Sensory Experience and the Psychology of Restaurant Design

This paper was presented at the 2020 ASFS Twitter Conference.

Abstract

How a guest determines whether a restaurant establishment is fast-food or fine-dining is controlled by design. Restaurants shape guests’ expectations through theme, brand, and ornament, and control diners’ levels of comfort and stimulation (pleasurable or unpleasurable) in a motivation to construct the function of the specific dining space. This paper explores how consumer behavior can be manipulated and negotiated by restaurant design and sensorial design techniques. Sensory experience influences levels of arousal and comfort in a restaurant environment, which affects and shapes the perceived control and safety of a diner. Levels of comfort, control, and safety are influenced by physical and psychological factors, which are often unconsciously interpreted by diners. Arousal can be defined here as playing upon multiple senses at once, and environmental stimuli have an affect on people’s emotional states. The colors of the room or brand, the acoustics, the scents, the ability to move tables and chairs, or the amount of natural light, are all  details which influence arousal and negotiate a space. Sensorial stimulation therefore effects how long people will stay in a restaurant, how much money they may spend, and the number of table turns in an evening.

Introduction

In a restaurant, sometimes good food isn’t enough. Every detail— from the color of the chairs, the amount of natural light, and the aromas in the air, to the texture of the plates— are well thought out details that control and shape the movement, level of arousal, and control that a customer has in a given dining space. In this paper, I explore how sensory experiences influence the psychology of restaurant design. While this paper is by no means exhaustive or representative of all restaurants, I attempt to discuss and compare restaurants in American culture, as well as how they may vary within subcultures. Within my larger research question, I explore how design influences how much money people spend, and the amount of table-turns in an evening. I also discuss how brands are created, managed, and perpetuated via sensorial arousal. The first part of this paper provides context and dives into information about the environment, ambiance, and architecture, as well as design and social factors. Part two of this paper looks at specific senses and how they are affected by various dining environments. 

I: Context and Considerations

In order to entice people to enter a restaurant, their senses must be aroused. It has been shown that people have a preference towards environments that are moderately to highly arousing —playing upon multiple senses at once— while also allowing them to have a sense of control and safety (Robson 1999).  Environmental stimuli have been shown to have an affect on people’s emotional states, “which then elicit approach or avoidance responses to the environment. Emotional states included two dimensions: pleasure, the extent to which a person feels joyful, happy, good, or satisfied with the context, and arousal, the psychological state of excitement caused by the environment” (Ouyang et al. 2018, 408). While food and taste are the main product of a restaurant, its other attributes are significant in influencing potential customers’ choice, loyalty, and evaluation (2018). 

In general, arousing environments are complex and provide mystery. Here, complexity can be defined as providing high volumes of information to the senses all at once, and people have also been shown to prefer complexity over simplicity (Yu et al. 2009). In studies scoring complexity, a low score would relate to a well-defined, boxlike, and geometrically shaped space, while a high score would relate to a larger, irregularly shaped space (2009). An irregularly shaped space could be varied by architectural elements, furnishings and plants. Mystery comes into play here because it is the degree to which people are attracted to pursue more information by proceeding further into a scene: the higher the level of complexity and mystery, the higher the level of preference (2009). Higher mystery ratings may offer shorter distances of view to various focal points of interest that may be hidden, or skew the viewer from gaining full visual access to a setting (2009). Alternatively, higher mystery ratings may provide accessibility to various environments within a space via pathways (perhaps meandering or turning pathways), or be influenced by dramatic contrasts in brightness (2009). 

A person’s sense of arousal, as well as their senses of control and safety are always at play; this simultaneously effects their level of comfort, both physically and psychologically. If the scales should tip to one side, it may— consciously or unconsciously— cause someone to change their behavior, or move to another restaurant. As social creatures, we actively seek areas where people congregate, and seek the company of others. Eating alone, or in a sparsely filled restaurant can make some people feel vulnerable, and may cause them to hurry to a new location to find the relative safety of others’ company (Robson 1999). 

