Restaurant Vs Café: What's The Actual Difference?

Chances are, if you invite someone explicitly to a "restaurant" that turns out to be a café, they will be aghast. However, if you invite that same person to a "café" that's clearly a restaurant, they'll barely notice (as long as they can get some coffee). Dramatics aside, most folks will react normally in these scenarios. A restaurant is an establishment where people can buy cooked meals and drinks, and many cafés fit this definition — often with an emphasis on serving coffee and tea. That being said, there are physical differences that make particular dining destinations exactly what they are.

For example, you can probably identify a steakhouse a mile away. Maybe it has a convincing sculpture of a cow suspended dozens of feet above the sidewalk — a characteristic of the oldest steakhouse in America. Perhaps you can just tell by the beef-centric menu. You might, likewise, have some expertise in what makes a restaurant a bistro versus an aesthetically similar brasserie. Diners, dives, and cafeterias may also fall under the "restaurant" banner.

Cafés, of course, have their own signifiers as well. The fact that the word "café" is so frequently preceded by "cute" is a big tell. "Cute" frequently overlaps with "petite," which cafés generally are, versus something like a sprawling, family-style chain. "Cute" and "petite" also imply "precious," which cafés can be, through darling dishware, dainty decor, and even easy listening music. The food and drink menu may also signal that you're in a café.

It is highly unlikely that you'll ever end up pounding boilermakers in a café. While plenty will serve wine or even have a full bar, cafés are more for coffee and tea — maybe the occasional, lighter libation like a spritz. A café might have all manner of syrups to flavor even more latte varieties, but the focus isn't going to be anything like a whisky flight or a dedicated martini menu.

A café's bill of fare will skew toward the lighter side, too. It will probably serve salads and sandwiches with an emphasis on ingredients like sprouts, and it may offer simple pasta dishes. Because they're generally smaller, café kitchens just might not have the equipment required for more ambitious preparations, or the ample staff to execute them. Cafés also pointedly feel more like daytime affairs than the sexier restaurants with dim lighting that rule the night. Unless you're a laptop lingerer, you'll probably also be in and out of a café faster than more elaborate spots where table service, multiple courses, and a little bit of inebriation can make a lovely evening last even longer.