Sound bite: Is this restaurant too noisy?

As a student, I sometimes look for places to study outside of school or home. Besides a venue with wifi, tables, and charging plugs, a key thing that I look out for is how quiet the place is. I do not want to be too distracted, and in the event that I need to unmute myself during a lesson or tutorial, I can still be heard. There are many lists online of great study cafes or spots in the country, but I want to tell you about quiet dining spaces.

SoundPrint: Crowdsourced reviews about noise levels in restaurants

I’ve discovered a rating app for restaurants that give users a sense of how quiet a restaurant is! The context: Dining out in America is noisy, and excessive noise has been found to be the top complaint diners have, surpassing service, crowds, and even food (Belluz, 2018a). While loud restaurants are associated with vibrancy and energy, the noise generated should not be overwhelming and drown out conversations.

SoundPrint was developed as its creator sought quiet venues to connect and communicate with his dates (Belluz, 2018b). He compiled a quiet list and shared these places with his friends, which led to the birth of SoundPrint, meant for the hearing-impaired community, to discover quieter venues within a city.

The app uses a decibel meter to measure a venue’s sound level and submits this to a database, so all information is crowdsourced. Users can find quiet places and promote these venues. SoundPrint can also be used to submit noise complaints to notify other users, so they can make better-informed dining decisions. At the same time, the issue of noise is raised and businesses are made aware that noise and ambiance are also determining factors for customers.

Quiet restaurants in Singapore?

While there are no strict regulations on the decibels inside restaurants and eateries, the National Environment Agency does provide a set of good practice recommendations for all food shops which suggests minimising noise generated by equipment and reminders to keep noise to a minimum after 10:30pm (National Environment Agency, n.d.).

Interestingly enough, this article appeared when I searched for “noisy restaurants Singapore” on Google. It appears that “quiet and private” dining experiences are in demand, especially since they provide respite from the bustle of city life. While the intention for this search is very different from mine, I can appreciate the allure of quiet and hidden eateries, as I do agree that the ambiance is an important part of the dining experience. I would much rather enjoy a meal and good conversation than struggle to hear whoever I’m dining with!

If you’re like me, you’ll be glad to know that SoundPrint does have a Singapore database for your studying and eating pleasure. Currently, only Boat Quay, Marina, and Tanjong Pagar areas are listed, and there are less than 10 eateries in total. I’m ready to make a soundcheck and expand the list of local quiet spots – You can do so too via this Google Form!

Peace and quiet

Who would have thought that noise in restaurants would be problematic enough for an app like SoundPrint to find success? If anything, this has reinforced the problem of noise in the city such that people are searching for quieter spaces to conduct their daily activities outside the home space, which, is also bombarded by community noise and other noise sources.

Some suggestions for avoiding loud restaurants by Belluz (2018a) are to go early or during off-peak hours, to request a quiet table, or for the establishment to lower the volume of their music. If this fails, you can consider making a complaint, or dining at another quieter eatery. Alternatively, you can stay home, but I hope your neighbours aren’t arguing or doing some drilling in their units!

References