A restaurant is a place where food & beverages are sold & served to customers. There are different types of restaurants that have evolved to meet the dynamic demands of consumers. The following are some well-known types of restaurants & their special characteristics:

Bistro: it is a small restaurant that serves simple, moderately priced meals & wine. Braised meets are typical dishes that are provided in a bistro. It may not have printed menus.

Brasserie: formal restaurant which serves drinks, single dishes & other meals. The waiters are in traditional uniform of long apron & waistcoats.

Coffee shop: mainly serves snacks & beverages 24 hours a day; however it may serve all the three meals. This concept has come from the USA. A ‘cover’ is a term referring to a place setting with necessary cutlery, crockery & glassware required at the beginning of the service for one person. Though the main feature is 24-hour operation, some coffee shops may close early, depending on their location.

Specialty Restaurant: it serves specialty dishes which are its strength & contribute to the brand image. It operates during luncheon & dinner hours, between noon & 3 PM & between 7 PM & 11 PM. The ambience & décor of the restaurant reflect the theme of the specialty restaurant. The dishes of a particular region of a country or a particular set of people are also termed as ethnic cuisine.

Fine Dining Restaurant: this kind of restaurant primarily caters to the requirement of the affluent market segment which wants to experience fine dining. The restaurant may either offer dishes of one particular region or country or exotic dishes from various cuisines, wines, spirits & digestives. It opens mostly during dinner time. The ambience & décor of the restaurant will be elegant & rich. The wait staff employed is skilled & has a sound knowledge of the dishes served. The restaurant employs sommeliers to serve wines & other alcoholic beverages.

Popular Restaurant: this type of restaurant is informal, yet hygienically kept & it is located in a busy area such as bus stands, railway stations, shopping area & so on, catering to the requirements of the middle class & the customers who are in a hurry. The menu may either be displayed on a board at a prominent place or printed & laminated. It operates from 7 AM to 11 PM. The food is plated in the kitchen & carried to the table on a tray & served. The service standards are low & informal. Space is utilized to the maximum to accommodate more covers. The seat turnover is very high but the average revenue per cover is low.

During busy lunch hours, these restaurants serve business lunch, mini-lunch, & thali meals in a separate area to speed up service.

Dhaba: it is a roadside food stall found on national & state highways, mainly catering to the requirements of heavy vehicle crew. It specializes in ounjabi cuisine & tandoor cooking, serving very limited dishes, which are freshly prepared. The service is very informal & there is hardly any cutlery used. The dishes served here are inexpensive & taste like home-made food.

Fast food joint: the fast food concept was first introduced in the USA & now it has become popular around the world. It is characterized by the speed of service & the affordable price of the menu items. Changes in eating habits, non-availability of time to wait at the table & eat, increase in the number of working women, advancement in food processing technology, growth of teenage market, & so on, have contributed to the success of fast food operations. It is located in very busy area.

Rotisserie: this type of restaurant specializes in grilled or roast meat, poultry, & fish, which are prepared in front of the guests.

Barbeque restaurant: the marinated pieces of meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, paneer, & so on, are inserted into skewers & cooked over live charcoal or electric griller. It is generally located near a swimming pool, roof top, lawn, sea side, & so on, & is open during evening hours.

Night club: it operates during the night & offers dinner, dance, & live entertainment. Cabarets or floor shows are the main attraction of the night club. Guests are required to wear formal wear.

Night clubs levy an entry fee.

Discotheque: it operates during night hours. It provides a dance floor for guest to dance on. Special sound & lightning effect is created for an appropriate ambience. Drinks, especially beer, & snacks are made available during the operations. The service is very informal. It is patronized mostly by the youth & couples. The entry is limited to a certain number of guests according to the floor/room capacity & an entry fee is levied.

