This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
Donner la réalité aux choses
tenue au flambage

Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

restaurant ouvrier

English translation:

unpretentious restaurant / worker's cafe

Added to glossary by B D Finch
Jun 17, 2015 09:10
8 yrs ago
3 viewers *
French term

restaurant ouvrier

French to English Marketing Food & Drink
Not much context, just a list of different restaurants and their descriptions. This particular restaurant listing says:

"restaurant ouvrier - cuisine traditionnelle, menus de fabrication maison et de produits régionaux".

I'd never heard this term before, and while the restaurant in question doesn't have a website, it's listed on other sites as offering fast food, cafeteria-style, mainly at lunch time but also pizza in the evenings.

I get the sense that it's an affordable restaurant for workers on their lunch break, but not sure how to say that in English (and the space I can use is limited).

Any suggestions?

Many thanks!
Proposed translations (English)
4 +5 unpretentious restaurant / worker's cafe
3 +3 blue collar restaurant
4 +1 Working man's café / diner
4 no frills restaurant
References
voir
Change log

Jun 17, 2015 10:56: writeaway changed "Field" from "Other" to "Marketing"

Jun 22, 2015 08:20: B D Finch Created KOG entry

Discussion

Diana Huet de Guerville (asker) Jun 18, 2015:
Or what about going around the actual term with something like "set lunch deals" or "set lunch menus", since all of the restaurants I looked at online offered some kind of "formule" or "menu" ouvrier?

for example: http://www.hot-dinners.com/Features/Hot-Dinners-recommends/t...

"With special offers and great value set menus, lunch reservations will give you a taste of the best food that won’t break the bank." http://www.10best.com/destinations/uk-england/london/restaur...

Here are some more examples from my document:
Menu ouvrier, Menu familial, Menu Groupe
Restaurant de cuisine traditionnelle avec menus ouvriers.
Restaurant traditionnel et ouvrier.
Restaurant ouvrier et routier
Bar-brasserie dans un centre commercial avec différentes formules le midi, du sandwich à emporter au menu ouvrier.
Repas ouvrier et sur réservation le week-end.
Menu ouvriers la semaine.
Restaurant proposant une cuisine traditionnelle avec menus ouvriers en semaine et carte de saison le week-end.
Le midi en semaine, il vous sera proposé une cuisine traditionnelle de type "menu ouvrier".
Restaurant de bourg proposant des formules du midi en semaine, de type "menu ouvrier"
Diana Huet de Guerville (asker) Jun 18, 2015:
It seems like lunch may be ok though... This site lists a number of lunch restaurants in London, so that term may actually fit for an international audience: http://www.london-eating.co.uk/occasions/lunch.asp

The same site also lists "quick bite restaurants", I wonder if that could work, though it evoke fast-food to me...
Diana Huet de Guerville (asker) Jun 18, 2015:
The problem of course is that some "restaurant ouvrier" are open at dinner time too... whereas a lunch restaurant implies it's only open for lunch.

@ BD Finch, I really think the term "ouvrier" is not limited to the working class, given the price and style of some of the ones I checked out online, and this description: VOUS POURREZ DISCUTER AU BAR DANS UNE AMBIANCE ANIMÉE, OU SE CÔTOIENT ARTISANS, OUVRIERS, CHEFS D’ENTREPRISES, COMMERCIAUX, EMPLOYERS DE BUREAU... http://restaurantlepoulvern.fr/restaurant-ouvrier/

And thanks for the info on the connotation of lunch in the UK, I wasn't aware of that!
B D Finch Jun 18, 2015:
Re lunch restaurant A lunch restaurant is a restaurant that doesn't open in the evenings, so it's usually in a business district and targets office workers. It is more of a "restaurant salarié" than a "restaurant ouvrier". Note that, in Britain, calling the midday meal "lunch" rather than "dinner" is considered by many to be rather middle-class or above.
Graeme Jones Jun 18, 2015:
Not sure I've heard 'lunch restaurant' often. It would certainly be understood - and assumed to be 'restaurant open only at lunchtime'
Diana Huet de Guerville (asker) Jun 18, 2015:
And this one: "Break up your hectic day with a stress-free lunch. Cavanaugh's Restaurant in Wilmington, Delaware, is a lunch restaurant offering fast service, efficient menu items, and delicious lunches. We provide the quickest and friendliest service with food that is always hot, fresh, and fantastic."

http://www.cavanaughsrestaurant.net/

Does this fit for UK English?
Diana Huet de Guerville (asker) Jun 18, 2015:
I think I've found it! simply "Lunch restaurant" This seems to fit my understanding of restaurant ouvrier: from http://www.gaebler.com/Starting-a-Lunch-Restaurant.htm

