In October, I had dinner alone at a tapas bar in the Spanish Basque Country. It was lively but not crowded. I ordered some tapas and a glass of the local txakoli. Then I sat and listened. Not to music; no music was played. But to the sounds. People chatting, laughing, wine bottles being opened, wine being poured, the clinking of cutlery. Restaurants have their own, particular sounds. It is a shame to drown them in music. That’s like hiding the wine’s fruit behind too much oak.
There is nothing wrong with music in restaurants, as long as it is discreet background music. But I have never understood why you would want to go to a restaurant that has loud music that forces you to strain your voice and makes it impossible to have a normal conversation if you are more than two people around the table. This entertaining article in The Times agrees with me entirely: TheTimes (If the article is behind a pay wall, try using the share button on the article.)
And we have found a Swedish site, matro.com (matro is Swedish for “peaceful dinner”), which lists restaurants that do not have loud music. A good initiative:
Read more: Matro
If you know of any similar sites in other countries, please let us know! We promise to share it in a future Brief.
