A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers.[1] Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance and offerings, including a wide variety of cuisines and service models ranging from inexpensive fast-food restaurants and cafeterias to mid-priced family restaurants, to high-priced luxury establishments.
The word derives from the early 19th century, taken from the French word restaurer 'provide food for', literally 'restore to a former state'[2] and, being the present participle of the verb,[3] The term restaurant may have been used in 1507 as a "restorative beverage", and in correspondence in 1521 to mean 'that which restores the strength, a fortifying food or remedy'.[4]