Simulation
Chef Life: A Restaurant Simulator
Give it 4 hours
Gets good by 4h then rated almost like by veterans
Fully opens up by 10h rated like by long-time players
Started playing 55% of owners
Steam reviews 83% positive of 2,881
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 2 reviews are negative (50%); after 10h it's 1 in 11 (9%).
- Fully opens up by hour 10.
- The opening is criticised more than in 77% of games we track.
- The game has no story achievements, so drop-off points can't be measured.
- Only 55% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 2,915 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 300 reviews: 16.5h for positive, 3.3h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (54.7% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
This game has no story achievements, so we can't tell where players quit.
All achievements (40)
story milestone ending side
- The Big Day This is it, the grand opening! Good luck! 100%
- You're the Expert! Get one of your chefs to prepare 10 dishes related to their specialty. 43%
- Home Cook Learn and serve 10 different recipes. 39%
- Sous-Chef Level 10! New recipes have been unlocked! 38%
- Highest Score Serve 50 dishes with an A or A+ grade to customers. 38%
- So Clean You Can Eat Off the Floor Maintain a high level of hygiene in the restaurant for 5 days in a row. 35%
- Satisfaction Guaranteed Receive a maximum rating for the service from 25 customers. 27%
- Well-Stocked Kitchen Purchase 10 workstations. 24%
- Rising Star Your restaurant has been identified by the MICHELIN Guide as an up-and-coming establishment! Bravo! 22%
- Next Level Cuisine Upgrade 10 recipes. 20%
- French Flair Decorate the restaurant with the Bistro collection. 20%
- Experienced in the Kitchen Learn and serve 30 different recipes. 18%
- Master Chef Level 20! New recipes have been unlocked! 18%
- Codename: Arrabbiata Serve Arrabbiata pasta for the first time. 17%
- Dream Team Finish a service with a full team of 3 chefs. 15%
- The More the Merrier Host 20 customers during a service. 11%
- Italian Style Decorate the restaurant with the Trattoria collection. 11%
- Holy Cow! Offer a menu consisting of dishes that contain all 4 cuts of a side of beef. 11%
- Rolling in Dough Achieve a balance of over 10,000 coins. 10%
- Culinary Arts Offer a menu consisting of 5 dishes with a custom plating. 9.3%
- Pyrotechnician Serve a flambéed dish for the first time. 9.3%
- Haute Cuisine Offer a menu consisting solely of gastronomic dishes. 8.8%
- Leaning Tower of Pizza Successfully create a plating with all the elements stacked high. 8.8%
- Seasoned Chef Learn and serve 60 different recipes. 8.6%
- Perfectionist Create a custom plating for 20 different dishes. 7.9%
- The Bigger the Better Extend the restaurant to its maximum size. 7.9%
- Culinary Legend Level 30! New recipes have been unlocked! 6.4%
- Kitchen Model Purchase 10 clothing items and accessories. 5.5%
- Eco Warrior Solve 10 dilemmas that raise your Responsibility level. 4.8%
- Say Cheese! Offer a menu consisting of 5 dishes that contain cheese. 4.6%
- Chef, Yes Chef! Keep all three of your chefs at a happy morale level for 10 days in a row. 3.5%
- Stella d’Italia Offer a menu consisting of 5 pasta dishes. 2.9%
- Sweet Roll Serve a brioche for the first time. 2.7%
- Baking Up a Storm Offer a menu consisting of 5 dishes that require using the oven. 2.6%
- Rise to the Challenge Complete 3 challenges from Chef Hyppolite. 2.4%
- Teamwork Offer a menu consisting of the 3 signature dishes of your chefs. 2.0%
- A Star is Born Your restaurant has received a MICHELIN Star! Congratulations! 1.8%
- Course of Cthulhu Offer a menu consisting of 5 dishes that contain squid. 1.6%
- Reinventing the Meal Offer a menu featuring upgraded versions of Sole meunière, Beef and potatoes, and Caprese salad. 0.7%
- Foodie Favorite Your restaurant has received a Bib Gourmand from the MICHELIN Guide! Congratulations! 0.7%
Steam page Updated: 2026-10-19.