2019-10-01 Robb Report

ILLUSTRATIONS BY PETER

OUMANSKI

58 OCTOBER 2019

Quiet Is The

New Loud

at some point, the volume got turned up high, to full

blast, in American restaurants. I can personally date it to

a decade ago, when I dined at Graham Elliot’s eponymous

Chicago restaurant and realized that the old notion of

table talk was dead and that no one was ever going to pass

the salt—who could hear me ask for it? Instead there was

only the deafening din of hard rock and the recognition

that we would suffer in enforced silence because the chef

had rediscovered his teen spirit.

And the same story was true everywhere, from New

York’s raucous Babbo to San Francisco’s Nopa. 

It wasn’t just the blasting soundtracks. Contributing

to the din were a range of issues, starting with shifting

fashions and a recession that demanded economy.

Out went the cosseted dining room bowers, wrapped up

in soft upholstery, thick drapes and white linens, which

cushioned noise. In came cavernous industrial spaces, all

hard edges, crowned by high exposed ceilings and

tricked out with slate, cement and wood, which only

worked to amplify the roar. Open kitchens, a chorus of

clanging steel, added to the noise. 

But the real leaders of the cut-the-noise counter-

revolution became the restaurants themselves. When

Monteverde opened in 2015, in Chicago’s restaurant-

dense West Loop, it started playing with ways to

calibrate sound.

“We use a variety of noise dampening methods and

materials,” says owner Meg Sahs, “including heavy fabric

draperies, fabric banquette seating and panels adhered

to the underside of some table tops. The most effective

method, though, has been the addition of sound absorbing

acoustical panels to the dining room’s ceiling. They go

unnoticed visually, but once installed the echo of sound

declined markedly.” 

Monteverde, crowded every night, is now one

of Chicago’s success stories. Its efforts to lower the din

have become the growing template. Raphael Kadushin

PLAYING IT BY EAR

Tocqueville, NYC: 69

Equinox, Washington DC: 67

Marea, NYC: 75

Gjelina, LA: 86

Charcoal, LA: 85

Coya, London: 88

Gato, NYC: 88

Estela, NYC: 88

Night + Market

Sahm, LA: 90

Sexy Fish, London: 93

Il Tinello, NYC: 70

While dating in New York

City, Gregory Scott noticed

he had difficulty connecting

with potential partners in

loud restaurants.

“There’d be no chance

for a good conversation to

develop,” he recalls, adding

that dating experiences at

quieter restaurants were

“100 percent better.” So

he launched a business:

Scott’s SoundPrint app has

a built-in decibel reader,

which crowdsources

noise-level ratings at

restaurants and bars and

serves up “quiet lists”

based on those readings.

“There’s a connection

between noise and stress

which impacts your

whole experience,” says

Catherine Palmer, director

of audiology and hearing

aids at the University of

Pittsburgh Medical Center.

“You think you’re going out

for a relaxing meal, but it’s

not relaxing at all. You’re

feeling hurried because

noise tends to make you

move along. That’s not

an accident—it does turn

tables over faster.”

And more restaurants

are coming around to

the importance of

acoustics, says David

Schwartz, a New York

acoustic consultant. The

problem is that changing

the noise level requires

a series of treatments

that are often more

successful when a

restaurant is being

built, rather than quick

fixes after the fact. But

innovations like noise-

absorbing plaster and

acoustic panels disguised

as wall art are helping

restaurants quiet down.

So what’s too loud?

The decibel scale is

logarithmic, meaning that

75 decibels is exponentially

louder than, say, 70

decibels. After analyzing

data from over 31,000

restaurants, Scott says

New York City, San

Francisco, Toronto and

Dallas have the loudest

eateries, while the average

American restaurant

clocks in at 78 to

79 decibels. Vidya Rao

Quiet Is The

New Loud

at some point, the volumegot turned up hhigh, to full

blast, in American restaurants. I canpersonalllyydate it to

PLAYING IT

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he launched a bu

Scott’sSoundPrin

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which impacts yo

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b

A QUIET PLACE

If you’re looking to

enjoy a date-night

dinner or win

a power-lunch

negotiation, Scott

shared his favorite

whisper-quiet

restaurants and

their average

decibel ratings.

b

AA QUIET PLACE

Iffyou’relookinggto

Omakase, SF: 74

Roe, Portland: 71

L’Espalier, Boston: 62

b

PASS THE WHAT?

We took decibel meters and apps to test the volume

of restaurants in LA, London and New York. So here are

our readings. We said, “HERE ARE OUR READINGS.”

