A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to

customers.[1] Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many
restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary
greatly in appearance and offerings, including a wide variety of cuisines and
service models ranging from inexpensive fast-food restaurants and cafeterias to
mid-priced family restaurants, to high-priced luxury establishments.

Etymology
The word derives from the early 19th century, taken from the French word restaurer
'provide meat for', literally 'restore to a former state'[2] and, being the present
participle of the verb,[3] the term restaurant may have been used in 1507 as a
"restorative beverage", and in correspondence in 1521 to mean 'that which restores
the strength, a fortifying food or remedy'.[4]

History

Remains of a thermopolium in Pompeii

Service counter of a thermopolium in Pompeii

A public eating establishment similar to a restaurant is mentioned in a 512 BC
record from Ancient Egypt. It served only one dish, a plate of cereal, wildfowl,
and onions.[5]

A forerunner of the modern restaurant is the thermopolium, an establishment in

Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome that sold and served ready-to-eat food and
beverages. These establishments were somewhat similar in function to modern fast
food restaurants. They were most often frequented by people who lacked private
kitchens. In the Roman Empire, they were popular among residents of insulae.[6]

In Pompeii, 158 thermopolia with service counters have been identified throughout
the town. They were concentrated along the main axis of the town and the public
spaces where they were frequented by the locals.[7]

The Romans also had the popina, a wine bar which in addition to a variety of wines
offered a limited selection of simple foods such as olives, bread, cheese, stews,
sausage, and porridge. The popinae were known as places for the plebeians of the
lower classes of Roman society to socialize. While some were confined to one
standing room only, others had tables and stools and a few even had couches.[8][9]

Another early forerunner of the restaurant was the inn. Throughout the ancient
world, inns were set up alongside roads to cater to people travelling between
cities, offering lodging and food. Meals were typically served at a common table to
guests. However, there were no menus or options to choose from.[10]

Early eating establishments recognizable as restaurants in the modern sense emerged

in Song dynasty China during the 11th and 12th centuries. In large cities, such as
Kaifeng and Hangzhou, food catering establishments catered to merchants who
travelled between cities. Probably growing out of tea houses and taverns which
catered to travellers, Kaifeng's restaurants blossomed into an industry that
catered to locals as well as people from other regions of China. As travelling
merchants were not used to the local cuisine of other cities, these establishments
were set up to serve dishes familiar to merchants from other parts of China. Such
establishments were located in the entertainment districts of major cities,
alongside hotels, bars, and brothels. The larger and more opulent of these
establishments offered a dining experience similar to modern restaurant culture.
According to a Chinese manuscript from 1126, patrons of one such establishment were
greeted with a selection of pre-plated demonstration dishes which represented food
options. Customers had their orders taken by a team of waiters who would then sing
their orders to the kitchen and distribute the dishes in the exact order in which
they had been ordered.[11][12]

There is a direct correlation between the growth of the restaurant businesses and
institutions of theatrical stage drama, gambling and prostitution which served the
burgeoning merchant middle class during the Song dynasty.[13] Restaurants catered
to different styles of cuisine, price brackets, and religious requirements. Even
within a single restaurant choices were available, and people ordered the entrée
from written menus.[12] An account from 1275 writes of Hangzhou, the capital city
for the last half of the dynasty:

The people of Hangzhou are very difficult to please. Hundreds of orders are given
on all sides: this person wants something hot, another something cold, a third
something tepid, a fourth something chilled. one wants cooked food, another raw,
another chooses roast, another grill.[14]

The restaurants in Hangzhou also catered to many northern Chinese who had fled
south from Kaifeng during the Jurchen invasion of the 1120s, while it is also known
that many restaurants were run by families formerly from Kaifeng.[15]

In Japan, a restaurant culture emerged in the 16th century out of local tea houses.
Tea house owner Sen no Rikyū created the kaiseki multi-course meal tradition, and
his grandsons expanded the tradition to include speciality dishes and cutlery which
matched the aesthetic of the food.[11]

