In restaurants and bars, sound is part of the service. When reverberation builds up, conversations fracture, service slows, and the experience feels “loud” rather than lively. The upside: today you can correct acoustics with non-structural, fast-install solutions that respect the interior concept and keep operations running.

WHY ACOUSTIC COMFORT MATTERS

Clear speech at low voice equals ease, privacy, and a longer dwell time. Balanced rooms reduce fatigue for guests and staff and lift perceived quality—just like lighting and tableware do.

Noise costs

High background noise breeds operational errors (missed or misunderstood orders), slows service, adds waste, and raises staff stress—all of which erode margins. It also shortens table time and depresses average check.

When acoustics disappoint, guests don’t stay, don’t return—then complain online

If you must speak over the room to be heard, conviviality evaporates. That fatigue becomes the takeaway—and often the content of negative reviews—regardless of how good the kitchen is.

Noise spoils taste, conviviality, and inclusion

Excess reverb doesn’t only disrupt conversation; it can alter flavour perception and make socializing effortful. For guests who are hard of hearing or sensitive to stimuli, poor acoustics becomes a barrier rather than a welcome.

Acoustic correction is an investment, not a cost

Modern sound-absorbing technologies achieve results with less material than traditional options—meaning quicker installs, controlled budgets, and better sustainability, without compromising durability. The budget should guide the solution, not limit it.

Tuned acoustics elevates the culinary experience

In a well-balanced room, every word between diners is clear and intimate without spilling to adjacent tables; the focus returns to food and company, and the evening is remembered for the right reasons.

How to fix it well (a practical, low-disruption path)

1. Survey & sizing – Evaluate the room and calculate the right amount of absorption to avoid both under-treatment (problem persists) and over-treatment (dead room and wasted budget).
2. Non-structural solutions – Ceiling/wall panels, acoustic curtains and lamps, upholstered elements, and wall coverings—often multifunctional (acoustics + lighting/division). Installations are quick and don’t require structural work.
3. Integrate with lighting – Acoustic systems can be coordinated with, or incorporate, lighting fixtures for a clean, coherent design.
4. Special cases – Vaulted ceilings? Acoustic curtains are a cost-efficient way to tame reverb and create more intimate zones.
5. Flex & maintenance – Elements are reconfigurable as layouts evolve; certified materials support hygiene and long-term performance.

La Mercanti supports owners and designers with acoustic surveys, product selection, and turnkey supply/installation for HoReCa spaces—always tailored to the brief and the brand language.

Sometimes we tend to confuse soundproofing with sound absorbing, but actually, they are definitely different concepts from all points of view.
With soundproofing we mean all the operations necessary to prevent a sound from crossing a barrier, entering or exiting a location, such as a room or an entire building. Acoustic insulation provides soundproofing that limits the diffusion of incoming sound, muffling the noise coming from the outside, or outgoing, with sounds produced inside the room that you want to insulate.
For this purpose, it is necessary to use quality soundproofing materials. Usually the noise penetrates into a location where even the air is able to “pass through”. The noise can be reduced if the vibrations are eliminated as well. Air and vibrations must be nullified by physically modifying the structure of the location through soundproofing.
The best result can be obtained already during the planning phase, as established by the regulation on this subject. You can then arrange the acoustic insulation of the walls by making choices based on the materials, installation techniques and layout of the rooms. Instead, if the building is built without planning the soundproofing of the rooms, then it will be necessary to intervene later through restoration works.
So, soundproofing is a structural intervention that must be carried out during construction or renovation.

On the other hand, sound absorption is a very different concept. The acoustic correction work takes place using sound-absorbing panels and fabrics in order to absorb reverberations caused when the sound hits a surface and comes back. If the sound waves overlap, they produce reverberation, an annoying background noise that is perceived especially in shared places such as offices, restaurants, clubs and schools. Therefore, sound absorption corrects the acoustics of a place with panels that absorb sound avoiding reverberation, but are not soundproofing.
Obviously it is not necessary to completely cover the walls with sound-absorbing panels, but an acoustic analysis of the room using modern software allows to evaluate what is the sound-absorbing surface needed for the best result.
Sound absorption can therefore be achieved in a location at any time simply installing sound-absorbing panels that now look like elegant and design objects as well. The Snowsound products by Caimi Brevetti, for example, are real pieces of furniture, very elegant, colorful and particular such as the Si Sboccia, in the shape of a flower, or the Botanica and the Flap.
Often sound-absorbing panels are also required in schools in order to avoid reverberation in the wide classrooms enlarged due to Covid-19 or in technical and language laboratories or even in gyms that often have very high ceilings.
These panels greatly improve the acoustics, increasing the well-being inside the rooms.

In this video, we first talked in a room without acoustic panels, then we spoke again in the same room where acoustic panels were added. The difference is remarkable, isn’t it?

CES AWARD 2014

SNOWSOUND, a technology applied to acoustic panels by Caimi Brevetti, a brand distributed by La Mercanti , won in the United States the award “International CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards 2014”.

The coveted prize was awarded to the patented technology SNOWSOUND Caimi Brevetti at CES 2014 in Las Vegas, the largest futurist exhibition in the world dedicated to electronics, which was held last week.

Commonly considered the Oscar of technological innovation in electronics and audio / video, this award honors the patented technology used in acoustic panels Mitesco (designed by Michele De Lucchi ), Rabat (designed by Alberto Meda and Francisco) and Chorus (design Lorenzo Palmieri) . We already wrote on this blog about  acoustic panels and office partitions, and how they improve productivity.

This important recognition confirms the excellence of Snowsound technology, recognized as one of the most successful ever in the global market.

acoustic panels SNOWSOUND

Working in a quiet environment, with a good acoustic, is very important for productivity.

interior doors

Since the fifties, with the massive adoption of of television, humanity spends more and more time in front of screens. With the spread of the Internet and digital photos, images became even more important. We give great importance to aesthetics, to the visual appearance. Even in areas such as music, where sound and listening should be fundamental, are the video clips and more or less extravagant appereance of pop star which prevail over the quality of music itself. Lest we want to consider as a great musician someone like Lady Gaga.

In this world where image is paramount sound and listening seems to be overlooked. Our cities are increasingly noisy. You think I exaggerate? Try selling your car via Internet: potential buyers will ask a lot of photos, but no one will care to listen to the engine noise, which is essential to understand its state of wear. The same applies to the description of a person : it is rare that someone describes his voice, but we give great importance to physical appearance.

It is not at all surprising that, when designing an office, we overlook acoustic. However, working in a quiet environment, with a good acoustic, is essential for productivity. Excessive noise causes stress and affects the concentration.

That’s why The Mercanti offers a wide range of acoustic panels, office partitions and interior doors. Indeed, in the conception of any workspace, acoustic is fundamental. Sounds good to you?