La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, a 16-month-old restaurant in San Francisco, hits every fashionable trend in restaurant design. The 300-seater occupies an 11,000 square-foot loft space in a historic converted ferry building. The floors are hardwood, the ceiling beams exposed, and the wood tables bare. It has an open kitchen and a large bar. A wall of windows overlooks the bay.

The result: It is the ultimate noise trap.

Many...