In Europe, inns which offered food and lodgings and taverns where food was served
alongside alcoholic beverages were common into the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
They typically served common fare of the type normally available to peasants. In
Spain, such establishments were called bodegas and served tapas. In England, they
typically served foods such as sausage and shepherd's pie.[10] Cookshops were also
common in European cities during the Middle Ages. These were establishments which
served dishes such as pies, puddings, sauces, fish, and baked meats. Customers
could either buy a ready-made meal or bring their own meat to be cooked. As only
large private homes had the means for cooking, the inhabitants of European cities
were significantly reliant on them.[16]

France in particular has a rich history with the development of various forms of
inns and eateries, eventually to form many of the now-ubiquitous elements of the
modern restaurant. As far back as the thirteenth century, French inns served a
variety of food — bread, cheese, bacon, roasts, soups, and stews - usually eaten at
a common table. Parisians could buy what was essentially take-out food from
rôtisseurs, who prepared roasted meat dishes, and pastry-cooks, who could prepare
meat pies and often more elaborate dishes. Municipal statutes stated that the
official prices per item were to be posted at the entrance; this was the first
official mention of menus.[17]

Taverns also served food, as did cabarets. A cabaret, however, unlike a tavern,
served food at tables with tablecloths, provided drinks with the meal, and charged
by the customers' choice of dish, rather than by the pot.[18] Cabarets were reputed
to serve better food than taverns and a few, such as the Petit Maure, became well
known. A few cabarets had musicians or singing, but most, until the late 19th
century, were simply convivial eating places.[17][18] The first café opened in
Paris in 1672 at the Saint-Germain fair. By 1723 there were nearly four hundred
cafés in Paris, but their menu was limited to simpler dishes or confectionaries,
such as coffee, tea, chocolate (the drink; chocolate in solid state was invented
only in the 19th century), ice creams, pastries, and liqueurs.[18]

At the end of the 16th century, the guild of cook-caterers (later known as
"traiteurs") was given its own legal status. The traiteurs dominated sophisticated
food service, delivering or preparing meals for the wealthy at their residences.
Taverns and cabarets were limited to serving little more than roast or grilled
meats. Towards the end of the seventeenth century, both inns and then traiteurs
began to offer "host's tables" (tables d'hôte), where one paid a set price to sit
at a large table with other guests and eat a fixed menu meal.[17]

Modern format
The earliest modern-format "restaurants" to use that word in Paris were the
establishments which served bouillon, a broth made of meat and egg which was said
to restore health and vigour. The first restaurant of this kind was opened in 1765
or 1766 by Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau on rue des Poulies, now part of the Rue de
Louvre.[19] The name of the owner is sometimes given as Boulanger.[20] Unlike
earlier eating places, it was elegantly decorated, and besides meat broth offered a
menu of several other "restorative" dishes, including macaroni. Chantoiseau and
other chefs took the title "traiteurs-restaurateurs".[20] While not the first
establishment where one could order food, or even soups, it is thought to be the
first to offer a menu of available choices.[21]

In the Western world, the concept of a restaurant as a public venue where waiting
staff serve patrons food from a fixed menu is a relatively recent one, dating from
the late 18th century.[22]

In June 1786, the Provost of Paris issued a decree giving the new kind of eating
establishment official status, authorising restaurateurs to receive clients and to
offer them meals until eleven in the evening in winter and midnight in summer.[20]
Ambitious cooks from noble households began to open more elaborate eating places.
The first luxury restaurant in Paris, the La Grande Taverne de Londres, was opened
at the Palais-Royal at the beginning of 1786 by Antoine Beauvilliers, the former
chef of the Count of Provence. It had mahogany tables, linen tablecloths,
chandeliers, well-dressed and trained waiters, a long wine list and an extensive
menu of elaborately prepared and presented dishes.[20] Dishes on its menu included
partridge with cabbage, veal chops grilled in buttered paper, and duck with
turnips.[23] This is considered to have been the "first real restaurant".[24][21]
According to Brillat-Savarin, the restaurant was "the first to combine the four
essentials of an elegant room, smart waiters, a choice cellar, and superior
cooking".[25][26][27]

