Experts believe that there are more than 8 million restaurants in the world today. So it might surprise you to learn that restaurants, as we know them, have only existed(存在) for a few centuries. Before 1765, there were no restaurants. That is, there were no places that provided the restaurant experience. There was nowhere in which a waiter brought you food and drink that you picked from a menu. In fact, there were no menus anywhere.
There were eating places where travellers could go centuries before that. The countryside was full of inns(旅店) that would serve food. And there were taverns(酒馆) where one could get drinks. The rich could also eat special meals prepared by private cooks. But none of them could be called a "restaurant".
A man called Boulanger changed that. In 1765, he opened a place in Paris that sold soups. On his sign he used the word "restaurant" to describe what he was selling. At that time, soups were considered something that could help "restore"(恢复)your health- in French the word "restore" is "restaurer"— so he called the soups "restaurants". Soon, people started buying Boulanger's soups even when they were not ill. And over time, people began to use the word "restaurant" to refer to a place selling soup rather than the soup itself. More "restaurants" opened in France, and people began to buy soups more often.
Later, restaurants in Paris began to serve other food besides soup. In the 1790s, menus started to appear. By the mid-1800s, there were many kinds of restaurants all over the world. The United States offered coffee shops. Tea houses became popular around China. Paris created beautiful restaurants for the rich. The British began to copy the French, and the restaurant idea spread throughout Britain.
Today cities are filled with restaurants. Diners have millions of options(选择) from which to choose.
