The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 3 letter word SALAD BAR
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
A
L
A
D
B
A
R
More clues leading to the result SALAD BAR
- Outside US city, dismal saloon provides stop-off for diners
- Food counter with dressing table?
- Food outlet’s turnover down, alas supported by lawyers
- Where 9 Down may be unfortunately tipped over, bad spilt on top of rug
- Feature of restaurant that could be drab, alas
- A youth’s after seconds, going to pub food counter
- A poetic Salopian undergraduate entering senior’s food outlet
- Buffet guy in Basra with detonation
- Cocktail venue for vegans?
- Daughter unfortunately knocked over pub’s self-service food station
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "stop-off for diners" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case stop-off for diners = salad bar.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.