Generally speaking...

Actioneer Business suit.
Light Pistol of some variety.
Mirrorshades.

Indeed. Coming without any visible weapons only suggests you're packing a lot of hidden ones. One "polite" pistol is much better - of course, only one that's actually legal. Wouldn't want to make a bad impression on the bar staff.

Fixed it For Me.

Except that groups meeting in "secure" places are oh so easily found and compromised. Crowds allow one to blend in, and talking in a way that it gets swallowed by environmental noise (people, music, gunfire, whatever your preferred ambiance) is oh so much more effective.

And as for the knives, those are so 50's. A ceramic telescopic staff on the other hand, is quite useful and makes a beautiful impression in a bar fight!

I second the light pistol or holdout pistol being discreetly visible. My personal favorite is a hold out which uses stick n'shock, since I generally don't like killing in front of people who pay me (unless they ask, of course)

You know, I almost forgot. There is a second outfit to wear to a meet depending on what your recon says about it.

If it's a shitty dive bar and/or in Redmond then I switch it up a bit and wear an:

Armoured Jacket
Heavy Pistol
Mirrorshades.

Think of meeting with Johnsons as meetings for an interview. Dress up, dress smart and most of all dress in a manner which will impress the future boss.

Situational awareness. You don't wear a suit for an interview for a construction job or worn paint spattered denims and a loggers shirt for a job at a bank.

So if the Johnson expects a certain subset of shadowrunner - dress like them.

Funny, this is exactly what went wrong for the guy in the Actioneer Business Suit yesterday. He managed to "fix" the impression he made by one-blow knocking out the orc that tried to slap him about though.

Seems to me like the J and the runners may both have motives for meeting in a 'public' place. Not all J's are ICP's, and meeting a dangerous bunch of shadowrunners in a dark alley may not be the best idea. There are plenty of Runners with corps enemies who would view a private first meet with outright paranoia.

When I lived in Las Vegas, the local paper voted a small strip-club (Larry's Villa) as "The number one place to plan your next felony." My hand to God, this was in the newspaper, and if you've ever been to Larry's, you might agree. The place was loud, smoke-filled, dark, had strippers near the end of their careers, multiple emergency exits, and muscle on the door. Perfect place to meet a J. Loud, loud music, and plenty of strobe lights means less ECCM, and as a bonus: naked chicks!