# Are restaurants too loud? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2018, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-too-loud/825198 "2018-11-28T11:12:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-too-loud/825198/41 "2018-12-01T23:21:23Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > In a [previous thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=829509) I was lamenting on how the audio tracks in movies have gotten way too loud, mainly due to the full-blast background music. > > This morning I read [this article](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/11/how-restaurants-got-so-loud/576715/) on how the minimalist trends in decor have made some restaurants unbearably loud. I wholeheartedly agree. > > The loudest restaurant I have ever been to was a Buffalo Wild Wings in Springfield, OH. The place was packed, and a dozen TVs were on. Zero sound absorption on the walls and ceiling. I am not exaggerating when I say you could not have a conversation with the person sitting directing in front of you. We quickly ate then left. Haven’t been back since. When I saw the thread title I was wondering if it was the article I thought it was. It was! The author has a blog called McMansion Hell that is funny as, well, hell. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-too-loud/825198/42 "2018-12-02T00:44:43Z")
I think there needs to be a distinction between the different kinds of loud. This article references the kind of noise that I’ve noticed and have a problem with. A few people in this thread have referenced loud music/TV sounds as a problem. Personally I don’t mind loud music or loud TV, usually sports, because that is something that is typically expected at certain bars. Occasionally there’ll be bad acoustics or a floor manager being careless with the levels that pushes to unbearable heights, but that’s the exception. What I loathe is the general ambient clatter that seems the norm in these new minimalist industrial designs. There’s a handful of places here in Chicago that I LOVE the food at, they are some of my favorites, but me and the wife have stopped going because the clatter is just unbearable. There’s something about that noise, a combination of echoing conversations, glass and serving ware clanking, background music and footsteps that create an unbearable sense of anxiety. The place sometimes raises the music levels to compete with that clatter amplifying the problem. I think this article is on the mark about root cause. The trend away from soft booths, exposed wood and fabrics to exposed metal beams, HVAC ducts, distressed concrete floors and metal framed tables and chairs has given restaurants and bars the ambiance of a mechanics garage or a metalwork shop. It sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-too-loud/825198/43 "2018-12-02T02:25:09Z")
I’ve observed this trend getting worse over the years. I’ve stopped going to many places because of the noise level. My favorite bar-restaurant is a one-off historical building. There is no sound deadening material but the owner has a policy of continuous but low volume music. Even when it’s packed I have no problem hearing people around me. That tells me it’s not always building design. Unless it’s something obvious like a vaulted ceiling it’s often a function of music level. The louder the music, the louder people have to talk to be heard. It’s a natural feedback loop. That’s something I can understand. What I don’t understand are movies that deliberately flood the theater with noise that is completely divorced from the scene. You don’t try to blind people watching a film so why the frick would you assault them with noise? It’s not the specific level of sound as much as how disconnected it is with the scene. ---
**Author:** ![davey77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@davey77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davey77)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2018, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-too-loud/825198/44 "2018-12-02T23:15:18Z")
Five Guys is the worst offender in my experience. Eating there while enduring the din of rock music (which I like, btw,) convinced me once and for all that it is “too loud” and I am “too old”. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-too-loud/825198/45 "2018-12-03T00:27:22Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Chuck E Cheese’s is one of the loudest places I’ve ever been. I don’t know if you’d call it a restaurant, they do have “pizza” so I guess so. Oh, jeez, yes. I took our boys to other kids’ birthday parties at CECs over the years and it got to be that I could feel a headache coming on almost the moment I stepped through the door. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-too-loud/825198/46 "2018-12-03T16:17:38Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > What I loathe is the general ambient clatter that seems the norm in these new minimalist industrial designs. There’s a handful of places here in Chicago that I LOVE the food at, they are some of my favorites, but me and the wife have stopped going because the clatter is just unbearable. Same here in my local downtown. I want to support the local businesses and keep the place vibrant, but I want to be able to talk to my partner. The Italian place has really, truly awesome Italian-from-Italy food, and I wish I could go there. The Mexican places isn’t all that good, but we don’t have good Mexican anywhere, so I’d be a fan if they’d just do something with the acoustics. (The Indian place has great acoustics, but no alcohol, so not a dinner destination.) ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-too-loud/825198/47 "2018-12-03T16:48:13Z")
Loud restaurants aren’t new but I have noticed over the years that there is a greater proportion of them. Back in the 80s I was at a TGIFriday’s and mentioned to a friend how loud it was. He was very perceptive, said that he believed it was designed that way on purpose to create a specific atmosphere. > [@madmonk28](#): > > I appreciate that the Washington Post includes the noise level in its restaurant reviews. Including decibels. The fact they even do this bears out that noise has become more of an issue in restaurants, and patrons care aboutit. > [@Oredigger77](#): > > “If its too loud, you’re too old” - Ted Nugent “My left ear is only there for aesthetic purposes.” - Ted Nugent Nugent is deaf in his left ear from years of leaving it unprotected during his performances while using an earplug in his right ear. So if you think it’s too loud, you’re simply not deaf. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2018, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-too-loud/825198/48 "2018-12-03T17:05:39Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > (The Indian place has great acoustics, but no alcohol, so not a dinner destination.) Do they allow BYOB? Our favorite Sushi place is BYOB, with no corkage fee, making it a huge bargain. Years ago we went for sushi with one of my nephews. The waiter brought wineglasses for the table. He asked my nephew if he was 18, and my nephew said indeed, he was. So, he was given a wineglass and shared our wine. Pennsylvania’s drinking age is 21. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-too-loud/825198.md?page=2)