The aftermath of the French Revolution saw the number of restaurants skyrocket. Due
to the mass emigration of nobles from the country, many cooks from aristocratic
households who were left unemployed went on to found new restaurants.[28][10] One
restaurant was started in 1791 by Méot, the former chef of the Duke of Orleans,
which offered a wine list with twenty-two choices of red wine and twenty-seven of
white wine. By the end of the century there were a collection of luxury restaurants
at the Grand-Palais: Huré, the Couvert espagnol; Février; the Grotte flamande;
Véry, Masse and the Café de Chartres (still open, now Le Grand Véfour).[20]

In 1802 the term was applied to an establishment where restorative foods, such as
bouillon, a meat broth, were served ("établissement de restaurateur").[29] The
closure of culinary guilds and societal changes resulting from the Industrial
Revolution contributed significantly to the increased prevalence of restaurants in
Europe.[30]

Types of restaurants
Main article: Types of restaurants

The kitchen of Pétrus, in Central London

Pizza truck in Midtown

Restaurant Basilica at the shoreline of Kellosaarenranta by night in Ruoholahti,

Helsinki, Finland
In the 1980s and 1990s the restaurant industry was revolutionized by entrepreneurs,
including Terence Conran, Christopher Bodker, Alan Yau, and Oliver Peyton.[31]
Today restaurants are classified or distinguished in many different ways. The
primary factor is usually the food itself e.g. vegetarianism, seafood, or steak.
The origin of the cuisine may be also used to categorize restaurants e.g. Italian,
Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, French, Mexican, or Thai. The style of offering
has become an important distinguishing factor in the restaurant industry e.g.
tapas, sushi, buffet, or yum cha. Beyond this, restaurants may differentiate
themselves on factors including speed of service e.g. fast food. Theme restaurants
and automated restaurant have become big players in the restaurant industry and may
include fine dining, casual dining, contemporary casual, family style, fast casual,
coffeehouse, concession stands, food trucks, pop-up restaurants, and ghost
restaurants.

Restaurants range from inexpensive and informal lunching or dining places catering
to people working nearby, with modest food served in simple settings at low prices,
to expensive establishments serving refined food and fine wines in a formal
setting. In the former case, customers usually wear casual clothing. In the latter
case, depending on culture and local traditions, customers might wear semi-casual,
semi-formal or formal wear. Typically, at mid- to high-priced restaurants,
customers sit at tables, their orders are taken by a waiter, who brings the food
when it is ready. After eating, the customers then pay the bill. In some
restaurants, such as those in workplaces, there are usually no waiters; the
customers use trays, on which they place cold items that they select from a
refrigerated container and hot items which they request from cooks, and then they
pay a cashier before they sit down. Another restaurant approach which uses few
waiters is the buffet restaurant. Customers serve food onto their own plates and
then pay at the end of the meal. Buffet restaurants typically still have waiters to
serve drinks and alcoholic beverages. Fast food establishments are also considered
to be restaurants. In addition, food trucks are another popular option for people
who want quick food service.

Tourists around the world can enjoy dining services on railway dining cars and
cruise ship dining rooms, which are essentially travelling restaurants. Many
railway dining services also cater to the needs of travellers by providing railway
refreshment rooms at railway stations. Many cruise ships provide a variety of
dining experiences including a main restaurant, satellite restaurants, room
service, speciality restaurants, cafes, bars and buffets to name a few. Some
restaurants on these cruise ships require table reservations and operate specific
dress codes.[32]

Restaurant staff
A restaurant's proprietor is called a restaurateur, this derives from the French
verb restaurer, meaning "to restore". Professional cooks are called chefs, with
there being various finer distinctions (e.g. sous-chef, chef de partie). Most
restaurants (other than fast food restaurants and cafeterias) will have various
waiting staff to serve food, beverages and alcoholic drinks, including busboys who
remove used dishes and cutlery. In finer restaurants, this may include a host or
hostess, a maître d'hôtel to welcome customers and seat them, and a sommelier or
wine waiter to help patrons select wines. A new route to becoming a restaurateur,
rather than working one's way up through the stages, is to operate a food truck.
Once a sufficient following has been obtained, a permanent restaurant site can be
opened. This trend has become common in the UK and the US.