How to Reduce Noise in a Restaurant

Start by pinpointing where noise is most noticeable. Open dining areas with hard floors, large bare walls, and high ceilings tend to reflect and amplify sound. Focus especially on seating zones, bar areas, and any surfaces lacking décor, as these contribute most to sound buildup.

Install wall-mounted acoustic panels to absorb conversation and background noise. In customer-facing dining spaces, Acoustic Pro™ Fabric Wrapped Panels offer a clean, finished look, while Timberwool™ Wood Fiber Acoustic Panels work well in high-traffic or design-driven areas. Distribute panels evenly across the space to create balanced sound control.

Address the ceiling to reduce overall reverberation. In drop ceilings, PolyZorbe™ Acoustic Ceiling Tiles help absorb sound from above. For open ceilings, add as much absorptive coverage as possible. Treating this large surface area significantly improves overall acoustics.

Reduce noise transfer from the kitchen into the dining space by adding BlocknZorbe acoustic sound panels to the room. They are non-fibrous panels, perfect for a kitchen, and they will help to tame some of the noise in there.

Because you can’t really soundproof a two-way door because of how it has to swing, your best bet is to do what you can about the room itself. You can also soundproof any metal kitchen sink to minimize some additional noise that may be spilling into customer areas.