I searched Thesaurus but found nothing.
Example sentence:
The __ were top quality, just like the restaurant review assured.
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12Maybe use menu instead?– SovereignSunDec 5, 2016 at 5:54
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6"Food and beverages" is probably as close as you can get.– MickDec 5, 2016 at 6:00
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2Or ingestibles ...– alexDec 5, 2016 at 7:01
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2Instead of trying to fill this blank with a single word, I'd suggest something like "Everything we tried".– Tom FenechDec 5, 2016 at 16:39
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5Literally, "consumables" has this meaning but nobody expects that meaning anymore.– JoshuaDec 5, 2016 at 16:45
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7 Answers
There isn't really a single word in regular usage that covers food and drink combined.
Food and beverages is probably the most common term in the hotel trade, however outside the trade the expression food and drink is much more widely used: see this NGram.
Note that, when used in this expression, drink is normally considered as a collective term, so it is not plural. The plural can also be used, but it is less common.
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1be careful, in many contexts "drinks" can be implied as alcoholic beverages". For example, "Let's go out to dinner and have a couple of drinks". In the context you listed "The menu was top quality", "The food and drinks were top quality", "The restaurant fare was top quality", or "The food and bar were top quality" would be appropriate American English phrases. Dec 5, 2016 at 17:23
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@JonMilliken, that's certainly a possible interpretation, but it's not the first one in the Cambridge Dictionary dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/drink or the Oxford Dictionary en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/drink or Merriam-Webster merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drink or dictionary.com dictionary.com/browse/drink?s=t The OP wanted to include alcoholic drinks anyway. Dec 5, 2016 at 17:24
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3you are certainly correct. However, in (at least American) English "drink(s)" in this context implies alcohol. "I'm going to the store to grab some drinks" and "lets go out and grab some drinks" have a vastly different meaning. The first, I'd expect water, juice, milk, maybe a case of beer. The second means "Lets go to the bar" Dec 5, 2016 at 17:41
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JavaLatte is correct; the industry term is "Food and Beverage", and a derivative is "Food, Beverage and Hospitality". If there were a handy term combining the two, all of these related industries would be very likely to use it, if only to save print ink and signage/logo real estate.– jaxterDec 7, 2016 at 5:11
Fare as described at dictonary.com (and english.se) is a slightly older word, but you will still find it at many restaurants.
Note that fare is a singular, collective noun. The phrase would read:
The fare was top quality, just like the restaurant review assured.
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This sounds probably the most natural and fitting of all the suggestions so far, to me (British English). It certainly seems to appear in reviews google.co.uk/…– MuzerDec 5, 2016 at 17:57
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5I think it's because I'm American, but maybe because I'm young... I've never heard that word used in that sense. Only as something you pay a bus or cab driver. Dec 5, 2016 at 21:40
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Certainly fairly common in the UK, but generally considered a little "old world", although perhaps not as much as "repast" which you'd struggle to find in a restaurant. Dec 8, 2016 at 9:54
The words comestibles, victuals, provisions and foodstuffs are occasionally used in a generic sense to mean "things providing nourishment", including both food and drink. They certainly aren't common words though, and probably aren't perfect for your sentence. If you absolutely have to use a single word, the first two are in my opinion most suitable, although they may be considered rather old-fashioned and pretentious.
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4Nobody who has seen the Monty Python cheese shop sketch youtube.com/watch?v=B3KBuQHHKx0 could ever take the word comestibles seriously. Note the keyword humorous in this definition. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/comestible Dec 5, 2016 at 15:03
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Note also the regionally-used abbreviation of "victuals", "vittles". Dec 8, 2016 at 8:21
Offerings is a commercial term occasionally seen in marketing verbiage. Dictionary.com defines offerings as "something presented for inspection or sale."
The offerings were top quality, just like the restaurant review assured.
Using any other food or meal term simply feels forced and over encompassing.
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Offerings to me sounds like a libation or other offering to some deity. But maybe I'm just reading the wrong books. :) Dec 7, 2016 at 8:45
If the food and drink isn't the primary reason for being where they are served, you could say refreshments.
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10I think 'refreshments' is a good option, but I usually associate refreshments with food and drink that is provided by a host and not what I order at a restaurant. The refreshments at the conference were top notch, even though the presentations weren't very good. I usually say "meal" when talking about a restaurant - Our meals were top quality, just like the restaurant review assured.– ColleenVDec 5, 2016 at 14:45
For the sentence and context in the question, I'd simply go with meal or food. The "drink" part of a restaurant meal is usually secondary unless you're a bit of a wine connoisseur.
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1"The "drink" part of a restaurant meal is usually secondary" I feel sad for you– njzk2Dec 6, 2016 at 19:40
Although it doesn't always refer to food and drink, I think the most natural word to insert in your example sentence is "selections":
The selections were top quality, just like the restaurant review assured.
Although it would probably be better to use "selection" and change "were" to "was":
The selection was top quality, just like the restaurant review assured.
It's obviously food, because we're talking about a restaurant.
From Dictionary.com:
- an aggregate of things displayed for choice, purchase, use, etc.; a group from which a choice may be made:
The store had a wide selection of bracelets.
