While both bistros and cafes provide fairly simple, moderately priced food and drinks to a small dining room, bistros tend to serve full meals to diners who eat at their tables. Cafes typically serve snacks, cakes, desserts, and other basic fare that can be consumed fairly quickly or even taken on the go.

Bistros originated in France and typically serve casual French food, even (often but not always) in the United States. However, colloquially speaking, “bistro” describes a style of restaurant that is small, casual, and intimate.

A bistro or bistrot (/ˈbiːstroʊ/), in its original Parisian form, is a small restaurant serving moderately priced, simple meals in a modest setting. The term has also become used by more pretentious restaurants.