Next time you find yourself at a boisterous bistro shouting at your dinner companions over the plat du jour, it might be the result of a restaurant up-sell.
It turns out these not-so-good vibrations might be on purpose. Studies show people drink more, eat faster and leave sooner when the bass is thumping, so restaurants are bringing the noise.
Customers have been sounding off in recent years about the deafening volume level in restaurants.
Washington Post food critic, Tom Sietsema, has gone so far as to include the average decibel count into his restaurant reviews and former New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni famously docked chef Mario Batali's flagship restaurant Babbo one star for its ear-splitting rock soundtrack.
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