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ja:レストラン nl:Restaurant sv:Restaurang
A typical restaurant in uptown Manhattan
A restaurant is an establishment that serves prepared food and beverages to be consumed on the premises. The term covers a multiplicity of venues and a diversity of cuisine styles.
Restaurants are sometimes a feature of a larger complex, typically a hotel, where the dining amenities are provided for the convenience of the residents and, of course, for the hotel to maximise their potential revenue. Such restaurants are often also open to non-residents.
Kinds of restaurants
There exist many possible organizations for restaurants, depending on local customs and the formality and price of the meal:
- one sits down, a waiter comes to take one's order, and later brings the food; one pays after finishing eating
- 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.
Depending on local customs and the establishment, restaurants may or may not serve alcoholic beverages. Often, laws governing the sale of alcohol prohibit restaurants from selling alcohol without a meal (which would be an activity for a bar, often with more severe restrictions).
Restaurants range from unpretentious lunching or dining places catering to people working nearby, with simple food served in simple settings at low prices, to expensive establishments serving refined food and wines in a formal setting. In the former case, clients are not expected to wear formal attire. In the latter case, clients generally wear formal clothing, though this varies between cultures.
Restaurants often specialize in certain types of food. For example, there are seafood restaurants, vegetarian restaurants or ethnic restaurants. Generally speaking, restaurants selling "local" food are simply called restaurants, while restaurants selling food of foreign origin are called accordingly (Chinese restaurant, French restaurant, etc...).
Restaurant guides
Many guides have been written over the years describing the best (and often the worst) places to eat. One of the most famous of these, in Western Europe, is the Michelin series of guides which accord from 1 to 3 stars to restaurants they perceive to be of high culinary merit. Restaurants with stars in the Michelin guide are formal, expensive establishments; the more stars, the higher the prices, in general. In the United States, the Zagat Survey rates restaurants.
Specific kinds
In France, a brasserie is a café doubling as a restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves single dishes and other meals. A bistro is a familiar name for a café serving simple meals in an unpretentious settings, at moderate prices, especially in Paris; because of their popularity, bistros have become increasingly tourist spots.
A special restaurant is the dining car in old-style long-distance trains. To passengers travelling long distances it offers more luxury than eating brought-along food in the train, while it saves time compared with eating in towns along the way. Also, compared with other restaurants, the ever changing views of the countryside enhance the pleasure of the dinner. Dining cars have become increasingly rarer, often replaced by bar cars selling some snacks and pre-packaged meals.
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