Restaurants—international hosts of fragrant cuisines and hospitable experiences that make you feel like a king in a palace. Restaurants have become a solace from the microwave meal or the trouble it takes to prepare a dish yourself. Whether it’s a fat, greasy, beefy burger from the corner or the finest sliver of A5 wagyu in Paris, you can always expect the best. But at this point, we barely bat an eye at the idea of spending pennies to thousands of dollars at these establishments. Why is that?

Well, it appears that the concept of restaurants has been ingrained in humanity since the beginning of civilization. The earliest account of what we consider as a “restaurant” was the thermopolium of ancient Rome. The thermopolium was shaped like what we would consider a bar in that passersby would sit at a bar with bowls embedded inside the stone countertop. The menus were painted in vivid frescoes on the wall, much like that of a food truck. A variety of dishes would be served, including game meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, alcohol, and desserts. Evidently, thermopolia were extremely popular, as dozens were found at the ruins of Pompeii and even more in Herculaneum, Ostia, and Rome, making them practically the ancient equivalent of McDonald’s.

A few centuries later, a similar yet separate concept appeared in China during the Song Dynasty. Two cities, Kaifeng and Hangzhou, were highly popular destinations for merchants who would travel to trade between the two. However, these cities were starkly different in their cultures. This resulted in the creation of a show dinner that served meals typical of the opposite city: southern food in Kaifeng, and northern food in Hangzhou. What makes these show dinners unique is the fact that waiters would sing out the orders and deliver the dishes in the same song. Typically, these restaurants were packed, and waiters would end up balancing dozens of dishes that were made by the massive team of professionally trained chefs in a matter of seconds. This style of restauranting was extremely popular and lasted up until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912.

However, it is interesting to note that these restaurants developed away from European influence, and vice-versa. Restauranting finally evolved into its modern form in Paris, France. In fact, the word “restaurant” derives from the French word restaurer which means “to restore,” as restaurants were originally apothecaries. These apothecaries exclusively sold a broth called bouillon which was thought to “restore” one to full strength. Aristocrats were the main demographic for bouillon and thus allowed for the creation of a fanciful dining experience, despite how dull these meals would be. However, during the French Revolution, the aristocracy was infamously overthrown and executed. While putting these bouillon shops out of work, this also left armies of servants out of work too—including private chefs. Private chefs flocked to bouillon shops trying to find work. In the process, it sparked a new idea: what if the peasant folk could be wined and dined like a king? Now average people could eat the exquisite flavors of Versailles on a dime.

With a wide selection of foods to choose from, a waiter to tend to their every need, and the fine lap of luxury to sit upon, the refined restauranting concept naturally skyrocketed into popularity. It spread to other parts of Europe, particularly England, which then proliferated into Asia and the New World. Since then, restaurants have become a staple of our modern culture. And where would we be without them? It allows us to try flavors we might otherwise never have and be exposed to cultures through the love language of the human race—food.

Information retrieved from “When Did People Start Eating in Restaurants?” (2020) on History, Foodtimeline.org, and Lorena Cannizzaro of Archeo Travelers (2020).