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Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator
Create and manage your dream restaurant! Menus, purchasing, décor, staff, equipment, customers… and don't forget the actual cooking! Experience the daily life of a restaurateur and earn your awards from the Michelin Guide.
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-09-02 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-13.
What reviewers agree on
39 of the 71 reviews raise this.
“I've spent entirely too much time in this game because it is really one of the best cooking sims out there. While there are a few bugs occasionally, I found the overall experience to be smooth. There's a large variety…”
“Honestly this game makes me feel like im running my kitchen. It's not a hard game so far but i can see how it can get challenging. There's controls so you can make it as easy or as stressful as you want. I like that you…”
“Well after playing this game for a few hours I can now say that I do recommend this game. I have had so much fun on this game and running my own restaurant, I have had so much fun unlocking new recipes and making the…”
14 of the 71 reviews raise this.
“I've spent entirely too much time in this game because it is really one of the best cooking sims out there. While there are a few bugs occasionally, I found the overall experience to be smooth. There's a large variety…”
“Honestly this game makes me feel like im running my kitchen. It's not a hard game so far but i can see how it can get challenging. There's controls so you can make it as easy or as stressful as you want. I like that you…”
“"I am a cooking nerd and have tasted many dishes by now. This one is special" Started a few times over, bought the game a while ago and the recipes have to be learned/remembered or the customers are..well..lets say "not…”
9 of the 71 reviews raise this.
“I've spent entirely too much time in this game because it is really one of the best cooking sims out there. While there are a few bugs occasionally, I found the overall experience to be smooth. There's a large variety…”
“Well after playing this game for a few hours I can now say that I do recommend this game. I have had so much fun on this game and running my own restaurant, I have had so much fun unlocking new recipes and making the…”
“I really enjoy this game. If you are looking for a cooking sim with depth and character look no further. Its a completed game, there are a few DLC's if you want to expand the vanilla content. Game play loop feels good…”
6 of the 71 reviews raise this.
“Well after playing this game for a few hours I can now say that I do recommend this game. I have had so much fun on this game and running my own restaurant, I have had so much fun unlocking new recipes and making the…”
“"I am a cooking nerd and have tasted many dishes by now. This one is special" Started a few times over, bought the game a while ago and the recipes have to be learned/remembered or the customers are..well..lets say "not…”
“I love this game！ Please！ We need Chinese food DLC！ I will pay for it！”
3 of the 71 reviews raise this.
“I really enjoy this game. If you are looking for a cooking sim with depth and character look no further. Its a completed game, there are a few DLC's if you want to expand the vanilla content. Game play loop feels good…”
14 of the 71 reviews raise this · 8 of them still recommend the game.
“Neat concept and I can see what they're going for, unfortunately the bugs make it unplayable. I've tried 3 times to get through a dinner service and each time I get stuck in cook mode and can't complete any of the…”
“I've spent entirely too much time in this game because it is really one of the best cooking sims out there. While there are a few bugs occasionally, I found the overall experience to be smooth. There's a large variety…”
10 of the 71 reviews raise this · 4 of them still recommend the game.
“The game is good yes, but like almost every game from Cyanide Studio, they get an update like every 2 years, so it would be nice to add more content like entrees, desserts etc or even multiplayer which tbh could be a…”
“Neat concept and I can see what they're going for, unfortunately the bugs make it unplayable. I've tried 3 times to get through a dinner service and each time I get stuck in cook mode and can't complete any of the…”
“This game is great first of all but around 30 minutes in I started to drop frames constantly , even turning it down the lowest settings caused me to have so many frame stutters. So I couldn't enjoy the game afterwards…”
6 of the 71 reviews raise this · 5 of them still recommend the game.
“Im enjoying it quite a bit but I think my games broken a bit, I cant seem to finish the 'order 5 products from super' despite doing so alongside my other ingredients, also I wish there was a way to expand the kitchen so…”
6 of the 71 reviews raise this · 2 of them still recommend the game.
“The game is good yes, but like almost every game from Cyanide Studio, they get an update like every 2 years, so it would be nice to add more content like entrees, desserts etc or even multiplayer which tbh could be a…”
“They said 3 years ago widescreen support was not on their priority. When this was already a big JOKE in 2023, it is even more in 2026, even more with the time it actually takes to activate. That's how they care about…”
“This game is perhaps one of the most in depth advanced cooking / chef simulations games I've played, with the latest free DLC and if you buy the other DLC you can make lots of interesting plates, it is a bit challenging…”
5 of the 71 reviews raise this · 1 of them still recommend the game.
“Neat concept and I can see what they're going for, unfortunately the bugs make it unplayable. I've tried 3 times to get through a dinner service and each time I get stuck in cook mode and can't complete any of the…”
Counted across 71 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 83.7% positive rating · as of 2026-05-13
“My favorite game! I do love it ^_^ Dear developers, could you pls add DLC with desserts (cakes, pastries, pies)?”
— a player, Steam review · 108 hrs played“Controls for keyboard are quite bad, but otherwise with that I'm happy, life unfortunately took a different route for me, so at least I can cook like this, and then experiment for myself in real life.”
— a player, Steam review · 21 hrs played“OMG how have I never heard of this game? I love Simulators of all types and my biggest criticism has always been that simulators tend to go down easy routes for the players and while they start of realistic enough, they quickly end up either becoming too easy, too repetitive or…”
— a player, Steam review · 14 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-06 via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-09-05.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-09-04). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
Discounts up to 90% on the Life games collection!
Your next favorite Life game awaits! Nacon Publisher Sale is live now, with discounts from 60% to 90% on the Life games collection. https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/45577585/2f4cf30126612505
Patch 06: Tokyo Delight
Greetings Chefs, We've just pushed a small patch for Steam users. Here's what changed: Changelog: Changed the color of the rice vinegar to a more natural tint. Fixed the logos on the Ichiban Short-Sle
Watch the Developers Play!
The new Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator DLC is out! Introducing TOKYO DELIGHT! Cook sushi, tempura, gyoza & more, and theme your restaurant and dishes with a Japanese-inspired look! Discover what th
Introducing the TOKYO DELIGHT DLC
If you enjoy Japanese culture, this new expansion's for you: Introducing the Tokyo Delight DLC! Cook 8 new recipes ... including tempura, sushi, gyoza and more, using 24 new ingredients! Prepare your
Patch 05: Softlock Solved!
Hello Chefs! This is a small patch to address a recent issue softlocking players during the celebration service. With this fix, you should be able to finish the day as usual, without any blockers. See
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-13.
| Genres | Simulation |
| Player tags | Simulation · Cooking · Immersive Sim · Casual · Singleplayer · Management · Relaxing · Family Friendly · Life Sim · Colorful · Cartoony · Stylized (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Achievements · Steam Trading Cards · In-App Purchases · Partial Controller Support · Steam Cloud · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English * , French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Arabic, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese * |
| Achievements | 40 |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 or AMD FX-4100 Memory: 6 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450, 1 GB or AMD Radeon HD 5750, 1 GB or Intel HD Graphics 630 DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 7 GB available space