On the other hand, overcrowding can also make us uncomfortable, as crowding reduces our ability to create and defend personal territory (Robson 1999). When this happens, we may try to “anchor” ourselves to a physical element within a space such as a wall, column, or plant, which limits the amount of information and stimulation that reaches us, and makes it easier to defend our space (1999). We unconsciously defend the space around us. Because our peripheral vision is limited, we prefer when people (restaurant staff, for example) approach us from within our plane of vision (Tanyeri 2017). If we are unable to find an anchor, it may inspire us to move to a less crowded space, or to eat faster. In one study, a cafeteria was considered to be full when the anchored seats were all filled, even though the room was only half-full (1999). Restaurants often play on our needs for both social interaction and secure territory. A large dining area without anchors may cause people to feel exposed, out of control, or overstimulated. This may also lead to a quickly completed meal and a faster table turn (1999). 

The ability of patrons to quickly interpret a restaurant environment helps them to make the commitment to enter an establishment more readily (Robson 1999). Put simply, customers have to be able to interpret the theme, which helps provide the ambiance. For example, how do you know when you are entering an Italian restaurant or a French restaurant? The theme is translated to the customer by a brand and ornaments (discussed more in depth later), or other material culture which can identify a space, including its social and cultural functions (Yu et al. 2009). 

It is important to distinguish between style and theme. In comparing different types of restaurants, in the search for the “ideal” eating out experience, “style” was found to be difficult for patrons to define. In a study, people defined “style” with either the type of food and service, or the cleanliness (Alonso and O’neill 2010). This study found that its respondents valued unpretentious, down-to-earth styles. The scholars theorized that this was because of the respondents’ desires to a.) use the dining experience to socialize, and/or b.) enjoy the experiences as a ‘holistic’ event, in a non-threatening, non-intimidating atmosphere (2010). 

What people find intimidating is socially and culturally constructed. This example is relevant to consider in examining the various ways in which people may hierarchize restaurant-types and dining experiences. Of the particular group sampled in Alonso and O’neill’s study, exhibiting status and class seems to have been less about cost and wealth and more about not being intimidated by a “stuffy” atmosphere. This could mean that the etiquette involved within the levels of service of fine-dining, or perhaps the performance of being a diner in a fine-dining restaurant, was less valued because it was not seen as “down-to-earth.” If the atmosphere, service, expected etiquette, or ritual of fine-dining were found to be intimidating, it may have tipped the scales, causing these participants to feel unsafe, uncomfortable, out of control (or at least a lack of control), within their realm of perceived personal territory.

Comfort level may be shaped by multiple factors in a restaurant. While customers are often pulled in because they are aroused by a smell (such as Cinnabon using its ovens at the front of their stores to waft the scent of freshly baked cinnamon rolls),  performance (cooking as theater in open-kitchen concepts such as Romano’s Macaroni Grill or California Pizza Kitchen), or particular colors, for example, how long they stay may depend on the lighting, the furniture, and/or the color scheme. 

A quick service concept such as McDonald’s will have furniture that is composed of mainly hard surfaces which function as easy to clean, contribute to higher degrees of sound arousal (reverberation), and give customers less control because the tables and chairs are immobile and cannot support varying group sizes (Robson 1999). Personal space is also regulated by the positioning of the furniture, and this lack of individual control contributes to a higher number of table turns (1999). Reducing the amount of customer’s personal territory and control will generally assure that they come in, eat, and leave promptly. 

Seating types have a significant effect on how much time people spend in a restaurant (Tanyeri 2017). Typically, the more time spent in a restaurant, the more money spent as well. People are more comfortable when they can sit up against something (2017). Spend per minute is higher in booths than any other type of seating because people are physically and psychologically more comfortable (2017). If we consider Outback Steakhouse, we will see that the furniture is more attractive than that at McDonald’s, but not too comfortable. The straight back of a booth at an Outback Steakhouse reinforces its Australian saloon theme, and will be uncomfortable enough to encourage fast table turns (Robson 1999). 

All of the previously mentioned factors influence a restaurant’s overall ambiance. Depending on how the space is designed, the aesthetics create and negotiate consumer expectations. In a study that involved a Hardee’s, half of the restaurant was altered to have a fine-dining atmosphere, which the other half remained under its normal branding and design. The food was exactly the same, yet the food was rated as tasting better by customers in the fine-dining area (Herz 2018). People were found to spend more time in the fine-dining area, although they ate less (2018). Rachel Herz speculates that this is because the alterations created an unusual dining situation, and that the more formal setting also encouraged slower, mindful eating (2018). “When you are more engaged with what you are putting in your mouth you eat more slowly, which in turn may make you feel more satiated by fewer French fries and less inclined to have dessert” (2018, 177). 

