Food or atmosphere? Which matters most to you in a restaurant?

BlondieBoomer

BlondieBoomer

Senior Member
Location
California
Will you eat at a noisy or poorly decorated restaurant if the food is good? What about a restaurant with comfortable and attractive decor with so-so food? Which would you most likely go to for dinner?
 

Food matters most to me, I have enjoyed good food in an attractive and comfortable atmosphere...that is ideal. But, if I had to choose, I'd choose good food first. IMO, no matter how nice the atmosphere is, bad tasting or poorly prepared food does not make it worth eating there.
 
SeaBreeze said:
Food matters most to me, I have enjoyed good food in an attractive and comfortable atmosphere...that is ideal. But, if I had to choose, I'd choose good food first. IMO, no matter how nice the atmosphere is, bad tasting or poorly prepared food does not make it worth eating there.
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Have to agree. I have eaten at some very noisy diners that offered good food. (People would be lined up) Atmosphere is nice but that would not have been the reason for going there, no matter how fine a restaurant.
 

If the food was really bad, then I wouldn't go to a restaurant regardless of the atmosphere. But if the choice was a restaurant with great food, but noisy or too bright, or uncomfortable seating, or a restaurant with just okay food and comfortable seating, nice lighting, quiet nice atmosphere, I would choose the one with just okay food.

The city where we used to live had a pizza place with a few tables and big booths with high backs that afforded a sense of privacy. The lighting was sort of dim, even in the daytime. It was an older place and just really comfortable. The pizza and a few other items weren't bad but weren't anything special either. But we went there all the time even though there were restaurants with better pizza. It was the atmosphere and the feeling that we could sit and talk with our meal and not feel rushed. I like a nice comfortable atmosphere.
 
Both. One without the other just doesn't work for me. If the food is great but the atmosphere is dreadful, my mood will plummet and my digestion suffer. If I'm being taken out by someone, I'd suggest a restaurant where both food and atmosphere are pleasant. :eek:
 
I think they are complementary, and also mutually exclusive.

There is an excellent four star restaurant that I won't go to because of loud music. I am a child of the sixties (well a teenager anyway) and I would have Mick Jagger rattling the windows in my bedroom, but not when I am having a quiet mid-week lunch thanks.

Similarly, a grand piano and a string quartet cannot disguise tough meat and regeated vegetables.
 
It's both for me, too. I went to a restaurant awhile back that had a real nice atmosphere and the food was quite expensive but the quality of the food was lacking for the price. I want both.
 
"but the quality of the food was lacking for the price."

And that's the bottom line isn't it?

You don't mind paying if you get what you pat for, value for your money.
 
Food first then atmosphere for me.

When it comes to atmosphere though I'm not talking fancy, a weathered old shack at the ocean serving lobster rolls or the old rib joint with the tin roof and rolls of paper towel on the picnic table are great atmosphere to me, as long as it's authentic and it fits the menu.
 
Bad food spoils the atmosphere every time at least for me, but, then, the reverse can happen as well; at least that's such things have happened to me, but, I'd much rather have good food and at the very least really, really, I mean really good company may make up for both. :D
 
NancyNGA said:
Atmosphere. I go out to eat only to get together with friends. All I care about is quiet, so you can hear each other talk. No loud music.
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I agree. I will not go to a place where I can't carry on a conversation without yelling. We've walked out of places like that. And atmosphere doesn't necessarily mean fancy. My pizza place example was definitely not fancy, just comfortable and welcoming.
 
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