# Hat on in restaurant - faux pas? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 17, 2021, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460 "2021-06-17T13:19:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/41 "2021-06-17T16:14:35Z")
I went through a very brief period of hat-wearing about twenty years ago. My hat was a wide-brimmed, safari-style thing that I used to keep the sun off my face and neck. One of the reasons I stopped wearing the damn thing is that I never knew what to do with it when going into a building. Restaurants generally don’t offer hat/coat check anymore, and some of them don’t even have coat racks or hooks anywhere. It never occurred to me to keep the hat on, because that would be weird and definitely a faux pas. There’s a Dashiell Hammett novel where the hero walks into the bad guy’s lair, sits down without being asked, and puts his hat _on the floor_ next to the chair. This demonstrates how fearless and badass he is. Me, I’d just awkwardly hold the hat, while silently resolving to give up this whole stupid hat-wearing thing. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2021, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/42 "2021-06-17T16:14:53Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > the men have thrown on some shorts and flipflops. ahhhh, not me then, I wear slides with my shorts. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Dinsdale1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale1)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/43 "2021-06-17T16:23:46Z")
Yeah - wasn’t my idea or my money. I didn’t want to go. Today my main meal will be baked potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Total cost for 2 of us maybe $2 - and I guarantee I will prefer it to yesterday’s meal! ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/44 "2021-06-17T16:26:50Z")
Yeah? If it’s not hijacking, what did you have at Chez Money Pit? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/45 "2021-06-17T16:33:01Z")
If I saw that behavior at a Michelin-starred restaurant, I’d cancel my order and walk out. If the place can’t handle something basic like hat removal, I wouldn’t trust them with my food. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/46 "2021-06-17T16:37:45Z")
I’m aware of the convention, but it strikes me as outdated, and I can’t imagine that in 2021 on the west coast of the United States, anyone would give a fuck. Shorts/t-shirt/ballcap might get you some stares in some contexts, but a nice hat that otherwise matched the general attire? Nah… I have to assume @silenus is kidding in the above post. ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/47 "2021-06-17T16:39:38Z")
I rarely visit a place fancier then the steak place with peanut shells on the floor, so I leave my hat on, even after 20 years in the military. Now, if I will be attending a fancy event, like a wedding with a fancy luncheon or reception, I won’t wear a hat to the event, but there is one in the car for the ride home. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Dinsdale1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale1)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/48 "2021-06-17T16:43:35Z")
Man - they gave my wife a copy of the menu. It was something like 10-12 courses. Totally over the top pretentious bullshit IMO. BTW, restaurant was ever in Chicago. There were scallops, yellowtail, caviar, asparagus… 3 dessert courses… For a topper - when the bill came, our host - one of our best friends- lacked enough cash and didn’t have a credit card w/ him. So I had the pleasure of putting it on my card! (He already stopped by this a.m. w/ the cash.) Never again! Oh - and I guess I’m so old fashioned, I checked ahead of time to see if jacket/tie were required. They weren’t. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/49 "2021-06-17T16:52:27Z")
I just see these kind of things as a way to keep “them” out. Doesn’t matter who your “them” is… the poors, the blacks, the trailer trash; Not allowed to dine here if you don’t have a suit and tie, or refuse to remove your hat… because your nice jeans/baseball cap might turn somebody’s stomach and make it impossible for them to choke down their _pâté de foie gras_. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/50 "2021-06-17T17:40:44Z")
If you were at Alinea, I am so jealous. My brother has been there three times — I can’t bring myself to spend the money, but I know I’d enjoy it, even though my tastes run low brow. As to the OP, I would find it odd to wear a hat inside, I guess, especially in that setting. That’s my social indoctrination, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/51 "2021-06-17T17:53:23Z")
I get as irritated with baseball caps in fine restaurants as Tony Soprano does, though I’d never say anything to anyone about it. However, we are talking about a restaurant where dessert is served directly all over the tabletop. Without any snobbery at all, it honestly sounds like one might be allowed to dispense with other traditions such as bared heads. > **[Alinea’s iconic tabletop dessert is available to go—and Chicagoans are obsessed](https://www.timeout.com/chicago/news/alineas-iconic-tabletop-dessert-is-available-to-goand-chicagoans-are-obsessed-052220)** > > Throughout its 15-year history in Lincoln Park, fine-dining destination Alinea has delighted diners with some truly iconic dishes, like the gravity-defying edib ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/52 "2021-06-17T17:55:35Z")
> [@Dinsdale1](#): > > From the way they directed me to the bathroom, I thought they were gonna come in with me and hold my dick for me! Depending upon the level of dining you were experiencing, there may have already been an attendant in the restroom to do that for you along with a spritz of cologne as you left. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/53 "2021-06-17T18:01:35Z")
> [@Dinsdale1](#): > > Man - they gave my wife a copy of the menu. It was something like 10-12 courses. Totally over the top pretentious bullshit IMO. BTW, restaurant was ever in Chicago. There were scallops, yellowtail, caviar, asparagus… 3 dessert courses… > > For a topper - when the bill came, our host - one of our best friends- lacked enough cash and didn’t have a credit card w/ him. So I had the pleasure of putting it on my card! (He already stopped by this a.m. w/ the cash.) > > Never again! > > Oh - and I guess I’m so old fashioned, I checked ahead of time to see if jacket/tie were required. They weren’t. Sigh. I haven’t eaten in a really fancy restaurant in a few years now. The one sorta close to me closed. I really enjoy them, though. I need to find a new place. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Dinsdale1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale1)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/54 "2021-06-17T18:18:41Z")
Not Alinea. The name is “ever”. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/55 "2021-06-17T18:28:27Z")
> [@Dinsdale1](#): > > So a brief google results in a unanimous verdict that a hat in a “nice” restaurant is poor manners/breach of etiquette. > > Is there anyone who has never heard of this convention? If you think hat at table is fine, are there ANY manners/etiquette you follow? I like wearing baseball caps promoting various things that I support, plus it’s a handy cover when my hair is too long and/or unkempt, which is often – I am a Retired Old Fart. But there is something instinctive about removing it in a restaurant, which I always do. I’d feel like a complete boor wearing a hat in any eatery of higher standard than a mall food court. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/56 "2021-06-17T18:39:12Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > However, we are talking about a restaurant where dessert is served directly all over the tabletop. Without any snobbery at all, it honestly sounds like one might be allowed to dispense with other traditions such as bared heads. It’s not really directly on the tabletop, there’s a mat or board that gets put down. And Alinea, despite being a Michelin 3 star restaurant, is not really snobby at all. It’s very self-aware. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Dinsdale1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale1)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/57 "2021-06-17T19:11:34Z")
Please explain for this old fart what it means that a restaurant is “self aware.” ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/58 "2021-06-17T19:31:56Z")
Hell, I sometimes wear my hat during the national anthem at sporting events 😉 . Though I usually don’t wear a hat so I don’t have to think about taking it off indoors. Especially not in a fancier place. I will keep a baseball hat on in a bar the few times I’m wearing one. I think at this point it’s “a thing”, but it isn’t serious enough for me to notice if someone was wearing a hat while eating. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/59 "2021-06-17T19:32:46Z")
I have several very nice fedoras and other hats. In general, in any restaurant with a tablecloth and table service, I take my hat off, and put in on a empty seat or the far end of the table away from where the service comes from. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2021, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460/60 "2021-06-17T21:24:44Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > Jesus, and I winced when I spent forty dollars at a restaurant, tip included. For a hot second I though Jesus was wincing with you. Then I noticed the comma. mmm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hat-on-in-restaurant-faux-pas/944460.md?page=4)