Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator

Positive

Mama mia

If you enjoy cooking simulators, then you'd Love this game. Its like Cooking Mama but grown up; a bit more niche and sophisticated. Probably one of the better restaurant games i've found. As a regular Restaurant worker iRL, there are things that bring me back to this game periodically {The Vast amount of recipes, The Flow of Gameplay} and there are things that keep me away {The lack of updates and bug fixes, certain recipes are unmasterable because of said bugs, wonky machanics} I haven't played this game in a couple months tbh, but there hasn't been any recent update, dlc's or content refreshes so I felt like giving an honest review of what we have to play with so far. I Have yet to 100% or finish the story line, but I think I enjoyed enough of the game so far.

Specifically: {Pros and Cons}

• Generally The Cooking Mechanics are done almost perfectly
  +No recipe feels too much, I love the ability to prep before service and the challenge that's added if you don't prep properly. There's no 86-ing dishes because of failure to plan properly because even though guest will get impatient (you can turn guest patience off or on in settings which is too hand holding for me personally but if you want a more relax gameplay...) you can always complete the day.
  +I like the temperatures, the ability to make broth and other things that can be prepped and stored.
  +Almost most of every recipe, like Lasagnas, Broth and sauces gives you multiple dishes to use for multiple meals and different dishes in a single prep (i.e, making spaghetti pasta from scratch gives you 4 spaghetti portions to use on 4 different or the same pasta dishes that need spaghetti pasta)
  +Quality Progression with Ingredients and Recipes. As your upgrade recipes, the ingredients for the recipes also upgrade (i.e. When you unlock spaghetti for the first time, you use box spaghetti and canned sauce, but the more you upgrade the recipe, the more complex the ingredients become, to making spaghetti and the sauce from scratch which adds extra prep steps but guarantee a better quality and more yield and as you progress through your experience level as a chef, better quality ingredients become available for purchase. Allowing your to charge more for your menu and earn more money per dish (also adding to the expectations of the guest, the more you charge that better quality dishes are expected)
  ....The downside...
  -I don't see the point in stocking for the day if there's not limiters on the ingredients once their in the fridge. +/- (could be a plus or minus depending on how much you appreciate realism in video game simulators), Once you buy and stock enough ingredients to satisfy the menu of the day and potential customers based on said menus, You can use an unlimited amount of anything... so nothing ever runs out and even when guest exhaust their patience, you can still complete the dish, and finish service; and since you will have the time, they wont deduct much for the wait as long as the meal is high graded.
  -Some of the pre-prep... Some of the dishes are bugged, not really too many and you don't ever have to commit to having a dish on your menu so it's not game breaking, just not ideal. They do a good enough job at balancing the gameplay so you still have to do a fair amount of cooking during service (early game especially, but late game, once you get all your sous chefs leveled up they basically can do all the work for you, during prep and service). But Like mentioned, late game is kinda hand held by your sous.
  -just little nitpicky stuff like the way the fridge takes up alot of space but doesnt offer alot of storage space, some prep can't be saved and stored until service, which isn't a big deal and makes sense for most of it, but its some dishes, like pizza, that cant be prepped and saved, (like i cant build the entire pizza, save it in the fridge and have it ready to cook and since the bake takes extra care, it would be easier to execute if i could prep the enitre thing before service and not just the individual steps (sauce, dough and toppings) making it annoying to have on thee menu, especially during early game.
  
  
• Player Customization
  +There's Options
  ... Downside...
  - It leaves much to be desired. Very Mehh Looking Characters, players and NPCs
  
  
• Options
  +Especially Once your start unlocking and upgrading the dishes, you can pretty much design the restaurant of your dreams.
  +Theres so many different dishes to have and upgrade, theres always something new as your going through the story and completing your sous story, and well as the DLC packs adding French and Japanese Cuisine.
  ...Downside...
  -They could add more but it feels like the game isnt in development anymore, leaving the game feeling unfinished with the many bugs and lack of new content.
  -Theres just too much to be desired that has been left. Like American Cuisine (just for example, like French, Japan and Italian are the only food types represented and just barely even)
  -No dessert or Drink options
  -You can make treats pre shift for extra tips but you can only max out at like 6, and there no options for them just random and you can only prep them if you have an available sous who doesnt need to clean or help your prep list.
  
