Simulation and management games are furiously addictive when done right, and few genres accomplish this better than Restaurant simulators.
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We've got everything from cozy games to frantic races against time, so don that cooking apron, wash your hands, and let's get started.
11 Little Dragon's Café
Relaxing And Stress-Free
Little Dragon's Café is an adorable adventure game made by the creator of the legendary Harvest Moon.
The pedigree is instantly noticeable, but Little Dragon's Café does enough to distinguish itself. Your objective is to gather ingredients for the café menu before using them in cooking minigames.
Your pet dragon will help you acquire ingredients across the map, and you can explore new areas as it grows.
In an odd creative choice, there's zero money in Little Dragon's Café. It may seem strange to focus on, but I enjoy seeing my coffers fill up in games like this, and I doubt I'm the only one.
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Still, if you want a cute, relaxing take on restaurant management, Little Dragon's Café is worth checking out.
10 Dave the Diver
The Perfect Catch
- OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Rating:90/100 Critics Recommend:100%
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch , PC , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5
- Released
- June 28, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Mintrocket
- Publisher(s)
- Mintrocket
- Engine
- Unity
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence, Use of Alcohol, Mild Blood
- How Long To Beat
- 23 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- Steam User Rating
- 97%
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Dave the Diver is a wonderfully unique 2D adventure game where you don't just work in a restaurant; you're the whole production line!
While there is a much grander overarching story, you catch fish in Dave the Diver, which you can then use as ingredients for a Sushi Bar. You're not the chef, but you handle everything else, from the menu to cleaning and serving.
More dangerous catches yield more expensive dishes, and you even have to manage Bancho Sushi Bars' social media presence.
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Dave the Diver is just as much an aquatic adventure as a Sushi Bar sim. Eventually, the game does lean more heavily into the restaurant side of things, but it's one of many things you'll tackle around the mysterious Blue Hole Lagoon.
9 Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop
One Of The OG's
Key Information | Details |
---|---|
Developer | Office Create Corp. |
Platform | Nintendo 3DS |
Release Date | May 2017 |
The Cooking Mama series has been around for decades, offering a satisfying "hands-on" approach to life as a chef.
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Most Cooking Mama games are on handheld Nintendo consoles and fully utilize the unusual hardware. For example, you can blow on food to cool it down using the console microphone.
As with the best cooking games, food prep is simple but addictive, forcing you to juggle multiple mechanics that wouldn't work elsewhere.
You're spoiled for choice of Cooking Mama games. The one I've played the most is Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop on the Nintendo 3DS, and I recommend it because shop management is pretty fun.
Sadly, Cooking Mama: Cookstar on the Nintendo Switch was discontinued shortly after launch. It's a can of worms I won't open here, but for now, you'll have to rely on older hardware to enjoy the series.
8 The Ramen Sensei
Become A Noodle Tycoon
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Key Information | Details |
---|---|
Developer | Kairosoft |
Platform | All |
Release Date | September 2022 |
The Ramen Sensei is a cutesy management sim where you create banging bowls of ramen to serve a never-ending swarm of demanding customers.
Recipe creation is far more in-depth than you may expect, and your choices matter. Seeing your creations become a hit with customers is satisfying, and The Ramen Sensei rewards you for experimenting.
It's fun trying new ideas in the kitchen, but you can't neglect your management duties. You must handle everything from hiring staff to competing with rival chains. It's a busy game despite the simple visuals.
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The Ramen Sensei is made by Kairosoft, and they are known for grindy titles. I enjoy the pace, but the game throws a lot at you at the start, so don't sweat it if things don't click right away.
7 Cook, Serve, Delicious 3
Yes, There's A Trilogy
- OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Rating:79/100 Critics Recommend:85%
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS4 , Switch , Xbox One
- Released
- October 14, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Vertigo Gaming
- Publisher(s)
- Vertigo Gaming
- Engine
- gamemaker, gamemaker studio 2
- ESRB
- e
Cook, Serve, Delicious 3 certainly fits the bill of "running a restaurant" but plays very differently from your typical management simulator.
Gameplay is notably more arcadey as you race to prepare orders in your humble food truck. Time is always of the essence as you hurry to assemble everything from pretzels to bubble tea.
Food prep is pretty involved but intuitive, and you have multiple stations to work with.
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Cook, Serve, Delicious 3 is fast-paced and will put your micromanagement to the test. It's arguably the most challenging game on the list and your reflexes are in for a workout if you want to keep your customers happy.
I've recommended the last game in the trilogy for the updated visuals, but you can't go wrong with any of the Cook, Serve, Delicious games.
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6 Lemon Cake
The Adorable Restaurant Sim You've Never Played
- OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Rating:68/100 Critics Recommend:44%
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS4 , PS5 , Switch , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- February 18, 2021
- Developer
- Cozy Bee Games
- Publisher
- Cozy Bee Games
- Engine
- Unreal Engine
- ESRB
- E For Everyone
- Release
- 2021-02-18
Lemon Cake is a charming management sim where you restore an abandoned bakery to its former glory.
