The temperature of restaurants

[Fat Guy]

In the past few weeks I've been in several restaurants that were too cold or too hot by such large margins that even I -- a relatively temperature-insensitive person -- have been bothered by it.

How hard is it to get this right? I understand some mom-and-pop place not being able to afford enough air conditioning units to cool an open-kitchen restaurant on the hottest day of summer. But other than that, what's the excuse? Why can't restaurants just pick a temperature and keep the room at that temperature?

[ryanj]

The A/C and the lights are the first two things a restauranteur or manager will touch when he walks in the door. The A/C is tricky because it must be adjusted all day. During the day, while we are closed, I don't even turn it on. About a half hour before opening, we flick it on. An empty room cools very fast and gets chilly quickly. As bodies file in for dinner, their body heat raises the temp in the room. The more that come in during a short period, the thermostat goes way out of whack Now, depending where the majority people are situated is going to affect the temperature in their area, but perhaps not the temperature next to the thermostat. Walking through a partially crowded room, you will be able to notice a difference in temperatures in different areas. Me, I'm in the kitchen, so its always freaking hot.

The lights call for constant adjustment as the sun sets. As the sun goes down, a more romantic setting is usually wanted, so they begin to turn the lights down as evening sets.

[Fat Guy]

The lights call for constant adjustment as the sun sets. As the sun goes down, a more romantic setting is usually wanted, so they begin to turn the lights down as evening sets.

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Oh boy do I hate it when I'm sitting in a restaurant and all of a sudden they turn the lights down so drastically that I can barely see. This may deserve its own topic.

[Qwerty]

Not to mention that you must try to cater to every whim imaginable. Little old granny chilly even though everyone else is warm? What to do?

One of the very few times I would outright deceive people was when someone would ask us to change the a/c. 9/10 times I would walk away for a minute or so, then tell them that the manager was adjusting the temp right now. Ask em again 5 mins later, magically everything is fine.

Worked like a charm. I've found that once people settle in, get a drink, some food, etc, they are less likely to notice temp chages...usually people are chilly when they first enter a restaurant and sit down.

I would always advise people who get cold easily to bring a light jacket, sweater, etc, with you to a restaurant for just this reason. As well as movie theaters, by the way.

[Bruschetta]

I loooove air conditioning, but even I'm cold in a lot of restaurants. (And if I'm cold, it's really frigid in there: I keep my house a/c at a lovely 67 degrees.)

I was out the other night, and I thought my feet were going to turn into popsicles!

[LittleChef22]

I have had the experience this summer that the restaurants have been extremely cold! It makes it uncomfortable. While it is very hot outside, it's been freezing inside.

[Toliver]

I spoke with my mom this weekend and she mentioned the very same thing. She and some fellow churchgoers stopped for lunch after services and were practically blue from the cold by the time they finished eating at a local chain restaurant.

My guess is some places try to get it extra cold inside to get a headstart on the heat of the day or the heat of the bodies rising from a full restaurant.

Buffet restaurants keep the A/C cranked to move people out quickly. Regular restaurants are just hurting themselves by keeping it too cold.

If you're bothered by the cold air, speak up. The staff, who are warm from bustling around, may not realize how cold it is.

[Synergy]

I second what Toliver said. Most restaurant staff are running around, carrying heavy trays, and/or wearing outfits that are a little warmer than what the customers are wearing and they have no idea it feels cold in there.

I am the first one to be cold as a patron in a restaurant, but managing, wearing a suit and running around, I can be sweating while the customers are freezing their fingers off.

[Dianabanana]

I especially notice this problem in the Southeast. What is it with people down there? It's especially miserable to be so cold when you're already all damp from the wretched humidity. I remember a couple of years ago sitting in a restaurant on Lake Ponchartrain in NO shivering, covered with goosebumps, and my teeth literally chattering. Middle of summer and I'm there eating a big bowl of gumbo (not that that's a bad thing) just to try to warm up.

