TELL THEM TO LOWER THE VOLUME!

We took some wonderful, visiting out-of-town guests to Le Bistro (in Great Neck) for dinner the other night. It was a Wednesday night and somewhat late when we arrived. The place was not very full. We settled into our seats in anticipation of another superlative Bistro dinner. Alas it was not to be!

Don’t get us wrong- the food was taam gan eden. It always is! However, there was a table with a group of people around it having a hoohah kind of a time. And they made sure that we all got to share in their joy.

We sat on the opposite side of the restaurant from them, yet we heard every word. They were incredibly loud. They cackled, guffawed, shouted out in glee and mostly intruded on everyone else’s dinner.

Dinner at 9:00PM should not mean dining in the midst of Times Square! And they were not “kids.” They were old enough to have known better.

It is not fair to have to put up with such noise when you go out to eat. A good meal depends not only on good food and good company, but good ambience as well.

The revelers finally left 35 minutes after we sat down. At last- peace and quiet. The rest of our evening there was superlative by the way.

We should have complained to the maitre d’. On the other hand, the restaurant should have either offered to let the revelers have the party room or asked them to lower the decible count to something reasonable.

Attention Bistro staff: your restaurant is amazing. The food is taam gan eden. The room is gorgeous. A little more quietude would be helpful. Perhaps you should instruct your wait staff to ask overly loud diners to quiet down and be respectful of us old folks who come for a quiet dinner!

(RJR)