Oh, I forgot to list “Restaurant” there.
There’s also Charcuterie.
“Bistro” is a popular word for “cafe”
A “cafe” is a bar. It serves beverages, and quite often also some simple food items : sandwiches, cooked eggs, salads…sometimes also a simple menu at lunch time. A place which stays open late, provide a pleasant ambiance, music, etc…is likely to be called a “bar” or a “bar de nuit” (“night bar”), rather than “cafe”.
A “bar a vin”, as it names implies, is specialized in wines. It offers a wide selection of wines by the glass and generally a limited choice of dishes. These became trendy, recently.
A “brasserie” (litteally “brewery”) is a cross-breeding between a cafe and a restaurant. It looks like a large cafe, but serves also complete meals, and is generally open at late hours when regular restaurants are closed. You’d typically go there when you’re hungry after a theater play or a movie. They aren’t particulary cheap, and for some reason, many of them are specialized in seafood.
A “boulangerie” is a bakery and sells bread, and a “patisserie” sells pastries. But generally you’ll find only “boulangerie-patisserie” which sell both. “Patisseries” which aren’t also “boulangeries” are rare, and “boulangeries” which aren’t also “patisseries” even more so. They generally also sell sandwiches and sometimes other simple food items to take away.
“Hotels” and “restaurants” : The translation seems rather obvious.
A “charcuterie” is also a “boucherie” (butcher’s) hence sells meat. The difference is that “charcuterie” refers more specifically to pork meat, especially prepared pork meat like sausages, ham,…A charcuterie sometimes also sells some prepared dishes to take away. The difference is mostly historical, actually. During the middle-ages, shops were strictly regulated. They couldn’t sell whatever they wanted. The butcher was only allowed to sell raw meat, and the “charcutier” only cooked meat he would have bought at the butcher’s. Often, taverns weren’t even allowed to cook the food they served, so they would have to buy it, in turn, from the “charcutier”. Though it’s not obvious even for a french speaker, "charcutier, litterally, would be the equivalent of the made-up word “cookedmeater”
I could add the “traiteur” who sells prepared dishes to take away and delicacies.
A “sandwicherie” obviously sells sandwiches (and generally some other food items) to take away.
I suppose I don’t need to translate “fast-food”
Does a chef serving haute cuisine have to wear haute couture? Or is that only in haute monde?
Haughtily Yours.