Opening a lunch restaurant isn't the same as launching a typical dinner restaurant. Since the majority of your patrons will be workers, you will need to understand the office patterns of your local community..
Qualities of Successful Lunch Restaurant Startups
• Location. Ideally, you'll want to be located in a high traffic area near office parks and employment centers.
• Quality. If the quality of the food you serve is mediocre (or worse), negative comments will spread like wildfire throughout workplaces in your area.
• Speed. The real challenge in opening a lunch restaurant is that your food needs to be both good and fast. Your patrons only have a limited amount of time for lunch, so don't include any items on your menu that can't be prepared and served quickly (less than 15 minutes).
• Ambiance. Many lunch diners use restaurants as locations for business networking opportunities.
Graeme Jones Jun 18, 2015:
Macmillan:
[meaning number] 2. MAINLY AMERICAN a small restaurant that sells simple cheap food
Jeffrey Henson Jun 18, 2015:
Diner Hi Carol. Yes, that's the stereotype of a "Classic American Diner". But nowdays people can call their eating establishment a diner simple based on the type of atmosphere they try to create, the type of food served (usually unpretentious classic American dishes, including a "blue plate special" of "meat & 3", or any number of other factors including the simple fact that they think the name would have a better ring to it.
Carol Gullidge Jun 18, 2015:
Don't know how accurate this is (from Wiki...!) A diner is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of American life, especially in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, as well as in the Midwest, although examples can be found throughout the United States, Canada, and parts of Western Europe. Diners are characterized by offering a wide range of foods, mostly American, a distinct exterior structure, a casual atmosphere, a counter, and late operating hours. "Classic American Diners" are often characterized by an exterior layer of stainless steel—a feature unique to diner architecture.
Graeme Jones Jun 18, 2015:
Perhaps 'diner' rather than 'café' or 'restaurant' if it's for US? Is that (slightly) more lunchtime?
Carol Gullidge Jun 18, 2015:
I see some of those are repeats but there are others...
Carol Gullidge Jun 18, 2015:
OK, how about "Workers' eatery" as a general term? Some of these G-hits just might fit the bill:

Market Workers Eatery - TripAdvisor
www.tripadvisor.co.uk › ... › Bangkok › Things to Do in Bangkok
Pratunam Market, Bangkok Picture: Market Workers Eatery - Check out TripAdvisor members' 67254 candid photos and videos.

Lonely Planet Mediterranean Europe - Google Books Result
https://books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=1743217978
Lonely Planet, ‎Duncan Garwood, ‎James Bainbridge - 2013 - ‎Travel
... 11am5pm) Eat delicious grilled sausages and potatoes off butcher's paper at this popular workers' eatery in Modiano Market. Turkenlis BAKERY € Offline map …

Moon Istanbul & the Turkish Coast: Including Cappadocia
https://books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=1612386148
Leeann Murphy - 2014 - ‎Travel
This authentic setting, with darkwood continental decor, looks more like a workers eatery, but it's ideal for enjoying a beer in the sun while peoplewatching on the …

Lonely Planet Southeastern Europe - Google Books Result
https://books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=1743217900
Lonely Planet, ‎Marika McAdam, ‎James Bainbridge - 2013 - ‎Travel
... 11am5pm)Eat delicious grilled sausages and potatoesoff butcher's paperatthis popular workers' eatery in Modi
Diana Huet de Guerville (asker) Jun 18, 2015:
Looking at different website for these restaurants, some of them are actually quite big, so perhaps café is not the best term. But then what? This one is a real "casse-tête"!
Graeme Jones Jun 18, 2015:
Agree with Barbara - some of these places become fabulous places to eat. There was one on Brighton seafront - windy but great!

