A continental breakfast is a light breakfast that usually consists of coffee or tea and a serving of bread or rolls. The earliest example of the term continental breakfast dates from the 1850s. The continental breakfast originated as the type of breakfast traditionally offered in European hotels, in opposition to the type of breakfast offered in the British Isles, the British fry up. This British fry up was a breakfast usually consisting of sausage, bacon, eggs, fried bread, tomatoes and baked beans. Europeans from the continent preferred lighter fare, and as they traveled their tastes spread across Britain and the United States. Innkeepers were happy to provide the much less costly continental breakfast.
Examples
In the old days (and by “old” I mean five years ago) I would have booked a fairly expensive round-trip airfare, stayed in a hotel with a continental breakfast, rented a car from a place like Avis or Enterprise, and spent way too much money on a dress that I likely would never have occasion to wear again. (The Christian Science Monitor)
A continental breakfast will be served from 7 to 7:45 a.m. followed by the program at 7:50 a.m. (The Missourian)
After holding talks with his counterparts over a continental breakfast in Berlin this morning, Germany’s foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said negotiations should begin ‘as soon as possible’. (The Daily Mail)
Registration is from 8:30-10:45 a.m. on Saturday morning and will include a continental breakfast of beverages and baked goods made by garden club members. (The Summit Daily)
A “Dine, Wine & Sleep fine” package includes continental breakfast and a three-course dinner with wine flight from $275 per night. (The Atlantic Journal Constitution)
Bradford Inn & Suites in Plymouth, Mass., has a Thomas the Train Ride and Stay Package, which includes an overnight stay and continental breakfast for two adults and two kids and four tickets to Thomas Land, located at Edaville Railroad in nearby Carver, Mass. (The Hartford Courant)