Montreal's restaurant scene was busier than ever before the holidays, with office parties adding to the usual crowd of diners. This heightened what has become an increasing source of irritation for many restaurants-goers: In most trendy places, especially at peak hours, the noise level is so high that two people, let alone four or six, can't have a decent conversation.
One of the city's food critics even bought a sound meter to register the noise level, and she now publishes the results along with her appreciation of the food, wine and service. The worsening noise situation is a byproduct of modern design – there are no rugs, velvet seats or heavy curtains to absorb sound, the furniture is often made of glass and metal, and the open kitchen, an otherwise lovely innovation, increases the noise with the constant racket of clacking pots and glasses. Plus, the music is often too intrusive.
I've always been an avid restaurant-goer and over the years, I've witnessed the evolution of restaurant culture, from the stuffy and far-too-solemn atmosphere of the classical French restaurants of the 1960s to their stunningly designed modern successors, with their creative menus and the accent on fusion of various food cultures. I love everything about the modern brand – except the noise.
It's a problem everywhere, including Paris and New York, with the difference that in France, people know how to keep their volume down to avoid disturbing other diners. In North America, people talk much too loudly. I don't exactly know why: Is it because North Americans are accustomed to large dining places where the tables are much further apart than in the typical French bistro? Is it simply a lack of savoir-vivre? Good manners and courtesy are certainly not as ingrained here as on the Old Continent.
My husband and I found a convenient way to manage a conversation in the noisiest restaurants (which often happen to be the best ones). We sit at the counter or bar. This way, we can enjoy the food, and still be able to talk to one another without having to yell across a table. Unfortunately, this scheme works for a couple, but not for a group. This is too bad, because a pleasant meal is not only a question of food and drink, it is also of interesting conversation. Dining out with friends or family is more than an eating experience; it's a convivial act, a wonderful opportunity to share a meal with people you like and exchange ideas or jokes or intuitions.
The French know this more than any other people on Earth (except of course the Chinese, for whom all festive meals are a collective activity). In an era when so many people throughout the world eat by themselves while compulsively looking at their phone screens, the French have kept the tradition of having a leisurely lunch with family or colleagues, even on weekdays, and the long Sunday déjeuner en famille is still a revered custom in many families.
Recent studies reveal the strength of this pattern: At 1 p.m., half of the population of France is sitting around a table to eat, usually with other people. Even in the fast-food outlets, young people come in groups, they show up at regular eating hours (around 1 or 7 p.m.) and they pass the food around the table, so that even this modest meal is a convivial experience.
Lysiane Gagnon