Restaurant Music Volume - Ambience with a Side of Hearing Loss

by Rebecca Flint Marx, Posted May 14th 2009 @ 11:00AM

Wednesday's episode of the New York City public radio show Soundcheck examined the cacophonous issue of music in restaurants -- which is certainly not a local issue.

Open kitchens and lively bar scenes increasingly come with a soundtrack, but what's music to one diner's ears is cause for another's indigestion. Restaurateurs argue that music plays a crucial role in defining an eatery's image: A shared plate of oysters is that much more romantic when accompanied by Nina Simone's velvet vocal stylings, while a late-night hamburger date might be enhanced by the moral motif of Kelly Clarkson's "I Do Not Hook Up."

But when does a restaurant's choice of tunes cross that delicate line between agreeable background noise and ear-bleeding annoyance? Is a little music always preferable to dead silence (punctuated only by the sounds of chewing and murmured conversation)? Does a restaurant's choice of music influence your decision to eat there? Or is it less the choice than the decibel level that shapes your experience? And, most importantly, who do you want to provide the soundtrack for that late-night burger?

Filed Under: Chefs & Restaurants, Restaurants
Tags: etiquette, music volume, MusicVolume, restaurant, restaurants

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-14-2009 @11:47AM Claudia said... I often find the music in restaurant too loud. What's really bad is when the TV sounds and the radio sound fight each other. If it's too annoying I ask the manager to turn it down and in most cases they accommodate my request.
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5-14-2009 @1:33PM Jules said... I agree. Its usually the volume of the music, not the music choice that annoys me--especially at restaurants and pubs where you come to hang out with your friends and catch up, not to yell or dance.
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5-14-2009 @2:02PM Divine Bird Jenny said... There is a place here that serves buffalo wings and similar fare. I am sure it would be great for a big party to watch a football game, but for dinner it's heinous. My husband and I met another couple there for dinner one night and we literally had to shout at each other to converse. The food wasn't bad (the barbecue was actually really good), but I will not ever go back. I also often ask them to turn the music down at Starbucks, as they play it very loud in the local ones I visit. Music choice isn't such an issue; it's the volume that makes it hard to talk. If I wanted to spend an evening out without talking, I'd eat alone!
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5-16-2009 @9:06AM Fash said... Music blaring at club volume levels in retail stores is quite possibly my #1 pet peeve. I have walked out of stores simply due to noise many times. Restaurants fall under the retail category in my book.

Anyway, I get irritated almost to the point of anger when I'm greeted by blaring music while shopping/eating and it seems to be getting more and more common. Don't get me wrong - I actually love music and appreciate it loud - at HOME, in the CAR, and various other appropriate situations.
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6-02-2009 @8:58PM Stephen Wilson said... I live in Sioux Falls, where it seems no one who enjoys a nightlife cares about their hearing. I don't understand it.
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6-02-2009 @8:58PM Stephen Wilson said... Great post. I live in Sioux Falls, where it seems no one who enjoys a nightlife cares about their hearing. I don't understand it.
http://stevewilsonblog.com/2009/06/02/what-you-called-me-a-whimp.aspx
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