In France, Flanders, and the Francophone world, a brasserie is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed setting, which serves single dishes and other meals. The word brasserie is also French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brewing business". A brasserie can be expected to have professional service, printed menus, and, traditionally, white linen—unlike a bistro which may have none of these. Typically, a brasserie is open every day of the week and serves the same menu all day. A good example of brasserie dish is steak frites.
Etymology
The term brasserie is French for "brewery", from Middle Frenchbrasser "to brew", from Old Frenchbracier, from Vulgar Latinbraciare, of Celtic origin. Its first usage in English was in 1864. The origin of the word probably stems from the fact that beer was brewed on the premises rather than brought in: thus an inn would brew its own beer as well as supply food and invariably accommodation too. In 1901 Chambers's Twentieth CenturyDictionary of the English Language defined "brasserie" as "in France, any beer-garden or saloon". In 2000 The New Penguin English Dictionary included this definition of "brasserie": "a small informal French-style restaurant".
In Northern France, particularly towards the Belgian border, there has been a revival of old breweries which have been converted into restaurants and hotels, reverting to brewing their own beer as micro-brews. The term is often used in the United Kingdom applied to small restaurants, usually in city centres; however, it generally has no connection with brewing.
The culture of establishing brasserie in the United States has been on the increase. Today, there are several French restaurants across the major states. They include Bouley in New York City, Café Provence in Kansas, Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas and many others.
In the United Arab Emirates, brasserie-style eateries are springing up. One of them is The Maine Oyster Bar & Grill located in Dubai. Others include Bistro des Arts, Bord Eau, Brasserie du Park, Carine and others all located in Dubai.
Québec
According to the OQLF, a brasserie restaurant is an Establishment that operates both a restaurant and a bar, where mainly simple meals and beer are consumed, typically a brewpub.
