restaurant decor and presentation

[whippy]

i like eating good food anywhere. on the street or in a fancy restaurant. how much does the atmosphere matter?

[mongo_jones]

to me not at all. some of the best food i've eaten has been in dives, holes in the wall and on the road.

[BBhasin]

i like eating good food anywhere. on the street or in a fancy restaurant. how much does the atmosphere matter?

from a few bucks to a lot of moolah

[Monica Bhide]

In my humble opinion it matters to an extent.. even dives and roadside stalls have an "atmoshphere" -- i guess I read the question differently than the title of the thread

I go for the food.. and yes .. i like going for the atmosphere as well. There is a place in downtown DC that I love to visit because of the high energy it has.. its a great place to meet friends and have a drink.. because of the atmosphere...

my two cents

[Sleepy_Dragon]

My preference is for dives and holes in the wall, as well as any place that feels homey. I can enjoy food well enough in a fancy place, but it takes awhile in order to get over the initial feeling of discomfort in them. Waitstaff who sense that fancy places aren't a customer's usual bag and want you to feel welcome anyway can go a long way towards mitigating this.

Pat

[Monica Bhide]

After mulling this for an afternoon I guess I came to the conclusion that I would go once for the atmosphere but would go back for the food

[mongo_jones]

yes, every place has atmosphere. my only requirements for atmosphere is that it not include a real threat of physical or digestive harm: thus not too many violent drunks rolling around, and a "kitchen" that doesn't double as a bathroom. other than that i'm up for anything.

i would never eat at a restaurant just for the atmosphere--at best i might go for a drink. on the other hand one of the great attractions of roadside and highway-side dhabas in india is the prospect of conversation with the truck-drivers etc. i can see however that this possibility is not as open to women as to men (though i do have a woman friend in delhi who spent months on the open road with a bunch of truck-drivers, logging their lives for a book).

[Pan]

to me not at all. some of the best food i've eaten has been in dives, holes in the wall and on the road.

One of the most memorable meals I ever had was up a flight of dusty, rickety stairs in a very spartan restaurant that served Kashmiri wedding banquet food but did so a whole lot more cheaply than the sort of "fusiony" tourist place sold their rather insipid food. The atmosphere was provided mostly by the fantastically flavorful food and the view of the main square of Srinagar and the people walking in it.

[Rushina]

With mostly restaurants in India in mind....

Decor and presentation are only one of the aspects of atmosphere. The general rule of thumb is that I will go to eat at anyplace that is clean (i.e) i would rather not have cockroaches and the like running around. A hole in the wall is all right as long as it is hygenic.

For me a large component of atmosphere are the people who make up the restaurant. I have found myself going back to places with only average food because it is brought to the table with a smile and genuine warmth. The attitude of the staff can make or break the experiance of dining out.

Also while I do not ask for fancy I like well maintained. Torn linnen threadbare upholstry and carpets I can do without. It just gives the impression that the establishment does not care.

Rushina