Cold fare I ate -- horrible restaurant (9)
I believe the answer is:
cafeteria
'restaurant' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'cold fare i ate horrible' is the wordplay.
'cold' becomes 'c' (eg on taps).
'horrible' indicates anagramming the letters.
'fare'+'i'+'ate'='fareiate'
'fareiate' is an anagram of 'afeteria'.
'c'+'afeteria'='CAFETERIA'
(Other definitions for cafeteria that I've seen before include "Self-help facility" , "greasy spoon?" , "where food is served" , "where food can be picked up" , "Self-service restaurant" .)