There are a lot of great “simulators” out there that show what it’s like to run a restaurant. Here are some of the best ones.
If you like to cook, you might like business simulations, especially ones that let you run a restaurant. Thank goodness, there are a lot of restaurant simulation games out there for both casual and strategy gamers.
In fact, some games offer a simpler simulation experience through mini-games or a hard-core restaurant management simulation where budgeting and materials are still a big part of the game. Which restaurant sims are good enough for that cook to kiss?
One-Armed Cook
In One-armed Cook, players take on the part of a chef who has only one arm. They then go on a journey through the world of cooking. Master the art of doing more than one thing at once by slicing, dicing, and cooking tasty dishes for picky customers while dealing with the game’s fun and smart physics.
The messy way the game is played shows how important it is to keep trying even when things get hard in the kitchen. Explore different types of food, make improvements to the restaurant, and watch the customers’ faces light up with happiness. In this cooking journey, players will rise to the top and become legendary chefs with only one arm. The game can also be played with more than one person.
Good Pizza, Great Pizza
In Good Pizza, Great Pizza, you take on the part of a person who wants to learn how to make pizza. Players make their customers’ dream pies to satisfy their pizza needs. To make the perfect pizza, you have to stretch the dough and come up with new ways to put on toppings.
As the manager of the pizzeria, you’ll meet strange people, deal with strange pizza orders, and deal with tough pizza reviewers. Try to make the best pizza in town, build a customer base that sticks with you, and unlock new ingredients and recipes. In this immersive cooking experience, you can learn how to be a real pizza master and build a pizza business.
Cooking Mama: Let’s Cook!
In Cooking Mama: Let’s Cook, you can go on a fun cooking journey with Cooking Mama! As Mama walks them through different recipes and skills, players get in touch with their inner chef.Touch buttons make it easy for them to learn how to chop, stir, and bake. The game shows you step-by-step how to make delicious meals from all over the world.
Fun minigames test how fast and accurately you can cook, and the points you win let you upgrade your kitchen tools. With Mama’s caring presence and cute pictures, Cooking Mama: Let’s Cook! is a fun and educational way for the whole family to learn how to cook.
World Chef
In World Chef, you can see how different and creative food is around the world. Players build and run their own restaurants, serving customers from all over the world who have different tastes. Players can hire skilled workers, decorate the eating area, and cook a wide range of dishes from around the world. When you feed hungry customers, including celebs and VIPs, you get attention and praise.
Players can make the game more fun by working together, swapping ingredients, and taking part in exciting events. Players build up their restaurant business, get access to new recipes, and wow their customers. World Chef is a fun game for people who love food and want to run their own business. It has bright images and fun gameplay.
Recipe For Disaster
Recipe For Disaster is an intense real-time diner management simulator that seems to be based on old cooking games like Diner Dash and The Sims. The game gives players the chance to run their own restaurant and manage their staff and food.
With all the stresses of a real restaurant, players must be aware of dietary restrictions and allergies when planning their menu and trying out different items. These changes to the menu could be the deciding factor in whether or not the player’s restaurant does well or goes out of business.
Cooking Simulator
Cooking Simulator is a great game for people who want to feel what it’s like to cook and run their own restaurant. As the name suggests, players can make tasty food by hand for guests. There are over 80 different recipes to learn, and more can be unlocked with the DLC.
Cooking Simulator is one of the most realistic restaurant simulation games on the market. Players can try out a wide range of cooking tools. A practical and careful detail means that the amount of each item will affect the quality of the dish as a whole. Players can use the kitchen however they want without making a real mess.
PlateUp!
PlateUp! is a similar game that seems to be based on the popular Overcooked series. It has up to four players running around a kitchen quickly. They have to cook and serve customers in a restaurant they planned and built from scratch, but they have to be careful not to start any fires.
With standard chaotic co-op gameplay, players can work together to make dishes, each taking on a different role, such as sous chef or pot washer. Their menu can also be changed to include different items, from a simple steak to more complicated meals. PlateUp! is the best party game for cooking with friends while sitting on the couch.
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!
Cook, Serve, Delicious lets you run a food truck, which might be a good place to start if you’re new to restaurant management games. 3?! In this game, players prepare for the National Foodtruck Championships by going all over the country. So, many of the meals in the game aren’t big, complicated main courses. Instead, there is a lot of attention on street food and other types of food from around the world.
The Cook, Serve, Delicious! series is different from other hard-core restaurant management sims in that it focuses more on completing orders quickly. Players are given a recipe with a list of ingredients, and they have to press the keys that go with those ingredients. The happier their customers are, the faster they can get their tasks done. And the more experience they get at every level, the more complicated their menus get.
Cake Mania: Main Street
Cake Mania: Main Street might be fun for Cooking Dash fans who want a restaurant sim that is more about baking. Players take on the part of Jill as she opens her new bakery, as the name suggests. But that’s not all she wants to do. She wants to grow her business so that it can compete with the best shops on Main Street.