  
[*] Other Stuff....
+I love the story progression. It guides you well enough to help your menu be varied enough to help upgrade dishes and generally learn the game, especially as you level.
+You unlock better food quality with more experience
-There's no real depth to anything. No consequence, guest don't leave if they are waiting too long. The comments and reviews they make at the end of service are broad and copy/paste. Even if they wait too long, it doesn't hurt your score that much at all...
+Getting a perfect service isn't too hard, live Vivo says "Proper planning prevents poor performance"
+There's side quest....
-The side quest are basic, and not practical, nor do they make use of the extra equipment (like the packaging table that feels like a useless waste of space in the kitchen. i thought that the blue tubbleware that shows up on the service counters where bugs at first... there no tutorial into side quest, you kinda just figure it out.
-THERE'S NO REAL PURPOSE TO THE PACKAGING STATION. it only really saves your responsibility meter if you have non ruined dishes or ingredients to throw away, you can package instead. You don't save ingredients... Your responsibility meter is easy enough to manage that you don't every really need to worry about ruining it by throwing things away.
-Responsibility affects your chefs attitude, that's it... They get grumpy when it low, might show up to work late, but that guest don't really care as long as the food quality is what they expect for the price.

really fun, just needs more updates

hi

Don't get me wrong with this comment I love this game I have over 100 hours into it, but I feel like the game was abandoned way to fast and that is highly upsetting. I wish they would have at least offered a dessert dlc or drinks, we have a bar in the main dining room but we literally can't do anything with it, and not having dessert as an option does not make any since for such an upscale restaurant we are running.

While I do recommend it, I also recommend you look up a guide first because the game expects you to do certain things in a certain order or it will lock you out, but there's no fail safe to prevent you from doing it out of order. If you upgrade certain recipes before a character has leveled up their story with that specific recipe, they can no longer complete their story. And if they can't complete their story, they cannot level up, making them borderline useless in the kitchen. Some of the commands are just not clear either, making it easy to misunderstand what you're supposed to do or what is needed of you. Additionally, some of the commands are buggy. I can't tell you how many times it tells me to Press W to open a large dish in my fridge so I can take out the component, and it just will not open it at all unless I tab to the end of my inventory first, which is time consuming and nonsensical since the "W" command is there the whole time.

That being said, if they just polish up some of these glaring issues, the game is a blast. I enjoy the complexity and variety of recipes and absolutely love that you can design your own plating, The customization is what really makes the game shine. You can also turn on settings to make it more relaxed and not so fast paced if you just want something cathartic and calm or don't want to micromanage too much. The characters and story are a little cheesy, but it's fine since that's not really the focus of the game anyway. They all have cute accents though.

