What is the difference between bistro and cafe

Is that a cafe or a bistro? Cafes : The word "cafe" literally means coffee and is French in origin. Such places often serve a limited menu of snacks such as baked goods or finger sandwiches. A cafe is usually small, intimate, and a place where you find tables of people engaged in conversations.

A bistro can be loosely compared to an American fast-food restaurant. Menu items are based around types of foods such as stews, soups, and other slow-cooked foods that can be prepared in large quantities and kept over time. Like the cafe, bistros are usually small, intimate places, and bistro service may feature wine or beer for consumption.

Brasseries or Trattorias : These establishments can be compared to the American version of the brewery or European pub. They serve cheaper and simple menus. Thus, this is the main difference between cafe and restaurant. She is currently reading for a Masters degree in English. Her areas of interests include literature, language, linguistics and also food. View all posts. Leave a Reply Cancel reply.

They typically are not for eating full meals , instead serving foods like pastries, cookies, and cold and hot sandwiches. They usually offer food for breakfast and options for lunch, but would probably not be suitable for dinner. They tend to be smaller and are a place for informal meetings and getting coffee. Examples of cafes include brands like Starbucks and other coffee shops and local bakeries that have a place for you to sit down and enjoy a snack!

The term restaurant is difficult to define because many places to eat can be considered restaurants. Restaurants has two uses:. For the second definition, restaurants can also be broken down into family-style or formal, and may be a bar and grill or steakhouse.

They tend to have very relaxed atmospheres and be more reasonably priced. The menu is nothing very fancy, but can provide a nice night out with the entire family. Formal restaurants are those that are often used for important business meetings or dates. The prices for the options may be slightly higher than other restaurants, or they may be extravagantly high and serve exotic foods including escargot and caviar.

They may have tables for several people to dine together, but they more often have tables for groups of two. Examples include The Melting Pot. Bar and Grills are a type of restaurant that is more closely related to family-style. They have two distinct sections, one of which is the bar. At the center of the restaurant, the bar is where adults can go to buy alcoholic drinks and usually watch different sports games. Surrounding the bar are various tables for families, who can order different foods that are made on a grill.

These can include fajitas, pasta, seafood, and hamburgers. Modern-day bistros are usually defined by the food that they serve, usually serving some kind of a mix between continental favourites and local delicacies. Most bistros tend to serve alcohol along with their food and tend to be open through the course of the day. This gave rise to the idea that customers wanted their food quickly and often just wanted to have a quick bite before they go on out for the rest of their day.

Both are establishments where people go to have a meal, and both these places can often serve the same kind of food. However, there are a number of things that can distinguish the two from each other.

The first difference between the two is with regard to the very definition of the word itself. A bistro is defined as a small and inexpensive place where people can go to eat, whereas a restaurant is defined as a place where people can go to be served food and drinks in exchange for money.