Restaurant Playlists Matter to the Vibe — but Also to the People Who Work There

There are a lot of components that go into creating a truly wonderful dining experience. Food and service, of course. Decor and ambience as well, but one aspect that often goes overlooked is the music that plays in the background. Music is such a personal choice that it’s hard to find something that everyone can agree on, but a restaurant with no ambient music seems a little bit dull and lifeless. 

There’s a fine line between music that blends seamlessly with the feeling of the restaurant and music that shoots out of the speakers like daggers directly into the eardrums. It’s someone’s decision to choose what plays and very often that someone isn’t even there. 

Who decides what music is played in a restaurant?

I worked in a corporate restaurant where the music was piped in for us and we had no control over it at all. It was a three-hour playlist and we all grew to hate every single tune on it. When the holidays rolled around, the playlist shrunk down to one hour and to this day I can’t hear “Jingle Bell Rock” without wanting to pull my hair out. If a customer complained about any of the music, all we could adjust was the volume. 

Their other option was to play something on the jukebox which would supersede the automatic playlist. This resulted in another risk for my hair, because Puff Daddy’s ”I’ll Be Missing You” was played relentlessly. Sometimes when I was annoyed with customers and/or coworkers I would play “You’re The One That I Want” from Grease because it always put me in a good mood. I once played it five times in a row so I’m sure someone else’s hair was at risk that shift. 

Sometimes the music in a restaurant just doesn’t gel with the overall vibe. Recently, I was having lunch in a sports pub that had hip-hop music blaring throughout. I’ve got nothing against hip-hop, but it did seem odd that music that surely had a parental advisory for explicit content was what was chosen that day. It seemed as specific as having musical theater playing. Not everyone is going to enjoy it. 

What is the the right music to play at a restaurant?

This was probably a case of someone on the staff having full control of the music selection. Kudos to them, but you want to find music that most people are going to want to listen to, or at least not hate. When I worked at a small restaurant in Queens, the clientele was mostly my age, so I often played New Wave hits of the ’80s and it did very well. I mean, who doesn’t want to eat a burger while listening to ‘Til Tuesday and Kate Bush?

That’s not to say that every restaurant should only play elevator Muzak. There are plenty of types of music that can play in the background and neither offend nor excite. It just needs to be white noise that fills the void of silence during lulls in conversation. That’s when you end up with Pink Martini, Top 40, jazz standards, and the Great American Song Book. Most people can handle Ella Fitzgerald crooning “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” at a moderate volume, but if Five Finger Death Punch is wailing “Mother May I” it might be a different story. It also depends on the restaurant. The Hard Rock Cafe can really benefit from loud music while a quiet neighborhood bistro could do well with subdued classical music. 

Can the waiter change the music?

One thing that customers need to know is that their server probably has little or no control over what’s coming out of the speakers. Much like the thermostat settings, it’s someone else’s responsibility. If you don’t like the music, don’t blame them and remember they are having to listen to it too, possibly on an endless loop. 

A good restaurant is going to find music that will enhance and not take away from the experience, but it’s not easy. When it works, it might be so seamless that you don’t even realize how perfect it was. And when it’s bad, it might be because your server really likes the soundtrack to Grease.