Whispering Dining rooms

[Hallie]

This has been driving me bonkers for some time. Why and how is it that whispering over a meal in a restaurant ever came about? Obviously, at some point someone believed this was appropriate and polite behaviour. I just find it infuriating. There is nothing more likely to ruin a meal for me than going somewhere to find everyone speaking as if there is an infant asleep in the next room. The nervous, self-consciousness that whispering implies is a real ambiance killer.

In my experience, whispering dining rooms are most likely to be found outside of London, though I have never encountered them anywhere else apart from the UK - the French, Italians and Americans don't seem to give a monkey's about being overheard. Certainly since half of dining is about sharing company and conversation, the whipsering dining room seems to fly in the face of many of the joys of eating out.

Your opinions please.

[Steve Martin]

Dreadfully infuriating, isn't it.

And what about those people who use their mobile phone so quietly that you can't overhear what they are saying. Drives me bonkers.

If only we could all behave like foreigners, or young professionals at least.

[Suzi Edwards]

i think you can find that so called "high end" restaurants can sometimes be a bit morgue-like. places where people have very high expectations and go expecting a shrine to gastronomy. el bulli springs to mind.

i think this was why i liked the fat duck so much. people were getting outrageusly drunk and were loving every minute of it. and i was there for sunday lunch.

[curlywurlyfi]

i think this was why i liked the fat duck so much. people were getting outrageusly drunk and were loving every minute of it.

took the words out of my mouth. any place you go where people are whispering, they just haven't applied sufficient alcohol yet.

[Romaney O'Malley]

hear hear - wholeheartedly concur! However I have had worse experience in France than than the UK. I remember one incident where our whole table had been well behaved all evening - whispering at minimal levels and all - until something funny happened which I won't go into. Needless to say we all laughed wholeheartedly. If looks could kill - I had to remove the dagger from my back so I could go to the bathroom.

[Winot]

Re. France - we went to Taillevent recently (a paris 3*) and the other guests were deathly quiet. One explanation seemed to be that there were a number of tables of business associates of various nationalities so perhaps they didn't have much to say to each other or couldn't understand each other.

We weren't so restrained ourselves but didn't pick up a whisper of disapproval from the staff who were relaxed charm incarnate.

I don't know what's worse, a whispering gallery or the cacophany that you get in most mid-range (London) restaurants.

W.

Edit - various not varying

Edited May 26, 2004 by Winot (log)

[Andy Lynes]

people were getting outrageusly drunk and were loving every minute of it.

So that'll be your table, with the rest of the restaurant looking on in horror no doubt.

[Suzi Edwards]

andy, you know i'm the founding member of the islington ladies temperance society.

i did manage to throw a glass of water over one of my dinner companions, but i wasn't drunk, just excited.

[MobyP]

andy, you know i'm the founding member of the islington ladies temperance society.

i did manage to throw a glass of water over one of my dinner companions, but i wasn't drunk, just excited.

I was at that table - but I can't remember if I was drunk, wet, or whispering.

[Gary Marshall]

Re. France - we went to Taillevent recently (a paris 3*) and the other guests were deathly quiet. One explanation seemed to be that there were a number of tables of business associates of various nationalities so perhaps they didn't have much to say to each other or couldn't understand each other.

We weren't so restrained ourselves but didn't pick up a whisper of disapproval from the staff who were relaxed charm incarnate.

I don't know what's worse, a whispering gallery or the cacophany that you get in most mid-range (London) restaurants.

W.

Edit - various not varying

i was a taillevent last year with a friend celebratinghis 40th, we ended up in a somewhat heated debate with a local about the upcoming england france rugby.

he did bet lunch at taillevent france would win, history suggests we should have taken his bet!

yes we'd had a few but he'd certainly had more!

gary