Cities have their own distinctive character and culture, which may also shape diner expectations within a specific location. Distinctiveness may be constructed and reinforced by neighborhoods, food critics, and other community groups which interact within local restaurant worlds: “…distinctive urban cultures are both top-down and bottom-up: they may emerge spontaneously, but private and public actors try to produce them intentionally. Regardless of the direction of influence, these urban cultures are all about local construction of meaning” (Lang 2014, 584). Expert opinions may be influenced by aesthetics, “which provide an example of gastronomy as a fluid discursive field where the legitimacy of food production and consumption methods are recursively negotiated and created in a culinary taste community” (2014, 586). Lang exemplifies these ideas by exploring what he calls “concrete terroir,” and comparing restaurant reviews that positively rated eateries in New York and San Fransisco. His work showcases how sound levels were perceived and ultimately influenced reviews. Loud music was enjoyed and appreciated in San Fransisco, whereas softer music was enjoyed and appreciated in New York City. His work provides insight to how different cultures may interpret or perceive aesthetics (and therefore the arousal levels) in various ways, which may influence and reinforce expectations for restaurants within a specific geographical area. Lang’s work will be discussed again in the next section.

II: The Senses

In this section, I begin exploring our sensory experiences as they relate to restaurant design by first focusing on the use of sight. Within the topic of sight, I discuss color, light, as well as ornament and brand. I then continue to discuss aroma and fragrance, sound and acoustics, and touch and haptics. In the touch and haptics section, I include information on texture variance with a brief discussion about material culture in plateware. 

Color is a fascinating subject because it not only affects people’s perceptions and attitudes, but can actually elicit a biological response (Robson 1999). Across different age groups and cultures, short wavelength colors, or warm colors (red, orange, and yellow) were found to be highly arousing, although not necessarily pleasing (1999). Long wavelength, or cool colors were generally found to have a calming, relaxing effect (1999). The brighter and more saturated a color, the more people tend to find it pleasant (1999). 

According to a restaurant design website, the color wheel can be divided up into three sections, organized by function: strong stimulants, mild stimulants, and suppressants (Yu 2017a). Warm colors are considered to be strong stimulants, and the color red may increase blood pressure and heart rate, which may increase hunger (2017a). Typically we associate red with energy-dense, ripe fruits. In food, red often has a sweetening effect, while blue can be associated with saltiness (Herz 2018). Studies have also shown that a hot chocolate tastes better in a red mug, and soda tastes better, more thirst-quenching in a blue cup (2018). This is because of learned associations that we have between color and temperature (2018). 

Yellow is said to make people feel happy and energetic, actually releasing serotonin in the brain (Yu 2017a). Green and turquoise, mild stimulants of the longer wavelength colors are associated with calm, happy, carefree feelings (2017a). Green is also often associated with health— leading to thoughts of leafy greens, and fibrous vegetables (2017a). Purple, brown, black, and gray are considered to be appetite suppressants (2017a). According to this website, most of these appetite suppressant colors are not frequently found in edible foods (with the exception of purple, which the site refers to “unpopular” foods such as eggplant, cabbage, and red onion— this is most likely a bias of the author of the piece). It is also mentioned that these colors may signal rot or poison (2017a). Curiously, this website does not offer any information about the color white. I speculate that white may be associated with cleanliness.

A restaurant that emphasizes warm colors may initially attract customers, but may also overstimulate them and encourage them to leave quickly, resulting in faster table turns (Robson 1999). Warm colors, such as red and yellow, are utilized by several fast-food companies such as McDonald’s, Burger King, In-N-Out, or Wendy’s. In my experience with higher end dining, including fast-casual and fine-dining, it is common to see blacks and grays. This may encourage mindful eating, or contribute to a restaurant’s “mystery” rating. Pops of color in a booth or other furnishings may serve to function as arousal stimulants, without overstimulating guests. Darker colors could also shape our next topic: lighting.

Dim lighting calms our mood, and creates a relaxed and inviting atmosphere. In turn, this makes us feel less inhibited, and may cause us to consume more calories (Herz 2018). The longer we spend sitting a table, the more frequently our appetite becomes reinvigorated, perhaps unconsciously inspiring us to not only peruse the dessert menu, but to order dessert and to keep eating (and drinking) (2018). 

