Types of restaurants
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are various types of restaurants. Restaurants can be classified by whether they provide places to sit, whether they are served by wait-staff and the quality of the service, the formality of the atmosphere, and the price range.
Historically, restaurant referred only to places which provide tables where one sits down to eat the meal, typically served by wait-staff. Following the rise of fast food and take-out restaurants, a retronym for the older "standard" restaurant was created, sit-down restaurant. Most commonly, "sit-down restaurant" refers to a casual dining restaurant with table service rather than a fast-food restaurant where one orders food at a counter. Sit-down restaurants are often further categorized as "family-style" or "formal".
In British English, the term "restaurant" almost always means an eating establishment with table service, so the "sit-down" qualification is not usually necessary. Fast food and takeaway (takeout) outlets with counter service are not normally referred to as restaurants.
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[edit] Fast food restaurants
In the U.S., fast-food restaurants and take-outs have become so widespread that the traditional standard type is now sometimes referred to as a sit-down restaurant (a retronym). A common feature of fast food restaurants is a lack of cutlery or crockery, the customer is expected to eat the food directly from the disposable container it was served in using their hands.
There are various types of fast-food restaurant:
- one collects food from a counter and pays, then sits down and starts eating (self-service restaurant); sub-varieties:
- one collects ready portions
- one serves oneself from containers
- one is served at the counter
- a special procedure is that one first pays at the cash desk, collects a ticket and then goes to the food counter, where one gets the food in exchange for the ticket
- one orders at the counter; after preparation the food is brought to one's table; paying may be on ordering or after eating.
[edit] Family style
"Family style", or sometimes called table d’hôte ("host's table") in France, are restaurants that have a fixed menu and fixed price, usually with diners seated at a communal table such as on bench seats. More common in the 19th and early 20th century, they can still be found in rural communities, or as theme restaurants, or in vacation lodges. There is no menu to choose from, rather food is brought out in courses, usually with communal serving dishes, like at a family meal. Typical examples can include crab-houses, German-style beer halls, BBQ restaurants, hunting/fishing lodges. Some normal restaurants will mix elements of family style, such as a table salad or bread bowl that is included as part of the meal.
[edit] Casual dining
A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere. Except for buffet-style restaurants, casual dining restaurants typically provide table service. Casual dining comprises a market segment between fast food establishments and fine dining restaurants (see also Fast casual restaurant). In the United States, the bill per diner at a casual dining restaurant usually averages $10 - $30 for an evening meal and slightly less for lunch, as of 2004.
[edit] Casual Dining versus Family Restaurant
Some casual dining restaurants serve beer or wine with meals or include a bar where alcoholic beverages are served, but they are generally distinct from drinking establishments. A casual dining restaurant that does not serve alcohol is often referred to as a family restaurant.
[edit] Fine Dining
Fine dining is a phrase used to describe restaurants that creates serious dining experience. The experience can start with the location and the view. The interior of such restaurants is often purported to be quite elegant and designed in accordance with the restaurant's concept. Service attempts to be impeccable, with chefs and service crew typically hailing from the best culinary schools.
Restaurants fitting the fine dining label are normally highly rated; in the four star range and will provide more nuanced service and more expensive food than a standard sit-down restaurant.
[edit] Fast casual dining
A fast casual restaurant is a type of restaurant which is similar to a fast-food restaurant in that it does not offer full table service, but promises a somewhat higher quality of food and atmosphere. It is a growing concept to fill the space between fast-food and casual dining. The typical cost per guest is in the $6-$10 range.
The archetype for fast casual is Starbucks - the atmosphere that Starbucks created was a dramatic change to the traditional coffee shop or diner. Counter service accompanied by handmade food (often visible via an open kitchen) is typical. Alchohol, verboten in fast-food restaurants, may be served. Dishes like steak, which require experience on the part of the cook to get right, may be offered. The menu is usually limited to an extended over-counter display, and options in the way the food is prepared are emphasized. Health-conscious items have a larger than normal portion of the menu, and chains like Chipotle emphasize high quality ingredients like free range chicken and freshly made salsas; Overall, the quality of the food is presented as much higher than conventional factory-made fast food. While full table service is not offered, conveniences like non-plastic utensils and plates are common.
The moderate volume music and nontraditional decor pioneered by Starbucks are fully embraced by fast casual restaurants - approximately half of the customers eat in the establishment, compared with a quarter of fast food customers.
Technomic Information Services created the term "fast casual restaurants" to describe restaurants with the following classifications:
- Limited-service or self-service format
- Average check between $6 and $9
- Made-to-order food with more complex flavors than fast food restaurants
- Upscale or highly developed decor
There is a Fast Casual Magazine, launched by NetWorld Alliance and published by Paul Barron, who coined the term "Fast Casual" in the late 1990s[1].
[edit] Brasserie, bistro, pub
In France, a brasserie is a café doubling as a restaurant and serving single dishes and other meals in a relaxed setting. A bistro is a familiar name for a café serving moderately priced simple meals in an unpretentious setting, especially in Paris; bistros have become increasingly popular with tourists. Mainly in the UK and other countries influenced by British culture, the pub (short for public house) today serves a similar dual menu, offering beer and other alcohol along with basic food fare. Traditionally, pubs were primarily drinking establishments, whereas the modern pub business relies on food as well, to the point where so-called gastropubs are known for their high-quality "pub food".
[edit] Dining car
A dining car (British English: restaurant car) or diner (but not "diner car," except in uninformed parlance) is a railroad passenger car that serves meals on a train in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other types of railroad food-service cars that do not duplicate the full-service restaurant experience, principally cars of various types in which one purchases food from a walk-up counter to be consumed either within the car or elsewhere in the train. While dining cars are less common today than they were in the past, they still play a significant role in passenger railroading, especially on medium- and long-distance trains.
