--- a/web/src/ui_init.js
+++ b/web/src/ui_init.js
@@ -799,7 +799,11 @@ export function initialize_everything(state_data) {
     reload_setup.initialize();
     unread.initialize(unread_params);
     bot_data.initialize(bot_params); // Must happen after people.initialize()
-    message_fetch.initialize(server_events.finished_initial_fetch);
+    message_fetch.initialize(() => {
+        recent_view_ui.set_initial_message_fetch_status(false);
+        recent_view_ui.revive_current_focus();
+        server_events.finished_initial_fetch();
+    });
     message_scroll.initialize();
     markdown.initialize(markdown_config.get_helpers());
     linkifiers.initialize(realm.realm_linkifiers);