One of the most common complaints I've heard about restaurants over the years is that many of them are too noisy. In response, I wrote an article about the subjecct a few years ago.
When I was researching the article, I discovered that a growing number of restaurants actually create a "high energy ambience" on purpose. Seems there are studies showing that food and alcohol consumption rise with the decibel level. Cranking up the volume, by turning up the background music or engineering the shape and surfaces of the dining room, is just another effort to improve the bottom line.
I can understand that effort, and on occasion I even enjoy a "high energy ambience" myself. But most of the time, like many of you, I'd rather dine in a setting where I can carry on a conversation with my friends at a less-than-shouting volume. I concluded my article by promising to include a note in my restaurant reviews whenever I encountered excessively high noise levels. If anything, it's gotten worse, as a recent article in The N&O by my friend and fellow foodie Debbie Moose made clear. Her article, headlined "An Ear-Splitting Din with Dinner," stirred up a hornet's nest of comments from readers. One writer even suggested I take a decibel meter with me when I dine out and report the results in my review.
