Loud Restaurants, What Happened to Ambience.

I think you just described probably 75% of the “newer” eating establishments I have been in.

I’d noticed the number of hard surfaces causing difficult acoustics. I didn’t know this was part of a plot to fatten us up :/

Does a restaurant where you can hear the person across from you require it be a “stuffy white tablecloth” restaurant? I don’t think so.

No, I just took it to the logical extreme. Of course you want to be able to talk to your dining companions.

You seem to bring up white tablecloth places in every post you make, as though those are the only possible places that would have some kind of sound mediation.

Yes, in all… two… of my previous posts in the thread.

Aha!

So I was right. :)

Funny story from a loud bar from many years ago.

I’m sitting at a bar, one of several surrounding a dance floor where very loud music is being played.

There are 2 attractive girls in the next 2 seats.

Suddenly the music cuts out, and there was dead silence, except for one of the girls shouting to the other “Boy, I really want to fuck him”.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t looking at me…

I always like restaurants that tend to be busy, but are arranged so that personal eating space is more calm, if that makes sense. One good example for me from my trips is 13 Coins near SeaTac, with the very large chairs near the counter or the very tall booths. Both options could allow for personal space even when the place was busy.

I was just in an Italian restaurant in Munich this past week and it was very old but the seating was so tight and the crowd so dense that it made it really hard to hear my co-worker sitting right next to me. So, I don’t think it’s just the latest industrial craze, it’s just down to how the restaurant is laid-out and whether the owner believes the meal experience should be more personal or more communal.

Even in homes the trend to tile and hardwood, and disdain for carpets, makes homes prone to echos and loud. I’m buying some thicker rugs, and using underlays beneath them. Also looking to replace an interior door or two with a safe and sound door.

Oh man do I miss this doing this. Having a kid pretty much put an end to it for a variety of reasons. We could still technically do it I guess but… we don’t.

There are entire companies that specialize in dealing with this, designing the soundscape for the restaurant. There is a balance to strike, loud enough to feel fun but still able to easily carry a conversation, as well as controlling the quality of reflected sound. You don’t want it sounding harsh and metallic but softer and muted. So that’s a whole thing, and it’s very obvious when you walk into a restaurant that paid no attention to this at all.

Or you can do what we do, and that’s eat at the earliest times and never run into large crowds, solving the problem for us at least.

I hate going to pubs in London. It’s all standing around being constantly jostled and having to scream at the top of my lungs to be heard. Why people find this enjoyable is beyond me. My boss had a leaving do last week and I came over to say goodbye so I got a reminder why I never join workmates to these outings.

I used to live in Dublin for a few years. I’d go with a friend to a local (the galloping green) which was made of about 3 rooms, no TV and no music. Just people sitting quietly, drinking and chatting with their friends. I miss that place.