As you can tell by my hours, I really like this game, which is weird because me and cooking games usually don't get along. TLDR at bottom cus I can yap.
I like how custom you can make the game, for example I play with patience turned off because otherwise I would want to self delete.
The game is super smooth and polished, it was a really pleasant surprise. I'm seeing a lot of people say it plays better on console or controller, which is fair, but it doesn't play badly on PC. The controls have a bit of a learning curve (using tab to back out of cooking rather than escape) but they're still simple and they become second nature to you eventually. I prefer to avoid playing with controllers where I can, and I've tested this game with a controller but I enjoyed keyboard much more. You also get the insane benefit of the mouse.
That being said, there are a couple things I wish the devs would change. For one, the chefs talk way way way too much when they're reminding you that they want to do something. I've gotten used to it mostly but god can it piss you off when youve just missed out on an A+ and they keep nagging you about wanting a challenge. A setting for it would be really nice.
A setting that would show timers and notifications on the screen would really help, as right now you have to play with sound on or else you miss the alarms completely. I love the music but sometimes you get bored and want to put your own spotify or youtube vids on.
Another thing that could be a fun little feature is being able to unlock extra inventory spaces or pots with money, because right now the money you earn doesn't do much outside of ingredients (which you always make back) and decor, which I couldn't even be bothered with until 59 hours in. Like maybe have a total inventory of 11 ingredients for when you want to get everything for a recipe at once. Plus, I always find myself running out of pots because most of my menu is prepared in the morning. Maybe if you could pay to increase how many warmers you have, too? There's a lot that could be added to the game to make you feel like you're progressing at a higher pace, cus right now it's quite slow paced waiting for the chefs to give you a new task for them to level up.
Lastly, I wouldn't say the game is buggy but I have encountered a few very annoying glitches. The worst one (which I've only gotten recently) is when you can't upgrade your recipes even though they're off your menu. It just says you can't upgrade because you need "level ". Literally no level listed. It happened to the potato au gratin about 10 hours back in my game and it's happened on every upgrade-able recipe since then (4).
The more common one (at least for me) and one that I've been getting for much longer, is not being able to put ingredients or spices back. Ingredients it doesn't matter as much cus you can drop them on counters but spices are much more annoying because you only get 6 slots. It only fixes when you quit to the main menu or the game altogether and it really disrupts play. I don't think I do anything to cause it but it happens almost every time I play the game (I usually play in 2-3 hour bursts) at least once or twice.
Theres also a much more game breaking one where you can't place a heavy item on a counter or mixing table or anywhere. The option just disappears. It can be fixed with a restart but it just completely ruins your focus and stresses you out if you have patience on.
TLDR: Overall, I love this game and how you can make it work no matter how you like to play. I have some nitpicks about progression and some non-game-breaking glitches, but I always have so much fun and get so much satisfaction out of playing that it's more "feedback" rather than actual complaining

Love this game - Very relaxing (with certain settings lol) would definitely recommend, especially if you love cooking!

Personally, I really like this game. I have played over 25 hours on the switch and it is definitely a better console game

I enjoy the game. However, it crashes every 15-20 min.

I love love love this game. I have spent far too long getting lost in this game. I was borrowing it on the Shared libraries from a friend and had to buy it for myself. The recipes are easy to remember, the chopping isn't a 'line up perfectly to chop correctly so it's great for those who don't have such great hand dexterity. The artwork is amazing, I wish there was a way you could put unused stock back into your fridges at the end of the day (or it did it automatically). Otherwise there is no reason for the expiry date options. I do wish you could turn off the idle dialogue for the kitchen helpers. I understand they get bored, but if the first order hasn't even come in yet, how am I to know what he is to help prepare? I already did a ton preparation pre-opening. I also wish there was a way to use base recipes still once you've upgraded one, more for challenge offers that come up.

I say 10 out of 5 stars because I do enjoy it and do tend to get lost in the game. Keep up the great work, love it, and can't wait to see what more you can do with it.

best game

Love this game so much. Challenging, and fun (and surprisingly educational and inspirational).
I am absolutely DESPERATE for a co-op mode!

i love this game, very intriguing.

Very fun and high-intensive game. Love it.

Nice idea, poor execution.
Can't progress past the tutorial as it just doesn't give me an option.
Controls are strange, might be better suited to a N64 controller.

I love this game it's entertaining and relaxing, as well as just plain fun, having said all that there are some things that I would change.

1st. I would Decrease the amount that the Sous-Chefs Talk, it is very distracting to here "I don't Have Anything to work on, and I don't have anything to do every 10-15 seconds. I know you need things to do I put you on the station, when I have something for you I will let you work on it, until then just stand there and shut up your distracting me.

2nd. The way they push you out of the way while your in front of the ingredient fridge is also annoying.

3rd I wish there were either a few more "quick-slots" or more items would stack.

Having said all that I would absolutely recommend this game.

Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator – A Deliciously Fun Experience!

Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator is an absolute delight for anyone who loves cooking games or dreams of running their own restaurant. I really enjoy this game—it’s so much fun and incredibly immersive.

One of my favorite features is the ability to pin recipes. This simple but genius mechanic makes cooking so much easier and more enjoyable. Whether you're whipping up a quick dish or preparing a multi-course meal, having the steps readily available takes a lot of the stress out of managing your kitchen.