The Goods | FOOD & DRINK

ILLUSTRATIONS BY PETER

OUMANSKI

58 OCTOBER 2019

a decadeago,whenI dinedatGrahamElliot’seponymous

Chicagorestaurantandrealizedthattheoldnotionof

table talk was dead and that no one was ever going to pass

the salt—who could hear me ask for it? Instead there was

only the deafening din of hard rock and the recognition

that we would suffer in enforced silence because the chef

had rediscovered his teen spirit.

And the same story was true everywhere, from New

York’s raucous Babbo to San Francisco’s Nopa. 

It wasn’t just the blasting soundtracks. Contributing

to the din were a range of issues, starting with shifting

fashions and a recession that demanded economy.

Out went the cosseted dining room bowers, wrapped up

in soft upholstery, thick drapes and white linens, which

cushioned noise. In came cavernous industrial spaces, all

hard edges, crowned by high exposed ceilings and

tricked out with slate, cement and wood, which only

worked to amplify the roar. Open kitchens, a chorus of

clanging steel, added to the noise. 

But the real leaders of the cut-the-noise counter-

revolution became the restaurants themselves. When

Monteverde opened in 2015, in Chicago’s restaurant-

dense West Loop, it started playing with ways to

calibrate sound.

“We use a variety of noise dampening methods and

materials,” says owner Meg Sahs, “including heavy fabric

draperies, fabric banquette seating and panels adhered

to the underside of some table tops. The most effective

method, though, has been the addition of sound absorbing

acoustical panels to the dining room’s ceiling. They go

unnoticed visually, but once installed the echo of sound

declined markedly.” 

Monteverde, crowded every night, is now one

of Chicago’s success stories. Its efforts to lower the din

have become the growing template. Raphael Kadushin

T BYEAR

Tocqueville,NYC: 69

Equinox, Washington DC: 67

Marea,NYC: 75

Gjelina,LA: 86

Charcoal,LA: 85

Coya,London: 88

Gato,NYC: 88

Estela,NYC: 88

Night+ Market

Sahm,LA: 90

SexyFish,London: 93

Il Tinello, NYC: 70

ewYork

ottnoticed

connecting

rtnersin

o chance

rsationto

alls,adding

iencesat

ntswere

ter.”So

siness:

ntapphas

reader,

rces

s at

barsand

ists”

eadings.

nnection

ndstress

our

e,”says

CatherinePalmer,director

ofaudiologyandhearing

aidsattheUniversityof

PittsburghMedicalCenter.

“Youthinkyou’regoingout

fora relaxingmeal,butit’s

notrelaxingatall.You’re

feelinghurriedbecause

noisetendstomakeyou

movealong.That’snot

anaccident—itdoesturn

tablesoverfaster.”

Andmorerestaurants

arecomingaroundto

theimportanceof

acoustics,saysDavid

Schwartz,a NewYork

acousticconsultant.The

problemisthatchanging

thenoiselevelrequires

a seriesoftreatments

thatareoftenmore

successfulwhena

restaurantis being

built,ratherthan quick

fixesafterthe fact. But

innovationslike noise-

absorbingplaster and

acousticpanels disguised

aswallartare helping

restaurants quiet down.

Sowhat’s too loud?

Thedecibelscale is

logarithmic,meaning that

75 decibelsis exponentially

louderthan, say, 70

decibels.After analyzing

datafromover 31,000

restaurants, Scott says

NewYorkCity, San

Francisco,Toronto and

Dallashavethe loudest

eateries,while the average

Americanrestaurant

clocksin at78 to

79 decibels. Vidya Rao

Quiet Is The

New Loud

atsomepoint,thevolumegotturneduphhigh,tofull

blast,inAmericanrestaurants.Icanpersonallyydateitto

PLAYINGIT

WhiledatingginNe

City,GregorySco

hehaddifficultyc

withpotentialpar

loudrestaurants.

“There’dben

foragoodconve

develop,”hereca

thatdatinggexper

quieterrestauran

“ 100 percentbett

helaunchedabu

Scott’sSoundPrin

abuilt-indecibel

whichcrowdsou

noise-levelrating

restaurantsandb

servesup“quietl

basedonthoser

“There’saco

betweennoisean

whichimpactsyo

wholeexperience

If yourelookingto

enjoya date-night

dinnerorwin

a power-lunch

negotiation, Scott

shared his favorite

whisper-quiet

restaurants and

their average

decibel ratings.

b

AAQUIETPLACE

Iffyou’relookinggto

Omakase, SF: 74

Roe, Portland: 71

L’Espalier, Boston: 62

b

PASS THE WHAT?

We took decibel meters and apps to test the volume

of restaurants in LA, London and New York. So here are

our readings. We said, “HERE ARE OUR READINGS.”

The Goods | FOOD & DRINK