The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word EATERIES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
E
A
T
E
R
I
E
S
More clues leading to the result EATERIES
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "restaurants" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case restaurants = eateries.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.
What does EATERIES mean?
EATERIES noun- A restaurant or café; a place to purchase and eat food.