One point to consider is that 'café' over here (and I think in the US, but perhaps less so) tends to imply a small size - so maybe for 20-40 people. Something the size of a 'brasserie' would not usually be referred to as a café - it would then become a restaurant. And anything you called a 'workers' café' would be presumed (generally) to be quite small.
B D Finch Jun 18, 2015:
@Diana I'm Barbara too. "Workers' cafe" is a very commonly used expression in Britain. They used to generally be greasy spoons, as Morton notes, but not always, there was a very good one near my flat when I lived in London. They are generally small and family-run. Compare these two reviews of a very well-known one, which seem to indicate some culinary progress:
May 2015: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186338-d4563...
and 2010: http://londonreviewofbreakfasts.blogspot.fr/2010/12/workers-...
Graeme Jones Jun 18, 2015:
'worker's café' conjures up the idea of quite a small place, with basic tables and chairs and which serves large amounts of either really good, or really bad food. Often referred to in UK as 'greasy spoon café'. These can be great places for a cheap and filling meal, or they can make you feel quite sick. Doesn't sound right for what you want.
Diana Huet de Guerville (asker) Jun 18, 2015:
@BD Finch - oh and I meant to thank you instead of Barbara in the previous post! And as for the agency, of course I can ask them questions, and they did provide as much context as they could (at least I have the restaurant names now so I can check them out online if need be). But this document is an excel worksheet with thousands of listings of restaurants and tourist activities in this particular area, with a line or two of text for each entry, which often appear to have been cut and pasted from other sites. So I really don't think the client would have anything to offer for this term, especially since I just need to know how to translate this particular term into English. But in some other cases the restaurant's description doesn't make a lot of sense so I'm planning on calling the restaurant directly, I suspect that will be more effective than trying to go trough the client.
Diana Huet de Guerville (asker) Jun 18, 2015:
So I now feel like I've got a better handle on what these restaurants are, the problem is that I'm not sure we have a specific term for that in English, at least not American English that I'm aware of (and it really doesn't seem just for blue-collar workers, as per Barabara's suggestion, but anyone on their lunch break from work - and some of these menus are not actually so cheap!). So I'm still a bit stuck on this term, I think BD Finch's suggestion of worker's café might be the most suited even though I'd never heard of it. Is it fairly common and easily understood in the UK?
Diana Huet de Guerville (asker) Jun 18, 2015:
Thanks Nikki and Barbara. I poked around some more online, and it seems like restaurant routier and restaurant ouvrier are two different things, as indicated on this site for example: http://restaurantlepoulvern.fr/restaurant-routier/ "LE RESTAURANT OUVRIER LE POULVERN S’ATTACHE A VOUS PROPOSER UNE FORMULE ÉCONOMIQUE, COMPLÈTE, DE QUALITÉ, RAPIDE POUR QUE VOUS PROFITIEZ D’UNE PAUSE REPAS RÉPARATRICE ET DÉTENDUE."

Restaurant ouvrier does seem to be a very widespread term, it's even a category listed on some restaurant sites, and from the ones I've looked at it's basically as Carole said, a restaurant that caters to people on their lunch break: affordable food, quick service.

For example: "Leur objectif est avant tout de proposer aux ouvriers une formule à moindre coût, pour un repas toujours copieux et servi dans une ambiance familiale." http://www.restaurant-chezmichele.fr/

"La Marmite des Capucins vous accueille dans son restaurant ouvrier du lundi au vendredi ! Le midi venez-vous restaurer. M. et Mme Fagnot vous servent entre 12h et 14h, afin que vous puissiez vous détendre et reprendre des forces, sans pour autant être en retard !"
B D Finch Jun 17, 2015:
@Nikki I think the "Relais Routiers" would be called transport cafes in Britain.
Nikki Scott-Despaigne Jun 17, 2015:
Like the roadside cafés they used to have in France beofre the motorways grew, the "Relais Routiers" which do still exist : http://www.relais-routiers.com/
The term extends to "ouvriers" too, partiuclary those on the move.

It depends on context. If this one is in a town or an urban area, then it is likely to be for local workers. If it's on the edge of town, then it may fall into the "relais" type idea. In either case, it's simple food, served quickly, sometimes not bad, not always that good though and generally pretty cheap. There are some good addresses though! Here's a "relais" which has a restau and offers basic accommodation too ; not part of the Relais Routiers (c) chain but of the old style.

http://fonds-commerce.vivastreet.com/annonces-commerce-pas-d...
B D Finch Jun 17, 2015:
@Diana Re your note on my answer: a good agency will be happy to answer questions and provide you with information about context and target audience.
Diana Huet de Guerville (asker) Jun 17, 2015:
Thanks Carol, that's my sense too, just not sure that we have a specific term in English...
Carol Gullidge Jun 17, 2015:
My guess is that This is a restaurant that caters for people on their lunch break - ie, the whole meal will be served and eaten within the allotted time. Chances are it could also be cheap and cheerful but this isn't necessarily the main criterion, and there are some quite posh eateries that provide this speedy service. It's quite likely to be a choice from a limited menu due to the time factor.

Proposed translations

+5
32 mins
Selected

unpretentious restaurant / worker's cafe

This really depends upon context that you haven't provided. What sort of listing is this? What readership? Where is it to be published?

www.tripadvisor.co.uk › ... › The Fish House of Notting Hill
Rating: 4 - ‎Review by a TripAdvisor user
18 May 2015 - The Fish House of Notting Hill: Unpretentious Restaurant in the heart of Nottinghill!!!

www.cafemode.co.uk/reviews.html"Cafe Mode is a small unpretentious restaurant that makes great pizza, pasta, steaks and gourmet burgers, gourmet salads and fish.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 36 mins (2015-06-17 09:47:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Errant apostrophe, should be: workers' cafe!

