I loathe loud restaurants. My issue is I cannot understand what someone is saying to me with loud background noise. The cacophony of sound simply fills my ears to the point where I am unable to comprehend the person directly in front of me.
I’ve learned to sort of read lips but it’s embarrassing to constantly have to ask for things to be repeated over and over again. People also get easily frustrated repeating themselves and will just give up, wave me off and say “forget about it”. Makes me sad because I honestly want to know what they are saying so I can be part of the conversation.
Half the time I do the the “smile and nod” thing when I have no clue what was just said. I get called out on it every now and then.
“Public School 310” restaurant in Culver City deliberately channels the roar of your 8th grade school cafeteria. I was walking past it during the annual derby hat wine fest across the street, and saw numerous men in suspenders preparing to beat up another man in suspenders as all parties were at least fifteen wine samples to the wind.
Suspenders + fighting + Public School.
I walked away swiftly, but only after yelling out
“YOU’RE ALL SUSPENDED!”
Interestingly, there was a heated discussion of dining acoustics yesterday, prompted by an offhand mention of one place mercifully installing noise-reducing acoustic panels. You’ll find it below this review by Jay Rayner.
Consensus seems to be:
Proper acoustics are expensive
Lots of places are deliberately loud, either for a minimalist (and cheap) look, or to create a “buzz” even when half full.
lots of style over substance.
many places have the wrong sort of spaces used for dining, or are just bad conversions.
If you’ve got time, stay and read his reviews as well. This week’s review is a good one, but he’s never more on form than when skewering somewhere that’s utterly terrible.
I miss the simple organ at baseball games, replaced with pop puke blaring in my ears and eyes.
My favorite spot lately has been the game bar. Over 1000 board games to choose from and the music is quiet enough so the table discussions dont have to compete with noise. My local gamer bar also shares a kitchen with a great restaurant next door, it is my happy place.
This. Background noise is so distracting and loud that I cannot have conversations with my seatmates. This makes for an unpleasant experience and when I have a choice, I avoid loud restaurants.
For many years I thought I had a problem with my hearing, only to get tested and be told that it was actually a bit better than average. Finally, I discovered that I have a mild sound processing disorder. Most people can filter out background sounds and focus in on what they want to hear – like their companion’s voice. For me, I can’t filter and all sounds come at me with equal intensity so I can’t pick out specifics. It’s not so severe that it interfers with daily life, but in loud social situations (like so many bars these days) it’s really frustrating and I absolutely understand how you feel not quite a part of the conversation.
Blah! Its everywhere! Surely I don’t need music, advertisements and the TV on at 7 am in LA fitness locker room. Then there was the kids’ black belt test. We chose the MA school down the street, and it was a mistake. Music blaring a belt test? I was apalled.
I think a lot of people are terrified by quiet, and need constant loud, attention-arresting racket to feel safe, and to prevent their deepest fear: introspection.
How about those gas stations with the first gen video systems that all played the same commercial at ALMOST the exact same time? 12 screaming video monitors all slightly out of sync. What a fantastic way to drive away customers!
After much travel myself, I visited Europe with my high school friends (all of us are American).
Fucking hell, we got the stink eye everywhere we went. Everywhere! Myself and one other guy who had traveled a bunch were the only ones who had any self-awareness of our volume.*
*We were all loud when we were drunk at Oktoberfest though.
One thing that happens in a noisy restaurant or bar environment is that because people cannot talk/hear as well, they are more likely to finish their drinks more quickly. Alcoholic beverages can be one of the more profitable items on the menu, so the increase in purchases allows restaurants an increase in the average revenue per table.
There is a brew pub here in Seattle I really should visit more often. While they have TVs they are all tuned to Turner Classic Movies. They have movie nights in the event room. And the beer is pretty damn good too.
Must admit I was out for dinner on Sat in Liverpool, and the place was so loud that one of the people i was with who uses a hearing aid could not hear a word any one was saying, it was all concrete and wood and looked nice, but was far to loud to be enjoyable, heres looking at you Hanover street social…
