Dining out is not just about food. Going out to eat is — or at least should be — an experience. You can cook food at home; good food, in fact. But one dines out to enjoy not only the food, but also the atmosphere, the sights, the sounds, the smells and the people.
As such, one should show a modicum of decorum when at a restaurant. The amount depends greatly on the venue (you should strive to dress at least as well as the wait staff), but one rule of dress applies in all manner of restaurants — guys need to take off their hats.
The ball cap is undoubtedly popular, yet no one seems to know the societal rules that go along with headgear. Strictly speaking, men should take off their hats whenever indoors (by the same rules, women are never required to remove a hat).
You may be asking why this matters in our modern age. Indeed, it would appear that most have concluded it does not. But the issue here is respect — following this simple rule of decorum shows respect for your hosts and fellow diners; ignoring it shows equal disrespect.
If it helps, picture the issue from an outside viewpoint. Someone is cooking for you. Someone else is actually bringing the food within arm’s reach of your mouth. Everyone involved in this process works hard to make your evening at their establishment something special. Meanwhile, you look like you’ve just left a tailgating party to go to Wal-Mart, and you’ve just stopped in this fine establishment because they have food and chairs.
This was exactly the scene when my family and I had dinner recently at Longhorns Steakhouse (a much classier restaurant than the name would imply). I’m trying to show my visiting kinfolk a good time, while men at virtually every surrounding table kept their ball caps on, appearing as if they were eating cold pizza in their friend’s basement. It certainly made the meal feel less special for us — I wouldn’t be surprised if the same was true for them, though I doubt they would ever realize it.
Like most rules of etiquette, there’s no explicit reason you have to remove your hat at a meal. But it’s a nice thing to do, for yourself and those around you. And if you’re dining out, it’s the least you can do.
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