Bright, high-intensity artificial light promotes exactly the opposite. High-intensity artificial light induces stress reactions and increases metabolic activity, compared to natural outdoor sunlight, which we adjust to without as much difficulty (Yu et al. 2009). Again, while we may naturally be aroused by or attracted to bright sources of light, they can quickly become overstimulating. Bright, flashing or changing, and highly colored lights are yet another way that fast-food and fast-casual food service companies can generate capital by turning their tables faster, as consumers eat faster in bright environments (Herz 2018). 

Having pools of light that highlight specific furnishings or features within a restaurant environment is a technique often employed by higher end restaurants (Robson 1999). Spotlights over tabletops can distinguish and define customer territory at each table, creating a space for them to find an anchor (1999). If done well, this may encourage guests to feel more comfortable and stay longer. 

Within the context of the aesthetics of dining, ornament exhibits the theme, status, class, and wealth of an establishment. Intricate details can reinforce a restaurant’s brand and culture, and can prolong a visitor’s stay (Yu et al. 2009). Studies have shown that people remember simple imagery compared to complex imagery (which is helpful in establishing a brand image), however, people have been found to linger longer in spaces with more details than those with fewer details (2009). Ornament identifies a space, marks the theme, materially creates and reinforces an identity, and also conveys its social and cultural functions to an audience (2009). Scale may also be considered in this topic as a signifier of status and wealth. As an example, one can imagine a grandiose entrance with columns (such as that of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston) compared with a small, local art gallery. This idea can similarly be applied to restaurants. 

Aroma is often used as a tool to mark and/or enhance a customer’s expectations of a food they have not yet experienced (Ouyang et al. 2018). Typically, restaurants have been known to allow the scent of their kitchen’s food to drift into a dining area, arousing people’s appetites. Rainforest Cafe uses scent a bit differently. In order to stimulate diners, Rainforest Cafe would waft floral fragrance into its retail areas (which was also its customer waiting area)— further enhancing the chain’s exotic, tropical brand, and meaning to contribute to customers’ arousal levels early in their dining experience (Robson 1999). The theory was, that the aroma that was included in patrons’ arousal would be pleasurable enough promote their excitement for more by the time they got to their table (1999). Other studies have shown that food aromas reinforce brand and consumer expectations and perceptions of a restaurant, but do not necessarily influence congruent purchasing behaviors (2018). 

Sound and music often unconsciously influence how fast, and how much we eat and drink. Like bright lights, loud music makes people eat and drink faster (Herz 2018). Tempo also influences the pace at which people eat: faster music causing people to eat more quickly than slower music (2018). Again, when people spend more time in a restaurant, they spend more money. A restaurant with a moderate level of music— one in which people can have a conversation, but that isn’t so low that people can hear everything that their neighbor is saying, is ideal for those wishing to still turn tables, but also keep patrons in the establishment long enough to spend money (Robson 1999).

Music that is too loud can discourage repeat patronage. According to a psychology of restaurant design website about acoustics, in a 2011 survey by Zagat, readers showed that restaurant noise was the second most common complaint, coming second to poor service (Yu 2017b). The Lombard effect occurs when there is a base-level of loudness, and people have to yell to talk over the background noise, further exacerbating the noise levels in an area (2017b). Loud noise distracts people from being able to fully smell and taste their food. Finding a balance in which people find themselves in a social environment, but not yelling, can be delicate. Conversely, too little noise, and a restaurant can give the impression that it is not liked or popular, or guests may become hyper-aware of others chewing, or clanking their silverware (2017b). 

Appropriate noise levels can have an effect on an establishment’s popularity. What is considered appropriate can be negotiated, and it depends on the city and culture in which the restaurant exists. For example, in comparing food critics’ reviews of restaurants, John Lang found that New York Times critics associated lower sound levels with higher-rated restaurants, while the San Fransisco Chronicle critics associate higher sound levels with higher-rated restaurants (2014). Age of the critics’ audiences may have been a factor in this difference. For example, one article recommends that 75-79 decibels should be the maximum if the target is under 30 years old, and much lower if the target market is for older patrons (Robson 1999). Regardless, Lang’s work is important to consider here because his work examined reviews from 1998-2010. This is a substantial enough amount of time to notice significant patterns and show how culture influences tolerance of sound in public spaces, how volume may be perceived, and, more generally, how aesthetics can be perceived differently in different locales. Aesthetics are shaped, negotiated, and reinforced by the people who are engaging in various restaurant worlds.  

