No, it’s not just you — restaurants seem louder these days. And what’s more, there’s no lone factor amplifying the noise. A restaurant’s design, square footage, music, seating arrangement, and even table material and shape all contribute to how sound travels in the dining room.
Restaurants that don’t factor in the effects of sound as part of the hospitality experience may be unwittingly throwing up an invisible barrier to entry. Some customers simply won’t return after one uncomfortably loud dinner. Then they go home and tell their friends – or worse, share their experience on social media.
But just how loud are Atlanta restaurants, and what are some local restaurants doing to help soften sound in the dining room?
When loud is too loud
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), repeated or sustained exposure to sounds above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. For some workplace environments, hearing preservation is written into law.
OSHA requires employers to provide hearing protection or regularly monitor workplaces where the environment repeatedly exceeds acceptable decibel levels. Concert halls and music venues provide polyvinyl or polyurethane earplugs, either complimentary or for purchase, or factor acoustics into the design to help disperse sound more evenly throughout the space. And while this law also applies to restaurants and bars, unless an employee asks or insists on hearing protection, the law often gets ignored.
Over the course of two weeks, a trio of Rough Draft reporters recorded decibel readings at Atlanta restaurants using the mobile app Soundprint, which measures noise levels in a space. The app allows users to share the readings publicly, divvying up findings between quiet and loud establishments.
Soundprint considers quiet establishments as anywhere registering under 70 decibels – or safe for hearing and great for conversation. On the other end of the sound spectrum, the app considers very loud establishments as anywhere registering above 81 decibels, which can cause hearing loss from prolonged exposure.
The sound measurements captured by Rough Draft averaged 72 decibels, which falls under the moderate range – or safe for hearing and conducive for conversation. The lowest reading of 63 decibels came from an Atlanta cafe in the late morning. The highest reading came from a popular Italian restaurant in Buckhead, measuring 87 decibels during the height of dinner service. However, even Atlanta restaurants with half-full dining rooms were averaging 75 to 76 decibels, sometimes momentarily spiking into the low 80s, bouncing between moderate and very loud.
Decibel readings were not taken at restaurants or other establishments known for loud and crowded atmospheres, including sports bars, clubs, and food halls. Out of respect for the restaurants, reporters didn’t share their readings publicly.
Noise levels and service
Noise levels affect restaurant employees in both the front and back of house, which trickles down to service in the dining room.
Moshi Moshi owner Michael Behn, a chef-turned-knife sharpener, left the restaurant industry in part to escape the noise. Behn, who worked at some of Atlanta’s award-winning restaurants, said that playing loud music in the dining room was often used to maximize revenue. Loud music helped turn tables quickly during service.
Basia Piechoczek, who worked in restaurants and bars before launching Polish food pop-up, Beksa Lala, said loud restaurants make it harder for servers to navigate between the dining room and kitchen. Consistently loud dining rooms can blur a server’s spatial awareness.
Piechoczek recalled one night working at a restaurant where the music and crowd were so loud, the server had trouble explaining to a coworker that she needed help maneuvering around some people. She ended up dropping a full tray of espresso martinis. The restaurant went silent. All eyes were on the server.
Diners tune out
When the volume gets turned up in the dining room, Piechoczek said customers often struggle to distinguish dishes or ingredients when speaking with their server. This includes failing to hear daily specials correctly, mistaking ingredients like beets for cheese, or missing that a dish contains an allergen to avoid.
“Our waiter was absolutely wonderful — professional, knowledgeable, helpful,” one reader told Rough Draft of a recent restaurant experience in Inman Park. “It was a bit noisy at the beginning, but as more and more diners arrived, it got louder and louder, especially since the tables are close together, and the ceilings don’t have anything to moderate the acoustics — with an unfortunate loud music overlay.”
Rather than air their grievances on social media or Yelp, they reached out to the restaurant the next day to express concern for the staff and offer feedback. The restaurant never returned their call.
“I had a sore throat the next day,” this reader shared. “The restaurant has exquisite food . . . but I doubt I’ll ever patronize [this restaurant] again.”