At its heart, the game is a lot like Cooking Dash. Cake Mania uses a time-management cooking method in which customers patiently wait in line while Jill carefully prepares their sweet treats. Players have to bake desserts quickly, and a variety of breads and cakes keeps customers happy and earns them more tips.
Coffee Tycoon
Even though it’s an old game, Coffee Tycoon may be one of the most in-depth business simulations about coffee. This PC game came out in 2005, and it’s about running the best cafe in town.
There are two ways to play Doodle Baseball. In a planning mode, players can take a look at how their shop is doing right now. These things are their workers, the food they already serve, possible improvements, and regular customers. But in the simulation mode, players have to wait and see if their planning paid off by bringing in people for the day and if there are any other things they may need to work on.
The Sushi Spinnery
If you want to play a fun business game on your phone, you might want to try The Sushi Spinnery. In The Sushi Spinnery, the way players build and run a sushi bar is a unique part of the game. So, players have to plan how their restaurant will be set up and keep an eye on other small jobs.
For example, players have to figure out what dishes to serve and what things to make first. This is a great way for sushi fans and people who are new to Japanese food to feel like they are running their own sushi bar. The Sushi Spinnery makes it easy for players to try some of Japan’s most popular meals.
Cooking Dash
Classics are the best, and when it comes to restaurant sims, there’s nothing more basic than Cooking Dash. Even though Cooking Dash has strange graphics that look like comics, it still has a lot of tasks for its time-management gameplay. Basically, players start by putting together foods by finding the right tools all over the kitchen. Then, they have to serve these meals to customers before they lose their patience.
The thing is, as players move through levels in Cooking Dash, the game quickly gets harder. Even if players try to make the most of their kitchen area, they have to stay on top of their game in the end.
Overcooked 2
Where the stakes are high and the heat is even higher is in the kitchen. With Overcooked 2, players can finally get a feel for what it’s like to work in a kitchen. In Overcooked 2, up to four people can work together in a very busy kitchen and see how long they can last. Every level is different, and you have to use teamwork and precision to get through them.
Timing and panicking are important (and fun!) parts of Overcooked 2, just as they would be in a kitchen. When people are running around like chickens with their heads cut off, the wrong ingredients get chopped, and the food gets burned. Watch as friendships fall apart and family relationships get tense while virtual customers eagerly wait for their orders.
Restaurant Empire 2
In Restaurant Empire 2, players build their own restaurants and run them. Players start out by picking their favorite type of food (American, Italian, German, or French) and making their own restaurant. Also, players need to pay close attention to certain data about their customers and staff.
In turn, this small micromanagement feature in Restaurant Empire 2 made some gamers angry. For example, players have to keep track of how long people have to wait in line before they get angry. Instead, they sometimes talk about how much money they have instead of how good the work will be. Restaurant Empire 2 is for people who want to take care of these small details.
Pizza Connection 3
Why would players want to go to a restaurant when they can finally make their favorite pies in their own pizzeria? With Pizza Connection 3, players can bake their dream pizzas, some of which even have pineapple on them. In this pizzeria simulator, players start from scratch and build their own restaurant, including nearby businesses that may or may not bring in more guests.
When players build their shops, they have to choose names for certain rooms to show what they are for. Like most business games, Pizza Connection 3 will have players keep track of their own pizzeria’s sales, workers, marketing, and research. But the game also has a detailed menu and a unique feature that lets you hurt your rivals.
Coffee Shop Tycoon
In contrast to Coffee Tycoon, which was mostly about business, Coffee Shop Tycoon is more about running a business. In this game that looks strange, players build and run their own coffee shop. They might start with a small spot that only has room for a few tables and grow into a large coffee shop that serves executives’ favorite coffee drinks.
What makes Coffee Shop Tycoon interesting is how in-depth it is when it comes to running a coffee shop. Aside from taking care of customers, players also have to keep track of tools and stock. In fact, they need to pay close attention to not only how much coffee they have, but also how fresh it is.
Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game
Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game lets aspiring cooks put on their own hat and apron as they become rising stars in the world of cooking. Players start out with a small business and not much money. Their goal is to get to the top of the food chain. They have to work to make their restaurants more famous and become professional chefs who are known all over the world.
Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game has all the features of a standard restaurant simulator. Players can hire their own staff, fully customize their restaurant, and even pick their favorite food. From foreign dishes to a menu for vegans, there’s something for everyone that will keep customers coming back for more.
The Sims 4: Dine Out
Since it became free to play in 2022, The Sims 4 has been the most famous game and its popularity has grown. As a result, there is a lot of extra material, such as the Dine Out game pack that you can buy. It gives Sims fans the chance to build and run their own business and gives them skills in micromanagement.
With The Sims 4, many dreams can come true in a virtual world, and anyone can build their dream business. Players can also choose who they hire, what their employees wear, and make their own meals from scratch. Even though Dine Out is not an expansion pack, it adds fun stuff that Sims 4 players and people who want to be cooks should check out.
