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I',m mostly interested in the connotations of these two. In my head, tho they are synonyms, I consider cafe as referring to a more casual place like the City Cafe, which most towns seem to have. They feature "home" cooking and superb pies. Restaurant to me implies a nicer environment and atmosphere with probabky higher prices. I'd think a guy would be much more likely to take a date to a restaurant than to a cafe. Do the two words have similar connotations to you?

I'd say that's about right.

A couple more distinctions - at least around here a cafe will open breakfast until 5 or 6pm (they may open all hours in cosmopolitan areas but it's less common). A restaurant would definitely open in the evening and probably not for breakfast (maybe brunch at 11 or something). Generally you wouldn't stop for a coffee in a restaurant, but you certainly would in a cafe. A cafe would likely not have a liquor licence (maybe a few bottled beers) but a restaurant almost always would.

Agreed.

I see the origin of restaurant is from the French word for 'restore' - presumably in the sense of restoring oneself to equanimity following a meal. And as others have pointed out, you have to have a meal in a restaurant but can manage with just a cup of coffee in a cafe. Amazing though, how restorative a cup of coffee can be...