Fast food restaurants are characterized both by their fast food cuisine and by nominal table services. Food served in fast food eateries sometimes deals with a "meat-sweet diet" and is offered from a limited menu; is cooked in quantities ahead and kept hot; is finished and packed to order; and is generally available prepared to take away, though seating could be provided. Fast food restaurants are customarily part of an eatery chain or franchise operation, which provisions standardized ingredients and / or partly prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant thru controlled supply channels. The term "fast food" was recognized in a compendium by Merriam Webster in 1951. Possibly the 1st fast food cafes came from the US with White Castle in 1916. Today, American-founded fast food chains like McDonald's and KFC are conglomerate companies with outlets across the world. Differentiations on the fast food restaurant idea include fast casual eateries and catering lorries. Fast casual cafes have higher sit-in proportions, and buyers can sit and have their orders brought to them. Catering vans frequently park just outside worksites and are well-liked by factory employees.

Fast food restaurant opened in 1953, the founders and owners of the chain, The Insta-Broiler range proved such a success at cooking burgers; they needed all of their franchises to carry the device. By 1959 McLamore and Edgarton were operating a couple of locations inside the Miami-Dade area and were growing at a fast clip. Notwithstanding the successfulness of their operation, the partners found out that the design of the insta-broiler made the unit's heating elements susceptible to degradation from the drippings of the meat patties. The pair at last made a mechanized gas griddle that evaded the issues by changing the way in which the beef patties were cooked in the unit. After the first company started to totter in 1959, it was bought by McLamore and Edgerton who renamed the company Burger King. While fast food restaurants sometimes have a seating area in which clients can eat the food in-house, orders are built to be taken away, and standard table service is rare.

Orders are often taken and paid for at a wide counter, with the consumer waiting by the counter for a tray or container for their food. A "drive-through" service can permit shoppers to order and pick up food from their autos. Almost from its formation, fast food has been engineered to be eaten "on a busy schedule" and regularly doesn't need normal cutlery and is eaten as a finger food. Common menu items at fast food outlets include fish and chips, sandwiches, pitas, burgers, fried chicken, potato fries, chicken nuggets, tacos, pizza, and ice cream, though many fast food restaurants offer "slower" foods like chili, creamed potatoes, and salads.