Restaurant Noise as Loud as a Truck Without a Muffler Quieted with Acoustic Panels
Acoustic Panels for Restaurants
The Ordinary quiets down with new array of acoustic tiles
A few days after the upper King Street restaurant affixed $12,000 worth of acoustical panels to its ceiling, Mike Lata was talking to his sous chef in an area of the raw bar that’s visually shielded from the dining room. The restaurant had opened 15 minutes earlier, and based on the hum of the crowd, Lata assumed a few tables were taken. He emerged from the kitchen to discover the dining room was “100 percent full.”
“I was blown away,”
There are two ways to gauge the noise level of a restaurant dining room. One way involves a decibel meter. The other way relies on the carefully calibrated ear of an acoustician... Acoustic Panels for Restaurants
Why do restaurants get so loud, and how do acoustic panels fix it?
Restaurants get loud because hard floors, ceilings and windows reflect nearly all the sound that hits them, so as a room fills up, everyone talks louder to be heard over everyone else, and the noise level escalates. Acoustic panels and ceiling treatment absorb sound before it can pile up, which breaks that cycle.
The ceiling is usually the best place to start. It's typically the largest untreated, most reflective surface in a dining room, and it's out of the way of decor and seating. Wall panels come next, and they can double as branded decor with custom colors or printed art rather than looking purely functional.
Restaurants generally need less coverage than a studio, since the goal is comfortable conversation, not critical listening.
Why do restaurants get louder as they fill up?
A feedback loop: hard surfaces reflect sound, so people raise their voices to be heard, which raises the ambient level further.
Where should a restaurant start treating noise?
The ceiling first. It's usually the largest untreated, most reflective surface in the room.
Can acoustic panels double as restaurant decor?
Yes. Custom colors and printed art panels let a panel work as branded wall art as well as sound control.
Does treating a dining room change the guest experience?
Indirectly. Diners tend to linger and order more when they can hold a conversation without straining to be heard.
See the panel collection or custom acoustic art panels.
