one wants cooked food, another raw, another chooses roast, another grill. Hundreds of orders are given on all sides: this person wants something hot, another something cold, a third something tepid, a fourth something chilled. The people of Hangzhou are very difficult to please.
An account from 1275 writes of Hangzhou, the capital city for the last half of the dynasty: Even within a single restaurant choices were available, and people ordered the entrée from written menus. Restaurants catered to different styles of cuisine, price brackets, and religious requirements. There is a direct correlation between the growth of the restaurant businesses and institutions of theatrical stage drama, gambling and prostitution which served the burgeoning merchant middle class during the Song dynasty. Customers had their orders taken by a team of waiters who would then sing their orders to the kitchen and distribute the dishes in the exact order in which they had been ordered. According to a Chinese manuscript from 1126, patrons of one such establishment were greeted with a selection of pre-plated demonstration dishes which represented food options. The larger and more opulent of these establishments offered a dining experience that was similar to modern restaurant culture. Such establishments were located in the entertainment districts of major cities, alongside hotels, bars, and brothels. As travelling merchants were not used to local cuisine of other cities, these establishments were set up to serve dishes familiar to merchants from other parts of China. Probably growing out of tea houses and taverns which catered to travellers, Kaifeng's restaurants blossomed into an industry that catered to locals as well as people from other regions of China. In large cities, such as Kaifeng and Hangzhou, food catering establishments catered to merchants who travelled between cities. Another states that superintendents of storehouses may give surpluses of bran and flour to "those who prepare cooked rice, and rice-cakes", while a regulation involving city superintendents references "sellers of cooked flesh and cooked rice." Įarly eating establishments recognizable as restaurants in the modern sense emerged in Song dynasty China during the 11th and 12th centuries. One regulation states that "those who trade in cooked rice, liquor, and flesh" are to live in the south of the city. The Arthashastra references establishments where prepared food was sold in ancient India. However, there were no menus or options to choose from. Meals were typically served at a common table to guests. Throughout the ancient world, inns were set up alongside roads to cater to people traveling between cities, offering lodging and food. Īnother early forerunner of the restaurant was the inn. While some were confined to one standing room only, others had tables and stools and a few even had couches. The popinae were known as places for the plebeians of the lower classes of Roman society to socialize. The Romans also had the popina, a wine bar which in addition to a variety of wines offered a limited selection of simple foods such as olives, bread, cheese, stews, sausage, and porridge. They were concentrated along the main axis of the town and the public spaces where they were frequented by the locals. In Pompeii, 158 thermopolia with service counters have been identified throughout the town. In the Roman Empire they were popular among residents of insulae. They were most often frequented by people who lacked private kitchens. These establishments were somewhat comparable to modern fast food restaurants. Ī forerunner of the modern restaurant is the thermopolium, an establishment in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome that sold and served ready-to-eat food and beverages. It served only one dish, a plate of cereal, wild fowl, and onions. Service counter of a thermopolia in PompeiiĪ public eating establishment similar to a restaurant is mentioned in a 512 BC record from Ancient Egypt.