restaurant

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restaurant [noun]
US /ˈres.tə.rɑːnt/ 
UK /ˈres.trɒnt/ 
Example: 

We went out to a restaurant to celebrate. 

Oxford Essential Dictionary

restaurant

 noun
a place where you buy a meal and eat it

word building
You usually go to a restaurant for a special meal. You can get a quick or cheap meal at a cafe, a sandwich bar, a takeaway or a fast-food restaurant.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

restaurant

restaurant S2 W2 /ˈrestərɒnt $ -rənt, -rɑːnt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: restaurer 'to restore', from Latin restaurare; ⇨ restore]
a place where you can buy and eat a meal
Chinese/French/Mexican etc restaurant
We went to a little Italian restaurant near Leicester Square.
He took her out for a five-course dinner in a fancy restaurant.
The company runs a chain of restaurants.
A new restaurant has just opened across the road.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
go to a restaurant We went to a restaurant in the King’s Road.
take somebody to a restaurant He’s taking me to a Japanese restaurant in town.
eat at/in a restaurant (also dine at/in a restaurant formal) Have you eaten in this restaurant before?
a restaurant serves something The restaurant serves lunch from midday until two thirty.
a restaurant specializes in something Restaurants near the waterfront tend to specialize in seafood.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + restaurant
a Chinese/Italian etc restaurant We booked a table at our local Italian restaurant.
a fast-food restaurant (=where food that can be prepared quickly is served or available to take away) The High Street is full of fast-food restaurants.
a fish/seafood restaurant I went to a seafood restaurant by the pier for lunch.
an expensive/cheap restaurant He took her out to an expensive restaurant.
a trendy/fashionable restaurant (=one that is influenced by the most fashionable styles and ideas) The hotel is surrounded by elegant boutiques and trendy restaurants.
a fancy restaurant informal (=expensive and fashionable) In some fancy restaurants, the chefs decorate the salads with flowers.
a posh restaurant British English informal (=where richer people go) They all earn huge salaries and eat at posh restaurants.
an upscale restaurant American English (=where richer people go) It's interesting that rabbit has become so popular at upscale restaurants.
■ restaurant + NOUN
a restaurant chain (=one that is owned or managed by the same company or person) Café Rouge is part of a large restaurant chain.
a restaurant owner/manager He worked as a restaurant manager at Mario's Pizzas for 10 years.
restaurant meals There is a choice of bar snacks or restaurant meals.
• • •
THESAURUS
cafe/coffee shop a place where you can get coffee and other non-alcoholic drinks, cakes, and small meals
fast food restaurant one where you can get meals such as hamburgers, french fries etc
self-service restaurant one where you collect the food yourself
diner American English a restaurant where you can eat cheap and simple food
bistro a small restaurant or bar, especially one serving French-style food
cafeteria (also canteen British English) a place at work or school where you can collect and eat meals

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

restaurant

 

res·taur·ant [restaurant restaurants]   [ˈrestrɒnt]    [ˈrestrɑːnt]    [ˈrestərɑːnt]  noun
a place where you can buy and eat a meal
an Italian restaurant
We had a meal in a restaurant.
We went out to a restaurant to celebrate.
a restaurant owner
a self-service restaurant
compare  cafe  
Word Origin:
early 19th cent.: from French, from restaurer ‘provide food for’ (literally ‘restore to a former state’).  
Collocations:
Restaurants
Eating out
eat (lunch/dinner)/dine/meet at/in a restaurant
go (out)/take sb (out) for lunch/dinner/a meal
have a meal with sb
make/have a reservation (in/under the name of Yamada)
reserve/ (especially BrE) book a table for six
ask for/request a table for two/a table by the window
In the restaurant
wait to be seated
show sb to their table
sit in the corner/by the window/at the bar/at the counter
hand sb/give sb the menu/wine list
open/read/study/peruse the menu
the restaurant has a three-course set menu/a children's menu/an extensive wine list
taste/sample/try the wine
the waiter takes your order
order/choose/have the soup of the day/one of the specials/the house (BrE) speciality/(especially NAmE) specialty
serve/finish the first course/the starter/the main course/dessert/coffee
complain about the food/the service/your meal
enjoy your meal
Paying
pay/ask for (especially BrE) the bill/(NAmE) the check
pay for/treat sb to dinner/lunch/the meal
service is (not) included
give sb/leave (sb) a tip 
Example Bank:
If you're too tired to cook, let's go to a restaurant.
It operates 79 restaurants in 26 states.
Restaurant workers are often badly paid.
She decided to open her own restaurant.
She eats at the hotel restaurant when she travels on business.
She frequented the restaurant on almost a weekly basis.
She runs a family fish restaurant on the seafront.
The hotel restaurant serves a buffet breakfast.
They argued the whole time we were at the restaurant.
They walked out of the restaurant without paying.
We don't do a lot of restaurant dining.
We had a quick meal in a small local restaurant.
We would recommend this restaurant to anyone.
We're going to try this Italian restaurant that just opened.
a little restaurant I know in Paris
a restaurant offering a wide variety of local specialities
an Asian restaurant specializing in Thai cuisine
hygiene standards in the restaurant industry
some of the hottest restaurants in New York
the country's most successful chain restaurants
the few local shops and restaurants catering to summer visitors

the increasing cost of restaurant meals

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
 

restaurant / ˈres.trɒnt /   / -tə.rɑːnt / noun [ C ]

A1 a place where meals are prepared and served to customers

Word partners for restaurant

go to a restaurant • manage / own / run a restaurant • a restaurant offers / serves / specializes in sth • at / in a restaurant • a cheap / expensive / good / posh restaurant • a restaurant manager / owner / worker • the restaurant business / industry

© Cambridge University Press 2013

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

restaurant

[re̱stərɒnt, AM -rənt]
 ♦♦
 restaurants
 N-COUNT

 A restaurant is a place where you can eat a meal and pay for it. In restaurants your food is usually served to you at your table by a waiter or waitress.
  They ate in an Italian restaurant in Forth Street...
  We had dinner in the hotel's restaurant.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

restaurant

 

res·tau·rant /ˈrɛstəˌrɑːnt/ noun, pl -rants [count] : a place where you can buy and eat a meal
• a Mexican/Italian/Chinese restaurant [=a restaurant that serves Mexican/Italian/Chinese food]