[markk]

I loooove air conditioning, but even I'm cold in a lot of restaurants.  (And if I'm cold, it's really frigid in there: I keep my house a/c at a lovely 67 degrees.)

I keep my house a 67 degrees as well, and have yet to find a restaurant that was too cold for me. I envy you. I'm always too warm in restaurants - it just varies by degree. There are some small places where as FG reasons they can't afford to keep it really cook, and I can't go to those places.

[tan319]

do you ever think that chefs conspire on heat/ac in kitchen because of costs?

especially when things could be better $$

[markk]

do you ever think that chefs conspire on heat/ac in kitchen because of costs?

especially when things could be better $$

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I'm sure they do. And I'll bet that FG can explain what I'm about to say better than I can. But those restaurants that aren't capitalized properly to provide for a cool dining experience in summer and turn up the a/c to economize may hurt themselves in the long run by losing customers who'd like to escape the summer heat (like me) and dine in crisp a/c comfort. When it's hot outside and I go to a restaurant that's just not cool enough for me, and if they can't make it comfortable after I ask, I wind up leaving. If there are others like me who do the same, then they just continue in a downward spiral - the fewer customers that come, the warmer they feel they have to keep the place, to conserve the few dollars that are actually coming in. And when I enter a sparsely populated restaurant that's simply way too warm, I figure that they're partway in their spiral, and I just turn around and leave. It's a pity, I admit, but I like to stay cool when I eat.

[tan319]

I'm not sure if you got my drift.

I', talking about those of us not on the line but in the kitchen working in 98 degree with 98 degree humidity.

Where every surface you touch is hot.

Don't worry, all customers are cold as ice, which sort of infuriates me farthur.

[markk]

I'm not sure if you got my drift.

I', talking about those of us not on the line but in the kitchen working in 98 degree with 98 degree humidity.

Where every surface you touch is hot.

Don't worry, all customers are cold as ice, which sort of infuriates me farthur.

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I've been in restaurant kitchens where everything radiates heat and makes it a thousand degrees in there. I feel for the people who have to work in those conditions. I could not do it myself.

[LittleChef22]

I mean it's just annoying because I dont want to bring a jacket out w. me in the summer....

[birder53]

I've learned to always bring a light jacket into a restaurant to ward of the possible chill. Even if that works, some places are so cold that my food gets chilled and I have to eat really fast to enjoy(?) hot food. Just the way many office buildings have poor ventilation designs, so do many restaurants.

[Kajikit]

At least 50% of restaurants in South Florida seem to be too cold for me. I've never been in a restaurant here that was too hot for me, but I usually freeze to death by the time we've finished our meal!

[Jmahl]

A problem you have in locations in hot climates is that in the afternoon - early evening your AC unit is running flat out. If you allow the place to warm up you will not catch up for hours. Here, were I am on the Tex-Mex Border, when it is 105 official temp., there is no turning back. So, bring a sweater or jacket and be thankful the AC is working.

Jmahl

[boneface]

I, as an FOH manager, have been guilty of the AC fake out. I live in the deep south, with more humidity than any place you've been in this country. (Although, I feel for the one earlier from Ponchatrain, but you still fall short...) I break out the keys, unlock the box, and mess with the AC. However, I leave it exactly where it is at, because it's never cold in my restaurant. People sometimes feel that it is, but I never have the air set lower than 72 degrees, and it never gets that low, because the AC units are 15 years old and can't hold that temperature when it is 102 degrees outside. I will however, turn off a fan or something else if I have a customer that is too cold...

Do you honestly think that you can control the temp in a busy, large dining room? If you stick around for 4 hours, maybe you will notice a difference, in as big of a restaurant that I run... Maybe not, as the guest count changes the temperature way more than the AC units...

If I can keep a vent from blowing on someone, turn off an overhead fan, possibly even move the table, I will do it to make them happy. But messing with the AC does nothing....

As for it being too hot in a restaurant, where I live, you can't do much about it. Either your restaurant is under powered or it's just too damn hot. I guarantee you that if it could be cooler, the staff would already have done something about it. They sweat more than you....