# When did the restaurant become a thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 28, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-restaurant-become-a-thing/980487 "2023-02-28T16:51:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 4
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-restaurant-become-a-thing/980487/4 "2023-02-28T16:59:24Z")
ETA: Partly ninja’ed. Oh well … There have been at least a few threads on this. Here’s a fun one from 2011: > [@Did The Ancient Romans Have Restaurants?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-ancient-romans-have-restaurants/595006): > > I am aware that Roman cities had many establishments that sold prepared foods-and there were bakeries. There were also food vendors at stadiums, sports, public events. But did the Romans have fine dining establishments? Ancient Rome had plenty of good cooks-it would be strange if some of them did not set up in business to serve sit-down meals. Have the ruins of Roman eating establishments been found? Wiki has some useful citations going back to BC, but suggests mid 1700s France would be the start of something you or I would immediately recognize: > **[Restaurant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant)** > > A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. 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, tak... --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-restaurant-become-a-thing/980487)._