I must admit cooking in real life is extremely hard, and managing your restaurant is even harder. Hence, without a dab hand in the kitchen, I can do nothing but get into video games to make my dreams of being an epic cook alive.
And after trying some titles out there, I think I should make a list compiling the best cooking and restaurant management games PC in my opinion. So, if you are really desperate to make mouth-watering dishes, or enjoy the frantic atmosphere in the kitchen, check my list out.
This complication will include two parts - the Cooking games and the Restaurant games for PC. The cooking games mostly concentrates on recipes, methods, and prowess, while the restaurant games are mainly about managing and a puzzling.
Without further ado, let's get right into it:
1. Cooking games for PC
Cooking Simulator
Release date: 2019
Storefronts: Steam, GOG
The first one in the list of cooking games is Cooking Simulator. Releasing in 2019, this game takes the art of cooking more seriously than the remaining titles in this group.
To be more specific, Cooking Simulator lets you make your own dishes from the first-person perspective. You can prepare the raw foods, slice and dice them to your will and finish by decorating the meals. You can enjoy raw cooking experience without caring about anything else with the sandbox play mode, which you can do everything you want with every ingredient you need.
However, if you need a more challenging experience, the career mode is the most suitable one for you. Apart from cooking your masterpieces, you also have to improve your reputation and prowess. The handier you become with the foods, the more ingredients you can unlock in the future.
The best thing about Cooking Simulator is that it will actually enhance your cooking skills in real life. As the game takes a realistic approach with every aspect: the ingredients, the equipment, and the physics as well. All of them adds a whole new level of difficulty to the simplest task of flipping a burger, which will prime your mind in real-life tasks.
Battle Chef Brigade
Release date: 2017
Storefronts: Steam
The second one in this list of cooking games for PC is softer on the cooking core, but much more beautiful with its anime-like visuals and an RPG twist. First, you'll need to hunt down animals and monsters to get your ingredients. You can clash, chop and shoot the monster down, which adds a whole new aspect to the cooking experience.
After that, you will take them back to your kitchen and start making your meals. Unlike Cooking Simulator where your cooking skills are the most important thing, the cookware you're using will determine the quality of your dishes. You'll loot new and advanced cookware by playing the match-3 cooking puzzler, and grant the prize for the best meal.
Combining 2D RPG side-scrolling and match-3 mechanics in a cooking game has made Battle Chef Brigade the most intriguing cooking game PC I've encountered so far.
You can play this game with your friends at your place through local-multiplayer play or single-player campaign. Additionally, there is also consoles version of the game as well, and you can play it on Switch and Playstation 4.
Overcooked 2
Release date: 2018
Storefronts: Steam, GOG, Humble.
Speaking about cooking games for PC, we can't miss out on this extraordinary frantic game - Overcooked 2. It has created waves on streamers' world, to the point that for every channel you click on Twitch, you'll see the streamers shouting at each other to get out of their way.
Simply saying, Overcooked 2 will put you into the weirdest kitchens in the world, asking you to cook to complete the customers' orders. You will have to work together to prepare the ingredients, using the utensils and gadgets scattering in the kitchen. And don't forget to wash the dirty dishes, as if you stack them up in piles, they will take away your precious points.
You might think it's just simple as some random cooking games on mobile phones, right? You might want to think again since the "work together" part is already disastrous enough. You can expect to bump into each other, making your friends hit the roof and fail the mission again and again. It's not exaggerated to say that this game is a true relationship destroyer.
But if you don't take those little quarrels too serious, Overcooked 2 does feature a lot of fun experience. The first several missions can be quite easy, but reaching higher levels will give you a bunch of headaches. Communication and teamwork are very crucial in this game, which will give you a glimpse of the intense atmosphere in real-life kitchens.
If throwing the foods around in the kitchen is the thing you're looking for, do it in Overcooked 2!
>>> Check out other cooking games:
- Bake 'n Switch, Be Aware Fans Of Action Cooking Game!
- SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off Is Coming Out To Google Play As A Cooking Game
2. Restaurant management games for PC
Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game
Release date: 2018
Storefronts: Steam
The tycoon games often focus on bringing the management sims with strange elements, and this game is not an exception. You will start from absolute scratch, as the only things you have are a small restaurant and your heart full of ambitious dream. With no money in your hands, you'll start to grow up from a no-one-knows cook to the world-famous chef.
The name of this game speaks for itself. Chef: A Restaurant Tycoon Game focuses more on managing your restaurant than cooking delicious meals. First, you'll have to plan your recipes and craft your own menu. Later on, decorate your restaurant to attract more and more visitors to your restaurant.
As your restaurant grows in both sizes and reputation, you can unlock more skills and add more options to your menu. The world will soon recognize your efforts, and you'll gradually become the most famous chef in the world. But before that, you'll have to balance the manufacturing cost and the income you've gained from the customers. So, if you don't want your restaurant to close soon, take good care of it.
The game has been under Early Access states for a year, and there's no plan from the developer to bring the final version out. Hence, you might see some bugs and missing features, but it's not a big deal considering the wonderful experiences you can get in this version.
Cooking Dash
Release date: 2008
Cooking Dash is much older than the mentioned games in this list of best restaurant management games PC, but it still has something that you will have to look out for. Basically, it's a time management game, where the owner of the restaurant - Flo wants to become a TV chef star. To fulfill her dream, you'll have to perform well in front of the camera to catch the attention of the viewers.
To be more specific, you'll have to cook in hundreds of fast-paced levels to path your own way to fame. If you satisfy your customer with your foods and services, you'll get a lot of tips from them, and make profits from that.
If you want to become popular much quicker, use that money to upgrade your utensils and decorate your restaurant. Shiny stoves and beautiful food preps are very crucial to make your customers leave 3 stars for your service.
Food and fame always together in Cooking Dash. You can try it on either PC or mobiles now!