Noise Levels

Ristorante Cavour at Hotel Granduca charms with its quiet, Old European setting.

In restaurants, noise has become part of the show. These days, restaurateurs don’t think of it as noise, but rather excitement. Diners are looking for energy, a good vibe, says Shepard Ross, who owns the Glass Wall and the Brooklyn Athletic Club. A lively bar scene conveys popularity. Conversations, music and clinking glasses infuse energy. Without noise, a place might feel “dead.”

It is tough finding a quiet restaurant, says Memorial physician Cathi Walsh. The best you can hope for is a background “buzz” that allows you to converse without yelling, “What?”

The Buzz decided to take on the challenge of finding places where the decibels didn’t inch toward 80, just under the level audiologists consider damaging to hearing after continual, long-term exposure of eight hours or more. It wasn’t easy. Many restaurants we visited hovered around the high 70s to low 80s, which researchers compare to being in a room with a vacuum cleaner 10 feet away or a noisy urban area.

Only one-third full, Nino’s (2701 W. Dallas) was at 76 decibels, while next door at Vincent’s, the decibel level climbed to 87, even though the stone-floored dining room was half empty on a recent evening.

Étoile (1101 Uptown), Mark’s (1658 Westheimer), Mockingbird Bistro (1985 Welch), Bistro Provence (13616 Memorial Drive) and Costa Brava Bistro (5115 Bellaire) inched toward the high 70s on busy nights.

Provisions bustles at 81. Meanwhile, its fine-dining counterpart, The Pass, occupying the other half of 807 Taft, percolated at 73 – typical of many high-end restaurants. Normal speech is at about 70. So often, even at the most expensive haunts, you have to raise your voice just a tad.

Not so typical is Ristorante Cavour (1080 Uptown), which is where Walsh goes for quiet conversations, and lovers toast to future possibilities. This sliver in Hotel Granduca evokes elegant Old Europe, with gorgeous rose bouquets and upholstered furnishings. Here, the sound level rarely pushes past 57. At its quietest, our meter flashed 43 decibels (comparable to a quiet suburban neighborhood at night). Another quiet gem is Olivette (111 N. Post Oak) at The Houstonian. Here, upholstered booths absorb sound waves, and the noise level jumped only to 62.