The two of them finally arrived at the(?) Fuyuan Restaurant

[Sneymarin]

Hello, I would like to ask if I should use "the" before the name of a restaurant, as in this sentence:

"The two of them finally arrived at the(?) Fuyuan Restaurant."

Thank you for your time.

 

[emsr2d2]

It's not correct the way you've written it. How it should be written all depends on the official name of the restaurant.

If it's just called "Fuyuan", use "They finally arrived at Fuyuan" if the listener knows it's a restaurant. If they don't, use "They finally arrived at the restaurant, Fuyuan".
If it's called "The Fuyuan", use "They finally arrived at The Fuyuan" if the listener knows it's a restaurant. If they don't, use "They finally arrived at the restaurant, The Fuyuan".
If the word "Restaurant" is actually included in the official name (this isn't common), say "They finally arrived at [The] Fuyuan Restaurant".

 

[Sneymarin]

The name of the restaurant is how I wrote it in my first post, "Fuyuan Restaurant", nothing else. Should I use "the" in this case?

 

[tedmc]

Yes, write as what emsr2d2 said in the first paragraph, without "the".

 

[Sneymarin]

I've read here https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/definite-article-the and here https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/definite-article/ that we should use the article "the" with restaurant names, and they seem like reliable sites. Are they both wrong about the usage of "the" in front of restaurant names?

Would you say "We ate at Golden Lion yesterday" instead of "We ate at the Golden Lion yesterday" where "Golden Lion" is the name of a restaurant?

 

[GoesStation]

I agree with your sources in general. Unfortunately though, it does depend on the restaurant's name. A place down the highway here is called "Nick's", and an article wouldn't be possible with that name. Just up the highway is another place, the Calypso Grill And Smokehouse. I used an article even though it's not part of its name, and if we're thinking about ordering in, we'd always say "the Calypso".

KFC and its predecessor Kentucky Fried Chicken, along with other fast food joints like Taco Bell and Burger King, don't take an article unless we're talking about a specific one:

"Let's eat at Burger King!"

"Which one?"

"The Burger King on Kettering Boulevard."​

I'll think about this and see if I can find a rule. It's already clear that restaurants whose name is a possessive proper noun can't take an article, but there may be more to it.

 

[Sneymarin]

So why is "the Ritz Hotel" or "the Golden Lion" fine, while "the Fuyuan Restaurant" isn't?

 

[GoesStation]

So why is "the Ritz Hotel" or "the Golden Lion" fine, while "the Fuyuan Restaurant" isn't?

I think it's okay. I wouldn't omit the article, but I'd be inclined to just call it "the Fuyuan".