thermopolium

thumb|right|Thermopolium in Herculaneum

In the ancient Greco-Roman world, a thermopolium (: thermopolia), from Greek (thermopōlion), i.e. cook-shop, literally "a place where something hot is sold", was a commercial establishment where it was possible to purchase ready-to-eat food. In Latin literature, they are also called popinae, cauponae, hospitia or stabula, but archaeologists refer to them all as thermopolia. They were mainly used by those who did not have their own kitchens, often inhabitants of insulae, and this sometimes led to thermopolia being scorned by the upper class.