Did you know that until the 18th century, you could not visit a ‘restaurant’ in France? You could only drink a restaurant.

The French in old France could restore themselves with a cup of strong and nutritious bouillon. That soup was called a restaurant, from the word restaurer, which means to restore or refresh.

In the mid-18th century, a Parisian entrepreneur had the idea to open a place where he served these strengthening soups. Because people came specifically to his establishment for such a soupe restaurante (restorative soup), over time the place itself began to be called ‘the restaurant’.

This was followed by others, and more places appeared where bouillon was sold. At a certain point, they were all called ‘restaurants’.

Just about everyone in Europe thought this was an excellent idea, and so more restaurants emerged in every country. Restaurants also appeared in the Netherlands in the 19th century. The word remained virtually unchanged in almost all European languages. What did change, however, was the menu. A cup of restorative soup is rarely found on it today.