The room and atmosphere as aspects of the meal: a review

Abstract

The consumption of food takes place within what can loosely be termed ‘the room’, although in reality, this could be a variety of settings, both indoors and outside. Aspects and features within that room contribute towards and make up the atmosphere, something that is relatively easy to appreciate but rather more difficult to quantify and describe. This review considers selected aspects under the headings of interior variables, background music and noise, and odour; layout and design variables, table layout and seating; and human variables, density and crowding, and social facilitation, which contribute towards the room's atmosphere. It is important to recognise and appreciate that other attributes, of similar if not of equal or more importance, also exist.

Consumers’ ideal eating out experience as it refers to restaurant style: A case study

“…These authors found that tangible factors, rather than intangible, were identifi ed as being more important with regard to consumer loyalty (p. 317); moreover, Clark and Wood found that food-related elements (quality, range or type) were the most determinant. Although other researchers seem to be in agreement with Clark and Wood (see, for example, Reimer and Kuehn, 2005 ;Wall andBerry, 2007 , in Edwards andGustafsson, 2008 ), they note that a restaurant ' s atmosphere, ambiance, design and other intangible elements need to be paid attention to as interest in them is increasing among consumers.…”

Mealtimes in a neurological ward: a phenomenological‐hermeneutic study

“…The internal clocks of the patients were therefore not included in how work was performed. Edwards and Gustafsson () argue that the creation of appetite depends on how sensory impressions are ‘manipulated’ by the staff working in restaurants. However, in our study, the acknowledgement of the importance of sensory impressions by healthcare professionals was challenged by contextual factors, such as odours from toilets in the hallway or the sight of full rubbish bins.…”

Untitled

“…Quadro 1 são apresentados os dados sócio-demográficos da amostra. As variáveis do ambiente alimentar são aspectos dos sentidos que devem ser manipulados (EDWARDS, 2008). Para alcançar a satisfação e a fidelidade do consumidor, deve-se adequar seus sentidos e percepções a essas variáveis ambientais, tais como o layout, que deve ser de fácil acesso e a estética, que pode ter uma influência positiva sobre a qualidade percebida (WAKEFIELD;BLODGETT, 1996).…”