Dim romantic lighting can make food taste worse, study finds

Flavor is in the eye of the beholder.

Dim lighting is a hallmark of upscale and romantic dining, but a new study found that poorly lit food could be leaving a dull taste in diners’ mouths.

Business and psychology researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, whose work was published in the journal Food Quality and Preference, enlisted 138 participants to consume a four-course meal at a restaurant under various lighting conditions.

Under the impression they were testing a new menu, customers were asked to take a survey at the end of the meal, rating both “taste intensity” on a scale of one to nine and the dining room’s lighting.

“Guests in the bright ambient light condition rated the overall taste as more intense as opposed to guests in the dim ambient light condition,” said researchers, as reported in the Telegraph. “The illuminance level was perceived as equally pleasant in both the bright and dim ambient light condition.”

Their findings add evidence to the study of “multisensory store experiences,” revealing the sensory factors that encourage consumers to spend.

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