Where does the word restaurant come from?
When we think of restaurants today, we focus on their social aspects. It’s a place to grab a business lunch, catch up with friends or go on a date. Unless you’re going to an upscale one, the food itself might be an afterthought following its ambience, location and wait time during Sunday afternoon. In fact, it’s that healing effect many people seek on a languid Sunday that resonates mostly closely with the word’s origin. So as we eagerly embrace their resurrection, let’s learn about this word that’s so staple to our vocabulary.
The first restaurant, not surprisingly, was opened in Paris a little over 250 years ago. The enterprising man who did so focused on serving what he called “bouillons restaurants”; a “bouillon,” to recall, is a broth made by stewing meat, fish, or vegetables in water. “Ever since the Middle Ages the word restaurant had been used to describe any of a variety of rich bouillons made with chicken, beef, roots of one sort or another, onions, herbs” and various other flavorings; the word originated from French “restaurer” meaning “to restore or refresh.”
Up until then, the only establishments that served food were inns catering to travelers. Outside of these, only cafes and taverns had taken off in France, focusing on coffee and alcohol respectively. Needless to say, the concept was well-received (if cooking seems laborious today, study what the process looked like a couple centuries ago).
When the concept was imported in the U.S., it took on regional names including “eating house” in New York City and “victualing house” in other areas. According to one simplistic account, “restaurant” stuck simply because it “sounds more appetizing.”
Here’s to everyone being able to eventually return to their favorite restaurants and find restoration after months of brave cooking.
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