cafétéria vs cantine

Question

Is there a difference between cafétéria and cantine? Can you use "cantine" here?

Accepted Answer

Hi Gee, 
We have had a look at this but feel it is splitting hair.
The word 'cafétéria' didn't exist in France in the '60s and I discovered it on my first visit to London in 1966!
It is widely used nowadays for the kind of establishments as described by Jim,
But strictly speaking -

cantine = canteen
cafétéria = cafeteria

In a business setting, it would depend on what the company had on offer. A large company might have a  'restaurant d'entreprise'.
You would have a cantine in a school or a hospital for instance for the staff but a cafétéria for the public.
Hope this helps!

Answer

Hi Gee,There is a difference between the two:-cafétéria  --> light meals, coffee, and other light drinks.cantine  --> as above, but usually found in work type of settings and there could be more than one in a large organisation.Reading the text of the lesson and given this text suggests an office-type of situation, then yes potentially cantine could be appropriate.Perhaps a staff expert will consider whether to initiate a modification to the lesson?Bonne journéeJim