Some readers shared with Rough Draft that experiencing minimal hearing loss or having sensory issues prevents them from venturing into restaurants perceived as too loud, even if they previously enjoyed the food and service.
Design is everything
Restaurants don’t really have bad acoustics. In fact, the opposite is true. Current design trends — open spaces, exposed ceilings, and hard surfaces — turn contemporary restaurants into literal echo chambers.
“Hard surfaces don’t just reflect sound — they multiply it. Glass, concrete, marble, brick, and metal bounce energy around the room, which makes everything feel louder,” said Ben Yonas, founder of independent music management and production company Yonas Media.
Yonas explained that while modern restaurant design favors minimalism and hard materials, the aesthetic naturally creates “live” or loud spaces. The added sounds, Yonas said, have nowhere to go. That live band or DJ hired to boost sales on a Friday night might not translate well in a space designed for aesthetics rather than performance.
“A great sound system in a bad room still sounds bad,” said Yonas.
Restaurants can utilize strategic interior design choices. Yonas recommends soft, porous materials, like ceiling baffles, upholstered seating, drapes, carpeting, and acoustic panels, for absorbing sound. The carpets, drapes, and velvet seating in the red salon at Elise in Midtown absorb stray music and chatter in the room that would otherwise be amplified.
“Acoustic treatment doesn’t have to be expensive — it just has to be intentional. The real cost isn’t materials. It’s not thinking about acoustics early enough in the design process,” Yonas said.
Sound-focused spaces like Commune in Avondale Estates and Stereo in Inman Park implement quilts and rugs for a more conducive listening experience. These pieces also provide visual texture, an aesthetic bonus. Commune took things a step further, hiring an acoustic designer who added layers of rock and even angled the walls in the listening bar.
“Good live sound isn’t about volume; it’s about control,” Yonas said. “If a restaurant wants DJs or live music, it needs to think like a [music] venue — incorporating acoustic treatment, proper speaker placement, and intentional sound design — not just like a dining room.”
Managing sound and service
Andres Loaiza, owner of Aria in Buckhead, said he uses a combination of passive and active efforts to regulate sound. Carpets, upholstered chairs, tablecloths, and curtains absorb the compact dining room’s noise with minimal effort. Active measures, meanwhile, require continuous observation and strategic planning, such as keeping large groups away from each other and in different parts of the restaurant.
“When you’re trying to get guests to relax, you want to keep the distractions to a minimum. The minute you notice it, it’s pulling you out from that conversation you’re trying to have with your wife,” he said.
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Loaiza sets Aria’s background music to a certain volume around 5:30 p.m. and adjusts it as the evening progresses and customer flow increases. Diners will raise their voices to compete with background noise just so they can hear one another.
“If you’re not keeping an eye on how many people are in the room and lowering your volume to accommodate that, then you start creating a snowball effect,” Loaiza said. “Everybody loves a round table, for instance, but they can be very noisy because you’re trying to talk to a person that is five feet away from you.”
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Patios + turning the volume down
Providing a patio space is another avenue for controlling sound. Weather-permitting, seating noise-sensitive guests outdoors provides a more positive experience. Posting live music outside also gives sound somewhere to go. Burle’s Bar on the Eastside Beltline intentionally hosts its Tuesday jazz nights on the patio, rather than within the cramped quarters inside.
Simply turning the music down is another approach.
Lisa Kim, owner of Bene Korean BBQ at Uptown Atlanta in Buckhead, follows this approach, even though Korean barbecue restaurants are known for playing loud K-pop music.
“We made a decision not to play loud K-pop music because we want clients to feel comfortable the moment they walk in. We know K-pop is incredibly popular, but we also understand that even people who love Korean barbecue might not always enjoy loud, high-energy music while they’re trying to relax and have a conversation,” Kim said.
Rather than a noisy environment, Bene provides a space for people to connect with one another and the restaurant’s staff, who cook at the table. The goal is creating interactions that feel comfortable and genuine instead of rushed and too high energy.
“A lot of our guests tell us they love this approach. It becomes part of their dining experience [at Bene Korean BBQ] and something they remember about us,” Kim added.
This story contains additional reporting from Beth McKibben and Logan C. Ritchie.
