Junk Food or Haute Cuisine to the Ear? – Investigating the Relationship Between Room Acoustics, Soundscape, Non-Acoustical Factors, and the Perceived Quality of Restaurants

Sound and music are well-studied aspects of the quality of experience in restaurants; the role of the room acoustical conditions, their influence on the visitors’ soundscape perception and their impact on the overall customer satisfaction in restaurants, however, has received less scientific attention. The present field study therefore investigated whether sound pressure level, reverberation time, and soundscape perception can predict factors associated with overall restaurant quality. In total, 142 persons visiting 12 restaurants in Berlin rated relevant acoustical and non-acoustical factors associated with restaurant quality. Simultaneously, the A-weighted sound pressure level (LA,eq,15) was measured, and the reverberation time in the occupied state (T20, occ) was obtained by measurements performed in the unoccupied room and a subsequent calculation of the occupied condition according to DIN 18041. Results from linear mixed-effects models revealed that both the LA,eq,15 and T20, occ had a significant influence on soundscape pleasantness and eventfulness, whereby the effect of T20, occ was meditated by the LA,eq,15. Also, the LA,eq,15 as well as soundscape pleasantness were significant predictors of overall restaurant quality. A comprehensive structural equation model including both acoustical and non-acoustical factors, however, indicates that the effect of soundscape pleasantness on overall restaurant quality is mediated by the restaurant’s atmosphere. Our results support and extend previous findings which suggest that the acoustical design of restaurants involves a trade-off between comfort and liveliness, depending on the desired character of the place.