Why are restaurants so loud? Here’s where to find quiet in the Twin Cities

Restaurant critic Raphael Brion puts down his fork between meals to tackle reader questions submitted after a recent callout . Here are his answers. How do you say “I’m old” without saying “I’m old”? Why are so many restaurants always so loud? I understand wanting to have a lively atmosphere, but so many places are absolutely ridiculously loud. Often the reason to go out, besides enjoying good food, is to visit with your dining companions. Do you have any recommendations for moderately priced places that aren’t so loud? Do restaurateurs even consider the noise level of their establishments? — Jill Hi Jill, I hear you. Or at least I’m trying to, over all this noise. I eat out all the time, and sometimes restaurants can be punishingly loud. Like a leaf blower or a jackhammer. The sort of loud where you escape to the bathroom just to take a break, or where you start worrying about the hearing of the people who work there. Restaurants are loud for a bunch of reasons, and sometimes it’s intentional. Operators do want to create a lively atmosphere, and to some, that means cranking up the music. There’s also a belief that louder dining rooms encourage people to eat and drink faster, turning tables more quickly and boosting sales. Whether that actually works, though, is another question. Advertisement The research is mixed. A 2008 study found that patrons at French bars drank 31% more beer and finished their drinks about three minutes faster when the music was louder. Meanwhile, a 2021 report found little evidence that music affects how much people eat, regardless of how loudly it’s played. So whether cranking up the volume is actually good for business is far from settled. One big reason restaurants are loud is something called the Lombard effect , a phenomenon in which people involuntarily raise their voices as background noise increases. One table gets louder, the next table talks over them, and before you know it, everyone’s shouting over everyone else. It’s a whole escalating spiral. We’ve all experienced that one exceptionally loud guy in the dining room. The second he leaves, the whole place seems to exhale. I had just had this happen at Gus Gus, which I recently reviewed . The restaurant can actually be rather quiet earlier in the evening, but with its low ceilings and tight quarters, it can also get brutally loud once it fills up. It doesn’t help that modern restaurant design trends favor hard surfaces such as glass, concrete, exposed brick and bare floors; while carpeting, tablecloths, wallpaper and dropped ceilings have largely fallen out of fashion. All those hard surfaces reflect sound rather than absorb it, so conversations, clattering dishes and music just bounce around the room.