Why do restaurants offer bread and alcohol before a meal: an expert explains.

Renowned American neurobiologist and psychiatrist Daniel Amen, owner of the Amen Clinics network, advises against falling for the marketing tricks of restaurateurs. His warnings are particularly relevant during the height of the winter holiday season.
People visiting such establishments during the Christmas and New Year period often don’t think twice about the little traps that could end up costing them a pretty penny.
According to Dr. Amen, most restaurant patrons have become accustomed to waitstaff offering them bread and drinks before taking their orders. The expert suggests that this is more about strategy than customer convenience.
The issue is that consuming drinks and bread before a meal affects the brain, making it harder for people to control their impulses. Both bread and alcohol release serotonin in the brain, while simultaneously increasing glucose levels in the blood. As a result, guests feel happier and more relaxed, as reported by the Daily Mail. However, over time, serotonin levels drop, and customers, unable to manage their appetites, rush to order more food and drinks than they originally intended.
As the expert explained, the release of serotonin from consuming bread and alcohol leads to a suppression of the frontal lobe’s functions.
It’s worth noting that the frontal lobe is the area of the brain involved in all higher-order functions, such as planning, problem-solving, motivation, judgment, social behavior, and impulse control.
“When you come to a restaurant, the first thing they (the waitstaff) do is put bread on the table and ask if you want alcohol,” Dr. Amen said. “Both of these increase the likelihood that you’ll order more and spend more money,” he added.
Another side effect is that consuming bread before a meal can cause a sharp spike in blood sugar levels, followed by a rapid drop. The result is similar: it makes a person feel hungrier and prompts them to order more.
In other words, that bread and alcohol can cloud your judgment, Dr. Amen noted. By the way, alcoholic beverages relax you and impair your ability to think critically about potential risks and decision-making. So, alcohol is a trap for another reason: it can push a tipsy guest to spend significantly.
In any case, restaurant hospitality is primarily a business. One of the rules of this business is to make the customer feel like a valued guest and encourage them to spend money at the establishment.