In France and the Francophone world, a brasserie is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed, upscale setting, which serves single dishes and other meals. The word 'brasserie' is also French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brewing business". A brasserie can be expected to have professional service, printed menus, and, traditionally, white linen -- unlike a bistro which may have none of these. Typically, a brasserie is open every day of the week and serves the same menu all day.
The origin of the word in all probability stems from the fact that beer was brewed on the premises rather than brought in: thus an inn would brew its own beer as well as supply food and invariably accommodation too.
In Northern France, particularly towards the Belgian border (an area traditionally redolent of brewing French style beers), there has been a welcome revival of old breweries which had been converted into restaurants and hotels, reverting to brewing their own beer as micro-brewers. The term is often used in the United Kingdom applied to small metropolitan restaurants, usually in city centres, however it generally has no connection with brewing.
"Brasserie" is French, literally, "brewery," from Middle French brasser "to brew," from Old French bracier, from Vulgar Latin braciare, of Celtic origin. Its first usage in English was in 1864.[1]