How to Avoid a Costly Restaurant Bill

Color, Music, & More

Environmental factors like a restaurant’s temperature, color, and sound also impact how we order. “If it’s slightly over-warm, a bit noisy, and if colors are more visually exciting, that makes it more cognitively confusing,” says Wallaert.

This confusion can pressure you into making a hasty decision and spending more. “The more worked up you are, the more you’ll eat,” he explains, adding that warm colors like red, orange, and yellow can also make you feel hungry. (Hence why McDonald’s uses that color scheme.)