The bakery has three sections, each with a unique gameplay loop. Most of your time will be spent preparing orders in the kitchen, but you also have to ensure the restaurant floor is clean and customers are served.
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You must attend to your garden and livestock outside opening hours, as your bakery is nothing without those fresh ingredients. Lemon Cake is deceptively deep, with multiple skill trees and unlockable recipes.
There's a lot to do, and the gameplay is more stressful than the gorgeous art style suggests. That said, there's plenty to unlock, and seeing those sweet profits roll in after a hard day's work never gets old.
5 Cuisineer
A Roguelite Cooking Game?
- OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Rating:78/100 Critics Recommend:86%
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Nintendo Switch , PC
- Released
- November 9, 2023
- Developer(s)
- BattleBrew Productions
- Publisher(s)
- Marvelous Europe , XSEED Games
- Engine
- Unity
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ // Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 20.5 Hours
- Number of Players
- 1
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
- 49 Hours
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
I'm a sucker for Roguelites, and Cuisineer manages the difficult task of combining the genre with cooking and restaurant management.
The gameplay loop is wonderfully simple. Go out into the world to collect ingredients and turn your spoils into delicious meals at your very own restaurant.
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You can expand the restaurant as you find more materials, and plenty of townsfolk will request favors in exchange for fancy new recipes. Combat is solid and feels like something you'd find in Hades, albeit with much cuter enemies.
Cuisineer may be a little off-base if you're just looking for a traditional cooking game. If you're open to trying something different, there's a lot to love in this adorable adventure title.
4 TasteMaker
Create A Twisted Restaurant
Key Information | Details |
---|---|
Developer | Jelle Booij |
Platform | Steam |
Release Date | April 2023 |
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TasteMaker is a fantastic restaurant management simulator that allows you to create your business empire from the ground up.
Most games on this list have you simply managing a counter or station, but TasteMaker lets you design your restaurant from scratch. You decide everything from the building layout to the staff, and it feels so rewarding when the cash comes in and you can expand.
TasteMaker has a distinct graphics style compared to many titles in the genre, and gives you so much freedom and ways to make your own fun.
You can design some horrific restaurant layouts. You can even force your patrons to use a sadistic restroom where they just stare at each other the entire time! Whether you play seriously or to terrorize everyone in the building, TasteMaker is a great and often funny indie title that slips under the radar.
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3 Pixel Café
This One Packs A Punch
Key Information | Details |
---|---|
Developer | Baltoro Games |
Platform | All |
Release Date | November 2023 |
Pixel Café is a superb bar simulator with simple mechanics and an addictive gameplay loop.
You spend most of your time behind a bar with multiple counters serving everything from pancakes to cocktails. Each customer has different requests, and assembling everything before they run out of patience is a delicate balancing act.
There's a lot to do, but the controls are intuitive, and you can even briefly slow down time to bang out the orders pronto.
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Pixel Café is a solid restaurant/bar sim but has a surprisingly hard-hitting story attached to it. There's more to the game than just management, and there's a free demo on Steam if you want to ensure the combination is right for you.
2 Overcooked
Put Your Friendships To The Test
- OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Rating:79/100 Critics Recommend:76%
- Franchise
- Overcooked
- Platform(s)
- PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One , Switch , PC , Stadia
- Released
- August 2, 2016
- Developer(s)
- Ghost Town Games
- Publisher(s)
- Team17
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Engine
- Unity
- ESRB
- e
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Overcooked is a fun, if infuriating, cooperative chef simulator where you manage a kitchen with your friends.
The game starts innocently enough, challenging you to make Onion Soup but quickly gets much more complicated. Before you know it, you're dashing around the kitchen at breakneck speed, managing cooking times, special orders, and even the washing up.
One false move can set the kitchen on fire, and the 3-star scores for each level become lessons in patience.
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Overcooked is fun with the right group but pretty intense, so it may not be for everyone. The sequel, Overcooked 2, is another excellent multiplayer game, but it's notably more challenging than the original.
1 PlateUp!
Prepare For The Most Impatient Customers
- OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Rating:73/100 Critics Recommend:82%
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS5 , Switch , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- August 4, 2022
- Developer
- It's happening
- Publisher
- Yogscast, Numskull Games
- Engine
- Unity
- How Long To Beat
- 17 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 1 GB (March 2024)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
PlateUp! is a fantastic kitchen management game that's similar to Overcooked in many ways.
The gameplay loop of preparing meals and having your kitchen work like a well-oiled machine is present, but there are welcome differences. For example, you manually take customer orders and must serve tables of patrons together.
You play an active part on the restaurant floor and in the kitchen, so you can assign roles and stations to your squad.
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While you can technically play PlateUp! alone, it's tough, and one mistake will put the kitchen into disarray. If you've already had your fill of Overcooked and want a title that feels familiar yet fresh, you can't go wrong with PlateUp!
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