Please note that sometimes a room’s design can mean that even when the decibel reading is fairly high, conversation at a table can still be relatively quiet. This may have to do with the height of the ceiling and other factors. And even usually-quiet restaurants can get loud if boisterous customers sit nearby. A reading below 70 usually means conversation is unstrained. At 75 and above, you may be shouting and straining to hear. Below are averages, taken with the app Decibel Meter Pro over the course of dinners.

August Moon  60

Blue Dog Bakery Café (lunch) 80

Bourbons Bistro  60

Brasserie Provence  60

Crescent Hill Craft House  70

The Fat Lamb  70

Fork and Barrel  80

The Gasthaus  65

The Irish Rover  65

Jack Fry’s  80

La Chasse  82

Le Relais  62

Lilly’s: A Kentucky Bistro  55

New Albany Exchange  70

Noosh Nosh  75

Pat’s Steak House  63

Porcini  75

Silver Dollar …………………………………………  83

211 Clover Lane  46

The Uptown Café  50

Wagner’s Pharmacy  50

Decibel Levels for Common Sounds

Jet airplane taking off  180

Chain saw/Amplified music  110

Lawn mower  90

Washing machine  70

Public library ambient sound  50

Reading in home study  30