The Curious Case of the Restaurateur
Etymology Kills Me
Let’s get this out of the way:
Yes, “restaurateur” is spelled correctly.
No, there is not an N in it.
Yes, that feels wrong.
Yes, the English language is judging you.
Like most people, I used to assume that a person who runs a restaurant is a restauranter—maybe even a restauranteur, if you want to get a little spicy and French. But no. The correct term is restaurateur, and the missing N isn’t a typo—it’s a story.
The Place and the Person
Let’s split the pair:
Restaurant (with an N) = the place
Restaurateur (no N) = the person
Seems unfair. Like a silent breakup where the N got ghosted. But here’s the plot twist: restaurateur came first.
That’s right. Restaurant is the new kid. The word restaurateur was already in use in French in the early 18th century, from the verb restaurer, meaning to restore. A restaurateur was literally a restorer—someone who provided nourishment and revival. A healing force with soup.
The word restaurant—meaning the place where you go to be restored—came later. It originally referred to a specific kind of broth sold in Paris as a restorative tonic. Over time, the name stuck to the place, not just the dish.
Why We Want the N So Badly
Because we’re English speakers.
We love patterns. We love -er endings.
A baker works in a bakery.
A farmer works on a farm.
A restauranter (right?) works in a restaurant.
Except… no.
English absorbed restaurateur directly from French, without bothering to anglicize it. We just threw it into our vocabulary like a fancy spice and hoped nobody would notice.
Unfortunately, the spelling “restauranteur” is so common now that some dictionaries grudgingly accept it as a variant. Which is basically language’s way of saying, “Fine. You win. But we’re not happy about it.”
So Who Cares?
Honestly? Probably no one at your local café.
But if you ever want to feel like a pretentious trivia gremlin at a dinner party, you now have the power. Just lean back, sip your wine, and say, “You know, technically, ‘restaurateur’ doesn’t have an N in it…”
You’ll either be admired or never invited back. Win-win.
Language is a Messy Kitchen
Words like these are why I love etymology. Not because I want to police language—but because every weird spelling has a passport. A history. A story about how humans think, speak, and screw things up in charming ways.
So here’s to the restaurateurs of the world—no N, just vibes.
And to the rest of us, trying to spell things correctly before our coffee kicks in.
—Stephen B. Anthony