Restaurant background music: What do you think?

I don't mind live or recorded "easy listening" music while dining. I was at Varanese this summer and we really liked the band they had. However, once at Captain's Quarters we were seated right near the singer/piano player combo and it was SO loud. Definitely couldn't hear the party we were with. (Not trying to diss CQ!)

I get that often Megan, we try to always ask guests if they do not not mind sitting close to the band if that is the only seating available, we have live local music here 5 nights a week in the spring / summer.
Often guests only want to sit close to the bands also ( party mode is kicked in )

I like jazz piano just fine. ie. Buck's or Jack Fry's

I like recorded jazz such as Miles Davis and the like.

I like the guy at Havana Rumba who sings to recorded music and plays maracas. I give him a tip every time.

I was absolutely with you until that last sentence!

Zydeco makes damn near everthang taste better. Thas all I'm sayin'.

Ugh, the guy at Havana Rumba was enough to make me hurry up and leave.

Interesting thread. We have actually had reviews where people said the music was so soft they were uncomfortable. They felt others could hear their conversation. At Cozza, we strive to provide appropriate styles and volume. Having a lounge apart from our front dining room allows folks to choose how close they want to be to live music. As a musician, I have always liked background music but am surprised at how often the style or volume doesn't match the restaurant.

I like Sapporo. I like techno music. But, I have gone to that place and actually had a panic attack because of the fast beat of the music and all the people. The fast beat also makes me eat really fast and i get impatient. I bet the average guest turn time on a table there is 20 minutes for an entire dinner.

Their music selection is what put me off of Shalimar. I actually like traditional south Asian music if played quietly. The night we were at Shalimar it was endless boom-boom car Indian techno pop (you know, that techno pop has no soul). I walked out of that place in such a foul mood that I'd be surprised if I ever go back.

I like Sapporo. I like techno music. But, I have gone to that place and actually had a panic attack because of the fast beat of the music and all the people. The fast beat also makes me eat really fast and i get impatient. I bet the average guest turn time on a table there is 20 minutes for an entire dinner.

We noticed this there also, last year there was around 20 of us at a work outing and we all commented on the techno music while we were there, just did not fit the ethnic atmosphere ..

[Robin Garr]

We noticed this there also, last year there was around 20 of us at a work outing and we all commented on the techno music while we were there, just did not fit the ethnic atmosphere ..

I don't know if this is true today, but in 1992 when we were there, techno-pop and industrial style were pretty common in Tokyo sushi bars. Well, not the little hole-inna-walls, but the fancy places in Ginza and such. I always assumed that Sapporo's gig was modeled after that.

Depends on the place...If it's a lively place, then yeah music (something complementary to the establishment) is fine.

I know it's not in vogue now (as much as it was say back in the late 80's, early 90's) but I absolutely loath places that have musicians going table to table. This seemed to be particularly common in upscale Italian places and it never once failed to piss me off. Is there anywhere in town that does this, so that I know not to visit ?

my dad used to tell my sister and I, don't you dare look at the musicians. If you make eye contact they will come over here and I will have to tip them to leave.

This is a fascinating subject and I have a novel approach that I think you'll get a kick out of...

When one thinks of backround music in restaurants, one has to consider a large array of variables in the attempt not just to placate, but to accent the guest experience. It is often overlooked and most places will just 'set it and forget it' and deal with any complaints on the back end.

I believe a playlist should be developed for each night of service, as Monday Dining isn't Saturday Dining, as well as seasonally adjusted ('Fool in the Rain' just doesn't have the same punch in Winter as in Spring.) You would also consider diner psychology/demographics in developing a list. Early Birds don't tend to have the same goal for the meal as those seated at the end of the evening.

Keeping a nightly list also avoids your staff getting burned out on hearing the same song over-and-over (a common theme in restaurants with music boxes.)

So, it would be kept in mp-3 format on a computer linked to the sound system. Set to alarm at 3:30, when the staff arrives. You would use Pandora (Music Genome Project) to select songs that would invoke the air you would go for. Any songs that played too loud or too soft would be discarded and replaced (you can't be fiddling with the volume all night.)

You would make a new one every season and after a year, you would be set, with minimal oversight necessarilly (or unless you felt like a change was a good idea.)

Example to follow...

American Regional, upscale casual, summer.

3:30-5:00 Employee Set-Up: You want something invigorating, something that keys up the staff and gets them ready for the shift. This is my favorite set-up song. It's hard not to be smiling for that first guest and to be inspired to make it 'harder, better, faster, stronger.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwu-m39ek-w

5:00-7:00 Early Birds: Generally a bit older and not fond of the packed-restaurant feel, the music selected should either be an updated classic or vice versa. It should really fall into the backround, so to speak, as these people are fond of quiet conversation...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NvLieJFjh8

7:00-9:00 Society Diners: These people usually come in pairs of twos, enjoy the bustling restaurant feel and lively conversation. Something social in feel and a lot of electronica fits this bill, yet may I propose a classic rock song that I think fits...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwryFOYTKac

9:00-11:00 The Time for Lovers: This is always when the dates come in from thier event of the night. Soft, romantic and ambient allows for hushed conversation over candlelight. Yeah, they'll hang out for a minute, you know with that pensive 'hate-to-see-it-end' air. Not many service staff will like this idea (it causes people to camp) yet the best will never care. They look forward to seeing the child, 9 months later!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_9sd6kGRuk

11:00-Close The Revelers: Young, urbane and hip, these folks hang at the bar or lounge, drink cocktails and are served best with electronica (not canned-techno house- this music isn't meant to be danced to, yet the head does wanna nod with the beat.) A little edge is fine, but not too much- it still has to be conducive to conversation. Two options from the same artists. One a little safer, the second a little more risque.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnzYsNymOJ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3njX4nS ... re=related

from 9/30/2010 NYTimes:

Q.I’m a regular at a small, family-owned and managed Japanese restaurant on the Upper East Side. The food is extraordinary, and the service is welcoming. It’s a little neighborhood treasure. There’s just one thing: The sushi chef’s music taste is harrowing. For the past two years, he’s kept–exclusively, on loop–a 30-minute schlocky Japanese contemporary classical concerto for acoustic guitar and children’s chorus. Twice a meal, twice a week, for two years… I’ve asked gently about the music, and the chef says that it helps his concentration, and I politely smiled and nodded, as any variety seemed off the table. But I’m losing my mind here, Flo, and I don’t want to quit the restaurant. What to do?

A.Would it be too much to ask for you to come in wearing noise-canceling headphones? Or maybe offer the same to the chef so he could play his music without distracting the customers? Another option might be to offer him some of your favorite music CDs and see if he’s willing to play those while you’re in the restaurant. If you’re not alone in abhorring the chef’s music taste perhaps you would want to poll other diners and get a petition together. But if none of those suggestions is appealing, I’d say if you love it so much just grin and bear it.

9:00-11:00 The Time for Lovers: This is always when the dates come in from their event of the night.

I am a pretty old guy and after my "event if the night", I need to sleep.

I hate "background music" particularly if it's live. Whenever a restaurant advertises live music, I make sure that we arrive early enough to be finished and gone before it starts.

.

It is all about volume and playing appropiate music. As far as hating "backround music particularly if it"s live", there are plenty of MacDonalds and Wendys out there for you, but I'll stick to Jack Fry's, Varanese, Volare, Jeff Ruby's. etc...