Ice Cream parlor: it serves different kinds of ice creams-sundae, coupe, bombe, cassata, & so on. These ice creams are stored in ice cream containers & are kept in refrigerated displays with see through glass. The parlors may either be a franchisee or an independent one making its own varieties of ice creams. The seating arrangements & service are very informal. Guests may either eat in the premises or have it packed & carry.

Large venues usually cater for wedding receptions and conferences. It means that chefs have to cater for large numbers of people. The larger the party, the more food is required and the more difficult it is to keep the food warm before it is ready to be served. Large venues tend to benefit much with Anvil’s Multifunction Warmer Cabinet.

These are the benefits.

Anvil’s Multifunction Warmer Cabinet is ideal for holding prepared meals and other foods before it is served. It keeps the food warm at a sufficient temperature, and not at a cooking temperature. Therefore, you don’t have to keep checking on it, as you would with the oven.

The water trough that is built into the unit includes a drain tap in the base. Any water residue or condensation that is caused by the heat can be easily drained via this tap.

The twin circulating fans inside the cabinet ensure that the heat is evenly spread throughout the unit. It will keep all the meals in the unit evenly and sufficiently warm.

The double wall insulated construction ensures that the heat remains inside the unit and does not escape. It also maintains the heat when the unit is not connected to an electrical point. If you needed to, you could switch off the unit and still keep the meals warm. The external temperature display allows you to monitor the internal temperature. You can easily view it on the analogue temperature display.

This cabinet is especially beneficial for large venues because it holds 22 full sized gastronorm pans that are 100 millimeters deep. In addition it is supplied with 11 wire shelves, so there is plenty of space for quite a number of meals.

The easy to close slam lock latching system is convenient when you’re working in a fast paced and busy kitchen. You can quickly store the meal in the cabinet, shut the door, and go.

The recessed handles allow you to easily move this catering equipment; and the protective rubber bumper strips prevent damage while moving the unit.

This cabinet includes a convenient hook that is used for stowing the power cord. When it is not in use, the cord can be stowed away neatly and safely, thus avoiding any tripping accidents.

Anvil’s Multifunction Warmer Cabinet is ideal for keeping meals warm in large quantities at conference and wedding venues. The fan assisted and insulated convection heating system ensures that your customers are satisfied with their warm meals.

In most robust, business areas, there are countless restaurants that consumers can chose from. This makes it important for you to find a way to make you dining establishment stand out from the crowd. From providing good value to offering some of the most sumptuous cuisine in your locale, there are countless ways to build a strong and reputable brand for your business.

Make sure that you aren’t trying to cater to too many tastes. Define your market and then learn all that you can about their preferences and spending habits. Few people are eager to eat at restaurants that offer several different types of cuisine but none that have their own distinct tastes. When choosing a niche to fill, check to see that there aren’t numerous businesses in the vicinity that are striving the meet the very same needs that you’ve opted to target.

Once you have identified a primary focus for your restaurant, start working to become the very best at what you do. For instance, if your primary focus is Mediterranean cuisine, learn all you can about this culture and about local consumer expectations concerning these foods. Travel to different establishments and sample their Mediterranean dishes in order to determine whether or not yours are on par.

Offer people something for free, especially while they’re waiting. People get antsy when they have to spend great lengths of time waiting for food. Establish a large, welcome area where guests can begin ordering drinks and serve up healthy portions of bread, fried potatoes or other dishes that complement your fare. This will ensure that people don’t mind waiting for tables and it is something that you can accomplish at a fairly nominal cost.

Create an outdoor space for people who want to dine al fresco. This is ideal if you happen to be situated in area that is known for warm, temperate weather. Eating outside can significantly enhance the dining experience as it gives patrons a chance to really spread out, socialize and enjoy their meals.

There are even ways that you can bring the food preparation experience right to your guests. Many famous establishments have sous chefs that chop, dices, skewer, steam and grill foods right in front of customers. You can even have an outdoor pizza oven installed to enhance your patio area. This gives people far more confidence in the food that they’re eating and the manner in which it was prepared.