The Sound of Taste: How Music Shapes the Dining Experience

First published in FNL-Guide in May 2025

If you think the music in a restaurant is just a random playlist put together by an employee who knows their way around a laptop, you’ve probably never eaten risotto to the sound of Miles Davis. Which is a shame, really, because music isn’t just background decoration. It’s one of the most insidious ingredients on the menu.

What comes out of the speakers can, quite literally, change the flavor of your meal. The right soundtrack can make a carpaccio feel more tender, turn wine pairing into a revelation or, if you hit the wrong note, make you want to finish quickly and leave. Professor Charles Spence of Oxford University has spent years studying the science of sound and taste, and the results are fascinating. In one of his experiments, participants tasted the same chocolate while listening to different kinds of music. With light jazz, it tasted sweeter; with deeper, bass-heavy rhythms, more bitter. Music shapes not only our perception of flavor, but also how fast we eat, and even how much we spend. Believe it or not, Billie Holiday can make you more generous with your tip, though not quite as much as Édith Piaf.

So the question isn’t whether there should be music, but what kind, for whom, and when.

A lazy Sunday brunch under the soft harmonies of Fleetwood Mac isn’t the same as the sacred silence before a fine dining amuse-bouche. And it’s definitely not the same as devouring a greasy smash burger at 2 a.m. to the breakneck rhythm of the Ramones.

It may sound strange, but certain genres actually make food taste better, and others can turn a plate into a mild existential crisis. This isn’t about taste in music; it’s about neuroscience. According to Professor Adrian North of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, music has the power to alter a diner’s mood, influence their eating pace, and reshape their perception of flavor.

Jazz

Jazz is the musical equivalent of velvet texture. It works beautifully in fine dining settings because it whispers without demanding attention. It doesn’t lead the conversation; it guides it. A piece by Bill Evans or Chet Baker can turn even something simple into a Michelin-level experience, and make you feel like you actually understand wine.

Classical

This is the placebo of luxury. A study in the British Journal of Psychology found that when classical music plays in a restaurant, guests tend to order more expensive wines and leave bigger tips. The reason? They feel they’re in a setting of high culture, and instinctively behave as if they belong there.

Rock

When you want intensity, rhythm, and turnover, rock is your secret weapon. In kitchens that flirt with street food or in bistros with draft beer and messy tables, rock is essential. A Cornell University study, from one of the world’s top hospitality research departments , found that customers eat faster when loud music plays. For high-turnover menus and fast-casual dining, rock is your best ally.

Pop

The ultimate wallpaper sound. It makes everyone feel “at home,” even if they’re sitting on the most uncomfortable chair imaginable. Pop is the soundtrack that doesn’t challenge or distract, the safe, familiar hum. Perfect for brunch spots or restaurants that host large family bookings.

Electronic / Ambient

Here, it’s not about sound, it’s about atmosphere. Ambient music adds mystery and a sense of ritual. In modern fusion restaurants or tasting-menu settings, these soundscapes prepare guests for something undefined but intentional. It’s the soundtrack of minimal design and quiet arrogance, the kind found in restaurants with cryptic names like Nude Carrot. You know the type. If you hear Brian Eno, you’re definitely paying €28 for a poached egg.

Years ago, an experiment in wine shops revealed that when French music played, French wine sales soared, and when German music played, they plummeted. When customers were later asked, none remembered the music or realized it had influenced them. Subconsciously, it did. Music imprints itself, shaping how we read a menu before we even know it.

In Greece, the connection between music and dining rooms is still mostly predictable, and painfully obvious. Restaurant owners tend to choose soundtracks based on cuisine rather than mood. Meanwhile, at Fish Club in Paris, a seafood menu was served to a mix of French disco, indie electro, and new wave to give lobster an urban edge, while we still assume that mussels and crab claws must come with island folk music. Grilled lamb? You’ll get old-school rebetika. Pasta? Cue Lucio Dalla. At Mexican joints, expect the festive echo of the Gipsy Kings. And at Greek bistros? You’ll hear “Non, je ne regrette rien” on loop, until you do.

To be fair, some restaurants in Greece take sound seriously, but most still treat it as an afterthought. Background playlists that could easily belong in a supermarket, short loops that repeat every hour, radio streams used as the “easy option,” or, in some tragic cases, the television left on as the only sound source. Recently, I even encountered the same playlist of Greek pop covers in three different restaurants, a Groundhog Day of bad taste and copyright economy.

Music in a restaurant isn’t background. It’s part of the experience, one that defines how the meal feels, not just how it tastes. The goal isn’t to play something through the speakers, but to play the right thing: something that resonates with the dish, the space, and the moment.