snack bar

American  

noun

1. a lunchroom or restaurant where light meals are sold.

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snack bar British  

noun

1. a place where light meals or snacks can be obtained, often with a self-service system

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Etymology

Origin of snack bar

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

These days Roy’s operates as a gas station, gift shop and snack bar, not a cafe or motel.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

Elsewhere, the property features a “richly toned office with coffered ceilings and an intimate sitting lounge, a fully equipped gym, and a private theater complete with its own library nook, lounge, snack bar, and bathroom.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026

Participants were asked to fast before the session, then were given a snack bar to keep stomach contents consistent.

From Science Daily • Oct. 18, 2025

Laid out more plainly: in the snack bar category, four companies – General Mills, Kellogg, Simply Good Foods and Mars – made 66.4% of the snack bars stocked on shelves, per 2021 data.

From Salon • Sep. 12, 2024

I bought a milk shake at the snack bar and then went home.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt