Noisy restaurants

[epicuric]

Lunchtime yesterday had me pondering on acceptable noise levels in restaurants. Pondering was about all I could do having given up trying to hold a conversation above the level of background noise. We were trying out a restaurant that had been recommended to us recently. It was a lovely setting - a large, converted shed overlooking meadows and an ancient moat, but we were hit by a wall of sound when we entered. For a rural place it was quite large, I estimated around 200 covers, open plan and fully booked. The noise was deafening, and had we not booked a table we would have fled. The few times that I have been to large restaurants recently they all seem to be open plan, tables crowded together and very noisy. Is this a design feature to create an ambiance, or does it simply make it easier to cram in more customers and serve them efficiently?

 

[Morning Glory]

Lunchtime yesterday had me pondering on acceptable noise levels in restaurants. Pondering was about all I could do having given up trying to hold a conversation above the level of background noise. We were trying out a restaurant that had been recommended to us recently. It was a lovely setting - a large, converted shed overlooking meadows and an ancient moat, but we were hit by a wall of sound when we entered. For a rural place it was quite large, I estimated around 200 covers, open plan and fully booked. The noise was deafening, and had we not booked a table we would have fled. The few times that I have been to large restaurants recently they all seem to be open plan, tables crowded together and very noisy. Is this a design feature to create an ambiance, or does it simply make it easier to cram in more customers and serve them efficiently?

This has happened to me twice recently - on both occasions we turned round and walked out as we hadn't booked. In those places it was to do with the large echoey spaces with nothing to damp the sound. One of the nicest things about eating out is feeling relaxed and having a quiet conversation.

 

[Lullabelle]

Noisy restaurants can be annoying but people are having fun, the staff have jobs, surely that can only be good for the town/city as money is being paid back into the economy and the staff can afford to pay their bills.

 

[epicuric]

This has happened to me twice recently - on both occasions we turned round and walked out as we hadn't booked. In those places it was to do with the large echoey spaces with nothing to damp the sound. One of the nicest things about eating out is feeling relaxed and having a quiet conversation.

I'm glad it's not just me! Mostly when we eat out it is in small country pubs where noise is never an issue. In town likewise, we have many small family run restaurants to choose from. The only two large (and noisy) ones I can think of are Loch Fyne's and Carluccios - tables packed in like sardines, high ceilings, no soft furnishings to absorb the noise. Avoid like the plague.

 

[sidevalve]

Noisy restaurants can be annoying but people are having fun, the staff have jobs, surely that can only be good for the town/city as money is being paid back into the economy and the staff can afford to pay their bills.

Yes and no. If you go to a macDonalds [for example] you expect a MacDonalds atmosphere. - loud, brash, lots of kids and that is fine. If you visit a café same applies [depending on the café] BUT to excuse what is basically a chimps tea party by saying "it's good for the economy" is missing the point. If you go to a restaurant for quiet meal out you shouldn't expect to find yourself in a zoo. It horses for courses really but we always find [especially now] it always pays to 'suss out' a place first.

 

[Elawin]

I'm not so bothered at lunch times, especially if I've been shopping or am meeting friends, but in the evening I like a nice quiet restaurant. Several near us have special offers on one night of the week, but we soon learnt that that was also their quiz night, and noise was an understatement. Also we avoid restaurants next door or very close to pubs - there's nothing worse than having drunk, noisy people troop in when the pubs turn out. This happened to some much younger friends of mine when they decided to get engaged and wanted to introduce both sets of parents to each other. Half way through their meal, a crowd of drunken louts stormed in demanding spaghetti b*ll*cks and taking stuff from their table as well as doing a fair amount of damage. Needless to say, the manager called the police, but they had to wait there for the police to arrive and take statements. They were offered free meals for another night, but they didn't go back.

 

[jennyb]

We hate noisy restaurants and are careful to choose places we know will be fairly quiet. A country gastro Pub with a cosy atmosphere is our favourite sort of place to eat. We also hate intrusive music which can be a problem if you are seated under the speakers. A bit of muted background music is tolerable.

 

[Morning Glory]

I totally agree about music. Its all very well to have something in the background but in your face! No. The exception would be the one time I went to a Greek restaurant where plate smashing featured. That was loud and manic! Great fun. I wouldn't repeat it though.

 

[Elawin]

We used to go to a Greek place regularly. Monday to Thursdays it was a gambling den; Fridays to Sundays were family nights. If you wanted peace and quiet, the best time to go was lunch time/early afternoon. It wasn't a restaurant as such, but they did do plenty of bar food and meals to order.

 

[Lullabelle]

I totally agree about music. Its all very well to have something in the background but in your face! No. The exception would be the one time I went to a Greek restaurant where plate smashing featured. That was loud and manic! Great fun. I wouldn't repeat it though.

I also agree about the music. One place went into, the waitress asked if the music was too loud I replied yes, she seemed surprised but she did ask and I was being honest-it was far too loud. No one else said anything so it wasn't turned down, don't like shouting over music.

 

[Francesca]

Spanish Bars and Catalan Bars, Restaurants, Bistros, Taverns & Pubs, for the vast majority outside of 4 & 5 Star Business Hotels, are what tourists state as noisy ..

I am Barcelonés and very used to it ..

Mediterraneans on the whole in large numbers tend to be noisy ..

How to solution: Eat in upscale classic restaurants, Michelin Status venues, and 4 or 5 Star Hotel Restaurants or sit on an open air terrace where one could find it is alot quieter however, by no means a cemetary either ..

Another to do, is to go out on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights when visiting, as most locals could be home if they have young children
and / or have to get up very early to go to work on Monday mornings ..

My last point, if a visitor comes to Spain, they have to deal with it and enjoy the liveliness of our culture instead of complaining .. There is nothing one can do about it when you have a packed restaurant or bar / tavern / bistro ..

There are no laws that say one cannot speak at a venue .. However, yes, they tend to be noisy, as our culture are the Tapas Bars and Restaurants ..

As Ernest Hemmingway stated: " In Spain, nobody sleeps" ! (approx. quote, not exact) ..

There are establishments that are not as noisy, however, they are not the average ..

 

[LadyBelle]

I think we've sadly lost an appreciation of "indoor voices", on two occasions when having supper with friends we've had to move tables immediately after eating because of tables adjacent to ours having people speaking REALLY LOUDLY which basically meant all we could hear was their conversation and very little of ours.

I don't mind a bit of background music; I tend to avoid very loud places if I can. Quite a lot of chains are therefore on my avoid list.

 

[Morning Glory]

I think we've sadly lost an appreciation of "indoor voices", on two occasions when having supper with friends we've had to move tables immediately after eating because of tables adjacent to ours having people speaking REALLY LOUDLY which basically meant all we could hear was their conversation and very little of ours.

I don't mind a bit of background music; I tend to avoid very loud places if I can. Quite a lot of chains are therefore on my avoid list.

My theory is its alcohol to blame. You put a bunch of people around a table, serve lots of drink and the conversation gets louder and louder.

 

[LadyBelle]

My theory is its alcohol to blame. You put a bunch of people around a table, serve lots of drink and the conversation gets louder and louder.

Possibly but it's becoming increasingly an issue in my office. We unfortunately have open plan, but it's becoming unbelievably noisy. People seem to forget to just lower the tone of their voices.

 

[Morning Glory]

Possibly but it's becoming increasingly an issue in my office. We unfortunately have open plan, but it's becoming unbelievably noisy. People seem to forget to just lower the tone of their voices.

I used to work in an open plan office and I hated it. Even though people there were reasonably quiet, it was impossible not to be distracted.