1802, from French café "coffee, coffeehouse," from Italian caffe "coffee" (see coffee). The beverage was introduced in Venice by 1615 and in France from 1650s by merchants and travelers who had been to Turkey and Egypt. The first public café might have been the one opened in Marseilles in 1660.
small eating and drinking establishment, historically a coffeehouse, usually featuring a limited menu; originally these establishments served only coffee. The English term cafe, borrowed from the French, derives ultimately from the Turkish kahve, meaning coffee