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
res‧tau‧rant 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]