Everyone has been out to dinner at a nice restaurant only to have a lovely evening spoiled by the noise level in the dining room. Having to yell across a table just to be heard can ruin an otherwise amazing experience. Knowing restaurant noise is a problem is one thing. Solving it requires a strong understanding of how noise travels and methods that can be used to mitigate it. 

Metal Form Manufacturing’s products are often the solution restaurant owners have been looking for.

Why Are Restaurants So Noisy?

Restaurants are busy places. Besides a room full of people having conversations, the bustling kitchen and front of house staff running around results in quite a noisy environment. All of this sound being generated will either be reflected, dissipated, or absorbed. Reflected noise is an issue. When the noise bounces off the walls and amplifies it creates a noisy, unpleasant environment.

Does the Noise Level Really Matter?

Yes, it really does. Noise levels are critical to both the ambiance of a restaurant and the staff’s ability to be productive, efficient, and hospitable. Noise levels affect the entire dining experience and should be on the mind of any restaurant owner or restaurant designer. A little bit of effort toward soundproofing or noise mitigation can have an outsized impact on customer satisfaction, communication between staff and guests, and overall ambiance. 

While many decisions like layout can help keep noise levels to an acceptable level, Metal Form Manufacturing also provides effective solutions for restaurant soundproofing and noise reduction.

Quieting Down the Noise

Solving restaurant noise levels can be a tricky challenge. There are three main methods used to reduce the noise in a restaurant:

• Reduce sound sources
• Dissipate the sound
• Absorb the sound

While reducing the noise sources may seem obvious, it is often the most effective. Dissipating the sound helps the noise blend together while absorbing the sound gets rid of it entirely. Here are some of the most effective ways to implement these methods in a restaurant:

1. Turn The Music Down

While you may not be able to ask the patrons in the restaurant to quiet down, paying attention to music volumes and other noise levels is an excellent first step. Why mitigate noise when you can prevent it in the first place?

2. Spacing for Better Sound

Layouts in a dining room can have a huge impact on noise levels. When sound can travel unimpeded for a while, noise levels will be higher. When possible, use furniture and room layouts to break up sound and provide better opportunities for that sound to be absorbed or dissipated. A strategic partition or divider can go a long way.

3. Soft Furnishings

Hard materials are not conducive to a friendly noise environment. When sound hits a hard surface, it is likely to echo. Including soft furnishings like cushioned furniture, curtains, rugs, and other similar items provide a great opportunity for sound to be absorbed.

4. Keep Equipment Quiet

Restaurants can be difficult places to keep cool and comfortable. Be sure the HVAC equipment isn’t adding a ton of noise to the dining room. If the equipment is noisy, keeping that noise from entering the space will keep guests and staff much happier. Metal Form offers many different products to help with this ranging from acoustical panels for the equipment or sound attenuators for the ductwork.

5. Absorb The Sound as it Bounces

Absorption panels can be a lifesaver for restaurants. These panels are made of special materials that convert sound waves into small amounts of heat. These panels are often mounted on walls or suspended from the ceiling. Adding absorption panels to a dining room can be truly transformational.

6. Keep Outside Noise Where it Belongs

Restaurants in busy urban areas might have trouble keeping all of that noise outside. Restaurant kitchens exhaust a great deal of air during cooking which means outdoor air needs to be brought into the restaurant. This fresh air can bring a lot of noise along with it. Acoustical louvers and duct attenuators can help absorb all of that sound before it makes its way into the restaurant.

7. Keep The Kitchen Quiet

A kitchen during service is a chaotic place. While asking the staff to keep it down is a good first step, helping soundproof the kitchen may be more practical. Heavy kitchen doors and transfer silencers for the HVAC system can keep the excitement from the kitchen out of the dining room.

Transform Your Restaurant’s Ambiance with Metal Form Manufacturing

Proper noise levels are key to a wonderful dining experience. Metal Form Manufacturing’s vast experience in providing soundproofing solutions tailored to the needs of restaurants makes us an excellent partner for your restaurant endeavor. From absorption panels to acoustical louvers and silencers, Metal Form Manufacturing has the tools restaurants need to achieve an excellent ambiance.

Our commitment to high-quality, customizable solutions for sound management have earned us a reputation for providing effective solutions that work as designed. Restaurant owners and designers who want to improve their dining room experience should research all that Metal Form has to offer. To learn more about our restaurant noise solutions, reach out to the sound mitigation experts at Metal Form Manufacturing today.