Catering establishments, whatever their name, are establishments intended to provide, for remuneration, food and drink services on or off the premises. The most common names are restaurant, snack-bar, pizzeria, takeaway, among others.

Drinking establishments, whatever their name, are establishments intended to provide, for remuneration, drink and cafeteria services on or off the premises. Among the names we find café, bar, pastry shop, ice cream parlour, tea house, brewery, tavern, among others.

An establishment that has both valencies is normally designated as a mixed catering and drinking establishment.

The names tend to better characterise the service provided at the establishment. For example, a snack-bar is a catering establishment that is distinguished by serving meals at the counter; a brewery is a drinking establishment specialising in the sale of beer. The establishment cannot advertise a designation it does not possess.

These establishments may have manufacturing sections without requiring another type of licensing, provided that the installed power is less than 99 kVA.

This is a relatively common situation in pastry shops and ice cream parlours that want to have their own production. Do not confuse, however, with a bakery (baking industry) that obeys a specific industrial licensing regime.

Catering or drinking establishments may also have rooms or spaces for dancing (e.g. cabaret, discotheques).

This licensing regime also covers places where catering or drinking services are carried out through catering or banquet services. It is understood that these places must have a regular activity with a minimum of 10 annual events.

It is also possible for there to be an ancillary section for catering or drinks in commercial establishments with another main activity, with the obligation to comply with the functional and structural requirements of catering and drinking establishments. As an example, we can mention a mini-market with a cafeteria section or a hypermarket with food preparation and service on site.

A frequent doubt is the boundary that separates what is considered catering service and drinking service.

This difference is not limited to "food service", since a croquette is a food item that can be served in a drinking establishment. Although the legislation is generic and abstract, not specifically classifying which food products can be sold in one place or another, we can assume that any food, which by its nature requires a more complex degree of manipulation or preparation, falls within a catering establishment. At another level, this will imply that a catering establishment is required more in structural terms - for example, a kitchen.