Eating in restaurants- help!

Some tips from the NAS:

"Eating out 

If eating out can be difficult, then think ahead and book a restaurant in advance. Many restaurants now have their menus online.

When booking, ask about seating, is there a quieter area of the restaurant that you can sit in? What is the lighting and décor like? Are there any other considerations for you, for example, sensory or diet?"

NAS - Holidays - a guide for autistic adults

You might like to consider wearing some unobtrusive earplugs. In that situation, in order to reduce restaurant background noises (eg noisy cutlery / crockery), I'd wear my Loop Engage 2 earplugs, which are designed for conversations and social gatherings. This referral link offers 15% off, and they can be returned (in used condition) if you don't find them useful.

Besides checking out any given restaurant's own website (and even calling them, to ask any questions that you might still have), you could also see whether they're listed on this site:

AccessAble

It enables you to search for venues and view detailed access guides, often with accompanying photos (although they're only small). For restaurants, that can include photos of dining areas along with information about lighting levels, whether background music is played, whether the flooring might cause sensory issues (eg due to patterns, colours, shininess / glare), and much more. 

It's best to be as specific as possible when entering a search location. For example, rather than just entering "London", enter a specific area that you're interested in, such as "Leicester Square".

When viewing a venue's access guide, select a topic (eg Eating and drinking, ground floor) to see full details and any photos.

Some tips from the NAS:

"Eating out 

If eating out can be difficult, then think ahead and book a restaurant in advance. Many restaurants now have their menus online.

When booking, ask about seating, is there a quieter area of the restaurant that you can sit in? What is the lighting and décor like? Are there any other considerations for you, for example, sensory or diet?"

NAS - Holidays - a guide for autistic adults

You might like to consider wearing some unobtrusive earplugs. In that situation, in order to reduce restaurant background noises (eg noisy cutlery / crockery), I'd wear my Loop Engage 2 earplugs, which are designed for conversations and social gatherings. This referral link offers 15% off, and they can be returned (in used condition) if you don't find them useful.

Besides checking out any given restaurant's own website (and even calling them, to ask any questions that you might still have), you could also see whether they're listed on this site:

AccessAble

It enables you to search for venues and view detailed access guides, often with accompanying photos (although they're only small). For restaurants, that can include photos of dining areas along with information about lighting levels, whether background music is played, whether the flooring might cause sensory issues (eg due to patterns, colours, shininess / glare), and much more. 

It's best to be as specific as possible when entering a search location. For example, rather than just entering "London", enter a specific area that you're interested in, such as "Leicester Square".

When viewing a venue's access guide, select a topic (eg Eating and drinking, ground floor) to see full details and any photos.