Touch sensory design largely revolves around textures. Using many different textures creates a more complex environment, creating higher levels of arousal (Robson 1999). Haptic perception may be enhanced when combined with visual data (Malnar and Vodvarka 2004). At Frank Lloyd Wright’s Imperial Hotel in Tokyo (no longer operational), brick and native lava stone had been used on both exterior and interior spaces (Yu et al. 2009). However, the texture became progressively smoother as a person entered into the space from the outside (2009). While guests walked into the space, in a sense, they could “feel” the change of surface texture. 

Texture of materials that people interact with and touch are also means of ornament, and a source of material culture. Textures have the ability to change people’s perceptions of taste. In a study, a rough plate and a smooth plate had different effects on participants’ perceptions of cookie texture. When taken from a rough plate, participants expressed that the cookie was “crunchier,” and “rougher,” compared to the smoother plate (Biggs et al. 2016). Interestingly, the flavor was also perceived differently. Cookies from the rough plate were described as more gingery and saltier, while the smoother plate’s cookies were described as sweeter (2016). This phenomena is referred to as “sensation transference” (2016).

III. Conclusions

In order for people to enter a restaurant, they have to be aroused, and it has to be pleasurable. It helps if there is a high degree of complexity and mystery, which compels people to want to enter and explore more of the space. It also helps if there are other people present. Patrons have to be able to easily decipher and relate to the brand— they have to get the theme. This shapes and defines guests’ expectations. Brands are reinforced through sensorial aesthetics that engage all of the senses, which also includes ornament and material culture. People will stay longer if they are comfortable. This may be in a booth, or next to an anchor in the room. When the experience ceases to be pleasurable— psychically or psychologically— people leave. If they are not comfortable, or are overstimulated (consciously or unconsciously), this may be intentional—built into the design to influence the function of the space. It is the goal of some dining spaces to attract people in for a quick bite, and then encourage them to leave in order to serve more guests. For other restaurants, it is advantageous to encourage patrons to stay longer because the longer people spend time in a space, the more money they spend, and the more time they spend eating and drinking.

There is a plethora of information about sensory design and how sensorial arousal influences our perceptions of dining spaces. This paper provides a concise exploration of the multitudes of ways in which consumer behavior can be molded and negotiated by restaurant design and sensorial design techniques. 

Works Cited 

Alonso, Abel, and Martin O’neill. 2010. "Consumers' Ideal Eating out Experience as It Refers to Restaurant Style: A Case Study." Journal of Retail & Leisure Property 9, no. 4: 263-76.

Biggs, Lulie, Georgiana Juravle, and Charles Spence. 2016. "Haptic Exploration of Plateware Alters the Perceived Texture and Taste of Food." Food Quality and Preference 50, no. C: 129-34.

Herz, Rachel. 2018. Why You Eat What You Eat: The Science Behind Our Relationship with Food. New York: W. W. Norton.

Lang, John T. 2014. ”Sound and the City: Noise in Restaurant Critics' Reviews." Food, Culture & Society 17.4 : 571-89.

Malnar, Joy Monice and Franks Vodvarka. 2004. Sensory Design. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Ouyang, Yuxia, Carl Behnke, Barbara Almanza, and Richard Ghiselli. 2018. ”The Influence of Food Aromas on Restaurant Consumer Emotions, Perceptions, and Purchases." Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management 27, no. 4 (2018): 405-23.

Robson, Stephanie K.A. 1999. Turning the Tables: The Psychology of Design for High-volume Restaurants. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly: 40 (3): 56-63.

Tanyeri, Dana. 2017. ”Psychology and Design." Restaurant Development Design, 76.

Yu, Huibin. 2017a. “The Psychology of Restaurant Interior Design, Part 1: Color,” Folio, Inc., https://medium.com/@Fohlio/the-psychology-of-restaurant-interior-design-part-1-color-956fd5b66040

Yu, Huibin. 2017b. “The Psychology of Restaurant Interior Design, Part 4: Acoustics,” Folio, Inc., https://www.fohlio.com/blog/psychology-restaurant-interior-design-part-4-restaurant-acoustics/

Yu, Xue, Malven, Fred, Akkurt, Cigdem, and Leslie, Thomas. 2009. Sensory Study in Restaurant Interior Design, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.