Restaurant vs Cafe: What’s the Difference?

A restaurant vs cafe; do you know the difference? Are they even different? Read on to find out if what you have assumed all along is the right thing.

When talking about eating or dining out, these two terms often come to mind. But have you ever thought that these two terms don’t imply the same thing? I’m certain you have!

The truth is the trend of eating out is growing by the day. Not many people have the time or desire to spend an hour or so every day preparing homemade dishes – although myself, I really do because I enjoy cooking. As such, most people visit their favorite restaurants or joints to have a meal or a bite and oftentimes call for home deliveries through apps like Doordash or Grubhub.

Interestingly, most people, even the establishments themselves, sometimes use the words “cafe” and “restaurant” interchangeably. But are they really the same, or just similar? Or are they unrelated and entirely different?

Let’s take a closer look.

What is a Restaurant?

The term restaurant has been around for quite some time and is mostly used to represent an establishment that serves food. The term comes from the French word “restaurer” meaning to restore.

It first pops up in 18th-century France, 1765, to be precise. In fact, a French chef named M. Boulanger was the first to set up a restaurant business. He started by selling a unique dish comprising soup and sheep’s feet covered with white sauce.

Another source names Mathurin Roze de Chantoiseau as the owner of that first restaurant in Paris, and that it served a wider variety of food. For instance, the establishment is said to have offered meals like buttered pasta, poultry, eggs, and semolina.

However, these two accounts agree on the year of the first establishment of a restaurant and that it was in France. From then, the trend has continually grown to what we know today – modern restaurants in every corner of every city.

Today, restaurants are everywhere in the world, and there are different types. By far, the most popular type of restaurant is fast-food. These are the Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) that also have drive-through facilities.

Next, we come across casual dining restaurants popular in large towns and cities. Casual dining restaurants can be individually owned or part of a franchise. Customers sit down and get service in a comfortable setting.

Another type of restaurant that’s becoming quite popular is the pop-up design….