Most of these establishments can be considered subtypes of fast casual drinking restaurants or casual dining restaurants.
Brasserie and bistro A
brasserie in the United States has evolved from the original French idea of a type of restaurant serving moderately priced hearty meals—French-inspired "comfort foods"—in an unpretentious setting. In the United States,
bistros usually have more refined decor, fewer tables, finer foods and higher prices. When used in
English, the term
bistro usually indicates a
continental menu.
Buffet and smörgåsbord Buffets and
smörgåsbord offer patrons a selection of food at a fixed price. Food is served on trays around bars, from which customers with plates serve themselves. The selection can be modest or very extensive, with the more elaborate menus divided into categories such as salad, soup, appetizers, hot entrées, cold entrées, and dessert and fruit. Often the range of cuisine can be eclectic, while other restaurants focus on a specific type, such as home-cooking, Chinese, Indian, or Swedish. The role of the waiter or waitress in this case is relegated to removal of finished plates, and sometimes the ordering and refill of drinks. In Italy, a kind of semi-buffet is featured in either a tavola calda, serving hot foods, and a tavola fredda, which serves cold food. Either can be found in bars and cafes at meal times or in dedicated sites, sometimes with seating and service at a counter.
Cafés and diners British cafes and American
diners are informal eateries offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches or rolls.
Coffeehouses or cafés are not full restaurants, because they primarily serve and derive the majority of their revenue from hot drinks. Many cafes are open at breakfast time and will serve
full hot breakfasts all day. In some areas, cafes offer outdoor seating. The word comes from the French
café.
Cafeteria A
cafeteria is a restaurant serving ready-cooked food arranged behind a food-serving counter. There is no table service. Typically, a patron takes a tray and pushes it along a track in front of the counter. Depending on the establishment, servings may be ordered from attendants, selected as ready-made portions already on plates, or self-serve their own portions. Cafeterias are common in
hospitals,
prisons,
corporations and educational institutions like
schools and
colleges. In Italy it is very common and known as "mensa aziendale". In the UK, a cafeteria (also known as a
self-service restaurant) may also offer a large selection of hot food. Cafeterias have a wider variety of prepared foods: for example, it may have a variety of roasts (e.g. beef, ham, turkey) ready for carving by a server, as well as other main courses, rather than simple offerings of hamburgers or fried chicken.
Coffee house Coffeehouses are casual restaurants without table service that emphasize
coffee and other beverages; typically a limited selection of cold foods such as pastries and perhaps sandwiches are offered as well. Their distinguishing feature is that they allow patrons to relax and socialize on their premises for long periods of time without pressure to leave promptly after eating, and are thus frequently chosen as sites for meetings.
Destination restaurant A
destination restaurant is one that has a strong enough appeal to draw customers from beyond its community. The idea of a destination restaurant originated in France with the
Michelin Guide, which rated restaurants as to whether they were worth a special trip or a detour while one travelled by car in France.
Greasy spoon A
greasy spoon is a colloquial term for a
British cafe,
American diner or other small eatery which tends to serve food at a low cost. Generally fried foods are served, and in the United Kingdom, such places frequently serve all-day breakfasts and strong
builder's tea. They are commonly found in working-class areas.
Tabletop cooking Customers are seated as in a casual dining setting. Food items are prepared by the establishments for cooking on embedded
gas stoves,
induction cookers, or
charcoal grills; the customer has control over the heating power of the appliance.
Mongolian barbecue Despite the name, the
Mongolian barbecue form of restaurant is not Mongolian, rather is derived from Taiwan and inspired by Japanese
teppanyaki. Customers create a bowl from an assortment of ingredients displayed in a buffet fashion. The bowl is then handed to the cook, who stir-fries the food on a large griddle and returns it on a plate or in a bowl to the consumer.
Pub Traditionally, pubs were primarily drinking establishments with food in a secondary position, whereas many modern pubs rely on food as well, to the point where
gastropubs are often known for their high-quality fine dining style
pub food and concomitantly high prices. A typical pub has a large selection of beers and ales on tap.
Teppanyaki-style Many restaurants specializing in Japanese cuisine offer the
teppanyaki grill, which is more accurately based on a type of charcoal stove that is called
shichirin in Japan. Diners, often in multiple, unrelated parties, sit around the grill while a chef prepares their food orders in front of them. Often the chef is trained in entertaining the guests with special techniques, including cracking a spinning egg in the air, forming a volcano out of differently-sized onion slices, and flipping grilled shrimp pieces into patrons' mouths, in addition to various props. Also referred to as hibachi.
Digital-only A digital or online restaurant is a type of restaurant in which there are no seats or tables, and payments are made only by
non-cash. The purpose of such restaurants is for customers to come to the place just to pick up the order. ==See also==