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In Britain, a cafe or café (), also known colloquially as a caff or
greasy spoon A greasy spoon is a small, cheap restaurant typically specializing in Short order cooking, short order fare. The term is also used in the UK–along with the informal term "caff" for café–to refer to a small privately-owned eatery that tradi ...
, is a small eatery typically specialising in fried foods or home-cooked meals. Though it uses the same word origin as the term "
café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...
", it is distinct from the more European style of
coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...
or bar.Take the Kids England, 3rd. Fullman, Joseph. New Holland Publishers, 1 June 2007. p. 21 A British cafe does not usually serve alcohol. It is commonly an independently owned business; the only notable chain of roadside cafes is OK Diner since the demise of Happy Eater in 1997 and Little Chef in 2018.


Menu

A British cafe typically offers fried or grilled food such as an all-day " full cooked breakfast", which may contain a combination of ingredients such as fried egg,
bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...
,
black pudding Black pudding is a distinct national type of blood sausage originating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is made from pork or occasionally beef Blood as food, blood, with Lard, pork fat or Suet, beef suet, and a cereal, usually oatmeal, oat ...
,
bubble and squeak Bubble and squeak is an English dish made from cooked potatoes and cabbage, mixed together and fried. The food writer Howard Hillman classes it as one of the "great peasant dishes of the world".Hillman, pp. 62–63 The dish has been known sinc ...
,
hash browns Hash browns, also spelled hashed browns and hashbrowns, are a popular American breakfast food consisting of finely julienned potatoes that have been fried until golden brown. Hash browns are a staple breakfast item at diners in North America, w ...
, baked beans, fried bread, toast, grilled tomato, burgers,
sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders. ...
s,
mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...
and
chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...
. Hot and cold sandwiches may be available, such as a bacon butty or sausage sandwich. A range of other cooked meals may be available, such as
steak and kidney pie Steak and kidney pie is a British dish. It is a savoury pie filled principally with a mixture of diced beef, diced kidney (which may be beef, lamb, veal, or pork) and onion. Its contents are generally similar to those of steak and kidney pudding ...
, a full roast,
liver and onions Liver and onions is a dish consisting of slices of liver (food), liver (usually pork, beef, chicken or, in the United Kingdom, lamb and mutton, lamb) and bulb onions. The liver and the onions are usually sautéed or otherwise cooked together, ...
, or
pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally on ...
dishes, with a cooked dessert such as apple crumble and
custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...
. The main drink in a cafe or greasy spoon is usually
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
, especially " builder's tea" (a nickname for a mug of strong black tea, such as English breakfast tea, usually served with milk and sugar and typically robust and flavourful with a brisk character and a dark red colour). However, coffee is also available and some cafes have espresso machines, particularly if they are Italian or Greek owned.


Transport cafe

The cafe was the mainstay of British
lorry A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructio ...
drivers who travelled the major
trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...
s such as the A1 and the A6 prior to the opening of the motorways. These cafes were not only stops where the driver could eat, but also made convenient meeting places where the
trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
could talk to their members. A cafe that is beside a main road and serves passing motorists, particularly lorry drivers, is sometimes known as a transport cafe; this may or not be accompanied by a petrol station. A
motorway service station Motorway service areas (MSA) also known as services or service stations, are rest areas in the UK and Ireland where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop, use the toilet or stay in an on-site overnight hotel ...
will typically include one or more
fast food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...
s such as
Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...
, Greggs, or
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
, and possibly a transport cafe for the lorry drivers.


Notable British cafes

* Ace Cafe, a historic transport cafe * Pete's Eats Cafe * Regency Cafe


See also

* All-day café * Board game café * Coffeeshop (Netherlands) * Crisis cafe *
Diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...
*
Internet café An Internet café, also known as a cybercafé, is a Coffeehouse, café (or a convenience store or a fully dedicated Internet access business) that provides the use of computers with high bandwidth Internet access on the payment of a fee. Usage ...
* '' Kissaten'' * ''
Konditorei A is a business that typically offers a wide variety of Pastry, pastries and typically also serves as a café#In Europe, café. (plural) are found in many countries including but not limited to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Denmar ...
'' * ''
Kopi tiam A ''kopitiam'' or ''kopi tiam'' () is a type of coffee shop mostly found in parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand patronised for meals and beverages, and traditionally operated by the Chinese communities o ...
'' * Maid café * Manga cafe * Ottoman coffeehouse * Parisian café *
Sidewalk cafe A sidewalk café or pavement café is "a portion of an eating or drinking place, located on a public sidewalk, that provides waiter or waitress service" (as defined by the American Planning Association based upon the New York City planning regul ...
*
Teahouse A teahouse or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel, especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment that only ser ...
* Viennese coffee house


References

{{reflist Hospitality industry in the United Kingdom Restaurants by type