Types of Restaurants

Fast Food Restaurant

Fast-food restaurants emphasize speed of service.

Fast-food operations range from small-scale street vendors

with carts to franchised mega-corporations like McDonald's.

Fast casual restaurants do not offer table service,

but may offer non-disposable plates and cutlery.

The quality of food, and price point,

are higher than those of a conventional fast-food restaurant.

Family Style Restaurant

Family style restaurants are restaurants that have a fixed menu and fixed price,

usually with diners seated at a communal table such as on bench seats.

True to their name, these restaurants tend to be single-family businesses.

Casual Dining Restaurant

A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere.

Except for buffet-style restaurants, casual dining restaurants typically provide table service.

Casual dining comprises a market segment between fast food establishments and fine dining restaurants.

Casual dining restaurants usually have a full bar with separate bar staff,

a larger beer menu and a limited wine menu.

They are frequently, but not necessarily, part of a wider chain, particularly in the United States.

Fine Dining Restaurant

Fine dining restaurants are full service restaurants with specific dedicated meal courses.

Décor of such restaurants feature higher quality materials

with an eye towards the "atmosphere" desired by the restaurateur.

The wait staff is usually highly trained and often wears more formal attire.

Fine-dining restaurants are almost always small businesses and

are generally either single-location operations or have just a few locations.

Food portions are smaller but more visually appealing.

Cafe

Cafés and coffee shops are informal restaurants offering

a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches.

Many cafés are open for breakfast and serve full hot breakfasts.

In some areas cafés offer outdoor seating.

The major difference with a café and most other casual dining establishments is

how the guest orders and pays.

A café can offer table service, but many times the guest orders at the front,

and the food is brought out to the table.

Then, while at most casual dining restaurants the guest pays with the server,

at a café the guest most often times pays with a single cashier.

Cafeterias

A cafeteria is a restaurant serving mostly ready-cooked food arranged behind a food-serving counter.

There is little or no table service.

Typically, a patron takes a tray and pushes it along a track in front of the counter.

Depending on the establishment, servings may be ordered from attendants,

selected as ready-made portions already on plates, or self-serve their own portions.

In the UK, a cafeteria may also offer a large selection of

hot food similar to the American fast casual restaurant,

 and the use of the term cafeteria is deprecated in favour of self-service restaurant.