The game does a fantastic job of balancing fun and realism. From customizing your menu to plating dishes, it’s clear a lot of thought went into making the experience authentic yet accessible. The attention to detail, from chopping ingredients to perfecting the timing of each dish, keeps you engaged and coming back for more.

If you’re looking for a restaurant simulator that’s both fun and satisfying, Chef Life is a must-try. It’s a game that I wholeheartedly recommend to foodies and gamers alike!

This game NEEEEEDS co-op man... It would be so much fun

This is a wonderful culinary game, if you like cooking!

I love this game it's the perfect kitchen/restaurant simulator. However, it would be much better if it offered greater variety of the basic foods like grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup, fettucine pasta.. the great classics! I get that it may partially defy the concept of owning a Michelin star restaurant, but it definitely makes the game more enjoyable in my opinion where the owner gets to decide the path for their restaurant. Also, one of the things that really disappointed me with this game was the fact that there wasn't a baking aspect. I would absolutely LOOVE it if it had dessert recipes whether in the base game or as an add-on it would be a perfect addition and a completion to the menu of the game.

its nice

Unable to complete the tutorial. When I am in the Plating tutorial there is no way to "finish" plating. Stuck in the screen basically. Requested refund.

i love this game but it pisses me off. why am i playing it anymore. it feels like im just working another job after i do my day job. stop ordering the soup. please

Would suggest it for casual play. Pretty decent

oh great now I'm hungry

It had potential to be a great game but sadly the devs have been moved on to other games and it is now a console game.

I love this game and would love an add-on or dlc that introduces desserts!

amazing game, very distracting and fun. love the fact that i can serve on my own time and deactivate the food burning, an amazing user experience.

I love it honestly, it keeps me busy,

the cooking mechanic is so realistic. i love how there are loads and loads of furniture and style options available so you can truly design the restaurant of ur dreams! it is a very stressful game indeed but its also so much fun and i love the different recipes to cook! i always get hungry :(

bagus

Want to pass the time? One of the more realistic cooking sims. It's enjoyable but gets old once you unlock everything. I wish there were more decor options.

So good and entertaining!

Fun.

stinky booty

You're really thrown into the game with a lot all at once and it's stressful, but after the first day you can change settings to turn off everything that makes it excessively tedious. The first time I played I barely got through the tutorial and got annoyed, but I'm glad I decided to give it a second chance. Once you get through the frustrating first few parts and have help around the restaurant the game is very fun.

It's fun! it's hard to be a chef :(

Love this game, can understand the work behind michelin chefs

I like this game and where it is going.

Love the concept of this game. Perfect balance between cooking and managing a restaurant. Nice to be able to perform all the tasks yourself. Visually pleasing. Looking forward for a bakery version.

BUT the game is in need of fixing. Interface [control guide] glitches and disappears regularly. Ambient/sound effect/voice go missing out of nowhere. Really frustrating to play.

P.S. What is up with no black pepper in Carbonara?? UNACCEPTABLE

I haven't had many issues playing it. It's fun to play while you have something on in the background, trying to get achievements.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☑ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☑ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☑ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☑ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☑ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☑ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☑ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☑ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☑ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☑ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

Very fun gamr

j'aime ce jeu!!

The game is great but require some tweakings or at least some slide bars to be able to adjust the game as you like... for example
A) sous-chefs are too good once levelled, they are too fast making dishes making yourself almost useles...
B) clients are too impatient, that force you to rely on sous-chefs
C) should exist the possibility to refuse or delay the hiring of a sous-chef ... maybe i prefer to run a little bistro with the help of just 1 or 2 guys.
D) Love the fact that they added a lot of italian plates... but there are some errors in the recipes. Was enough to ask to a random italian to fix that ...
I repeat that the game is great, just miss some adjusting slide bars.

I somewhat enjoyed the game but there are too many simple bugs to actually recommend the game (some dishes you can't cook to A+ no matter what you do).

Additionally there are severe balancing issues (e.g. plating takes a ridiculously long time, sous chefs do all the work - which means that the game essentially becomes bus boy simulator, etc...).