www.tripadvisor.co.uk › ... › Beirut › Beirut Restaurants › Le Chef
Rating: 4 - ‎Review by a TripAdvisor user - ‎10 May 2011
The place didn't sparkle with cleanlines [sic], it feels like a workers' cafe with the limitations you will find in any country, but I didn't see any of the filth other posters ...

www.alamy.com/stock-photo-cook-in-a-workers-caf-on-a-indust... this stock image: Cook in a Workers café on a industrial estate in North London England UK - BM3KXF

www.classiccafes.co.uk/historyxtra.htm"The café was small, a workers" café, used by lorry drivers and road-mending labourers. The place was warm and it was cosy with the smells of cooking and the ...
Note from asker:
Thanks for the suggestion, unfortunately I don't have any context! It's from an translation agency, I don't even know who the client is, I'm assuming it's some sort of tourist agency but I really don't know for sure. It's in an extremely long list of restaurants that each give a sentence or two description of what they offer.
Peer comment(s):
agree BrigitteHilgner : I agree that context is missing, but I still think "workers café" should fit.
12 mins
Thanks Brigitte. "Workers' cafe" (an accent (é), if pronounced, might suggest it's somewhere posh, e.g. Islington) is my answer of choice for Britain and perhaps Australia, but might not be right for the US.
agree katsy : With Brigitte
19 mins
Thanks katsy
agree Jean-Claude Gouin : Workers' café ... and I also agree with Barbara Cochran ... Very nice of you, Barbara to give the other Barbara your approval ... // You're not only a woman ... but a lady!
2 hrs
Thanks. Just demonstrating that avoiding competitiveness helps to improve quality. ;) // Thanks, but ladies oppose competitiveness from the perspective of aristocratic privilege, while I oppose it from the perspective of social cooperation!
agree Nikki Scott-Despaigne : And the simple fact that there is often more than one solution. If there weren't, there'd be no fun in translating!
4 hrs
Thanks Nikki. Absolutely!
agree erwan-l : Workers' café: yes indeed.
22 hrs
Thanks erwan
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+3
1 hr

blue collar restaurant

Meaning that blue collar workers hang out there.
Peer comment(s):
agree B D Finch : That sounds right for the US.
19 mins
Thanks, B D Finch.
agree Jean-Claude Gouin
1 hr
Thanks, 1045.
agree erwan-l
21 hrs
Thanks, erwan-l.
Something went wrong...
11 hrs

no frills restaurant

Probably important to distinguish between restaurant and café. No frills gives the same idea as unpretentious but possibly also opens the door to the idea that it serves good quality, traditional cooking.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day36 mins (2015-06-18 09:47:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

to be clear, 'no frills' means: without extras or embellishments. Oxford dictionary:
frill:
(usually frills) An unnecessary extra feature or embellishment: it was just a comfortable flat with no frills
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/frill?q...


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day1 hr (2015-06-18 10:12:27 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

If you do a quick Google on "no frills restaurant" you will find many entries - in the US too. See if you think their look fits what you are being asked to translate.
Note from asker:
Thanks, had a look and while the term could probably apply to these 'restaurants ouvriers' it seems more general than what I'm looking for - a restaurant specially catering to people on their lunch break.
Something went wrong...
+1
1 day 2 hrs

Working man's café / diner

I like the term "Working man" better than "worker". It sounds more inviting and has "down home" appeal.

Reference:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.za/ShowUserReviews-g503921-d3180799-r159058041-The_Beano_Cafe_Restaurant-Westbrook_Isle_of_Thanet_Kent_England.htm

http://www.leaderpost.com/Taste+Regina+meals+satisfy+appetites+working+diner+Video/10011105/story.html

Peer comment(s):
neutral Carol Gullidge : If Wiki is anything to go by, "diner" wouldn't fit the bill here; also, to me, "Working man" smacks of rather dingy working men's clubs and bars where you avoid using the loo at all costs!/I saw it but not sure I agree. "Working man" sounds too sexist :(
6 mins
Hi Carol. As for using the term "diner", see my discussion entry. As for "Working man", ha ha ! Not sure I agree but I still prefer it to "Worker's restaurant". Sounds like something you'd find under a communist regime ! :^)
agree Graeme Jones : Lunchtime diner? the wiki entry is outrageous!
41 mins
Thanks Morton !
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

5 mins
Reference:

voir

restaurant d'entreprise
Peer comments on this reference comment:
disagree erwan-l : Non... Un restaurant d'entreprise ("cantine", "cafétéria", "restaurant d'enterprise") n'a strictement rien à voir avec le concept / label de "restaurant ouvrier" (externe, cuisine plutôt tradi., pas cher, etc.) ou encore "restaurant routier")...
4 mins
Something went wrong...
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search