This isn’t directly about Cafe Campagne, I just happened to come up with this rule while leaving there with a meal half-finished.
The Rule? If you enter a low-ceilinged restaurant and you see a party of 8 or more seated (or waiting), just leave immediately.
On Friday, we sat down to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants during my favorite time of the year to eat there (Cassoulet season). We had our favorite table. Perfect for a romantic dinner. There was a group of around 10 middle aged women seated a couple tables over from us. They were well dressed and seemed nice. Soon, the volume level from that table was near airplane-engine-roar level with the occasional laugh-squeal or scream making me want to put a fork into my eye. They drew angry looks from all around the room, but the usually very attentive staff ignored the situation. I don’t think the ladies were trying to be rude. I don’t even think they understood how insanely loud they were. They were just trying to hear each other over the din of a busy restaurant with no soft items to absorb sound and low ceilings and tons of mirrors and windows which amplify it.
That kind of thing makes eating at any restaurant feel like eating in the bar at TGI Fridays.
