Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game Reviews

by Meg872

Not only do longtime players find that the new updates are creating new levels that are sometimes impossible to finish without added boosters (many of which have to be purchased), they are redesigning old levels so that players can’t go back easily to first levels to contribute to quests or to complete assignments in the book. The new updates bring ‘insane’ levels and many I have not been able to finish without boosters, which run out quickly and are expensive to buy. I have played for years and used to find this game fun and an outlet to have especially on down time during the pandemic. More recently in the past few months I have quit out of frustration and have not been able to help the team I admin for as much. They are quite indifferent in customer service messages as well and have solved nothing. The developers maybe have a quota to bring to corporate trying to squeeze every last dime out of the customers and every last ounce of joy out of the game, as it has just gotten more and more terrible and a money grubbing scheme. For all the time and some money I have spent on the game, in addition to the team I admin for, I still have some hope they will listen to the many complaints I know they’ve gotten from team members and those worldwide to change their game back to the fun, less greedy game it has become.

by Kad2274

This was a great game until I beat maybe 4-5 restaurants. The cost of upgrades keeps getting more and more expensive and it seems like there are less rubies to be earned. I wouldn’t mind spending a little money every now and then but $1 for 10 rubies! It won’t even buy you one upgrade you need at the Golden Dragon restaurant I am at now!! It’s so frustrating. And also, I used to be able to watch videos to speed up delivery of upgrades or be able to speed up asking for help from my guild and now it asks me for a ridiculous amount of rubies. I thought this game was maybe going to be different since the first few restaurants seemed fair and reasonable. But it’s just like every other game. The daily reward is only 2 rubies! And then spinning the wheel almost always gets me 5 measly tickets, sometimes 1-2 rubies. It’s very frustrating. And why did the currencies change? Now I have so many useless coins. What’s the point to keep accumulating them. I’m going to play until I really get stuck (which I imagine will happen soon when it would probably take me 2 weeks to save up for one upgrade which would only help for a few levels. It’s incredibly frustrating when you should beat a level because you serve every customer, have no angry customers, don’t burn or throw out even one dish, and still fail because you don’t have the rubies to upgrade the cost of ingredients.

by Silvermist16

I love this game. It’s very addicting but they are many setbacks and even changes that are not ideal. Rubies are getting harder to come by! We get 2 rubies every so often in the truck levels, but a suggestion is to maybe allow 1 ruby every truck level instead. They are also winnable after finishing a story (20 rubies), but we need those rubies to be able to finish the story. We can also win them in the achievements but having to serve, for example, 2400 snacks in the Particles of Taste restaurant is ridiculous for only 5 rubies. This should at least be worth 10 or 15. I get it sometimes since snacks and drinks can be served more often than the main dishes, but that is a lot for less rubies. And the currency differences are a little ridiculous too. Since we get to a point where we’re not updating restaurants in a city anymore, what’s the point of still having free coins regenerate every 4 hours. It’s really a waste and would be more useful to be able to trade in for rubies. Like I have almost 900,000 coins in one city and haven’t really used them. One last thing is the update on certain updates in restaurants where, for example, we need 5 rubies to get a certain wall design or curtain design now. We already need too many rubies for restaurant updates and this is just too much. It’s not reasonable. I understand needing to up some stuff up for players to buy in-app purchases in order to make money from CookingDiary, but there’s a better way about it.

by Gogumba

I’ve been playing this game for over a year cause it is a fun well made game. It becomes addicting and honestly sometimes challenging but nonetheless still fun. The reason for the three stars is due to how much you have to invest real money to move forward. (Which I have) . There should be a way for players to earn gems without leaving it to chance on the “daily wheel” or daily challenges or finishing a story. The user gets coins like crazy but not gems that you need to level up each restaurant. Not only that the furniture and tools you need to buy to level up restaurants also cost coins and gems. You can buy gems and literally use them all up within 3 minutes due to the things you need to “buy” to level up. Not only that but every single day you will get a pop message with offers to buy more “candy”, “coins”, “gems”, etc... to get your money. I understand that Apple takes a fee and I understand that the team behind the game needs to get paid, but dear gods, a game as good as this one should find away to fix the gem issue. I don’t know maybe award the user a gem every hour? Or every two hours? Something! I would rather buy the game if it means not needing to buy the gems, but let’s be real, that is not going to happen. Is a smarter business move to have people buy gems over and over again than a one time payment of $3.99 plus tax.

by Lakita Lover

This game is lots of fun, but as others have said, it is not possible to progress past a certain point without purchasing rubies. I usually wait until the game offers the occasional sale of 100 rubies for $2, which is really what they should cost all the time considering how many are needed to make the later restaurants playable. The art and gameplay are good and the new pets are a cute feature.
Aside from pricing, the only major thing I would change is the way players travel between restaurants. Once you have several pages worth of restaurants it is really annoying to have to scroll across the map and wait through multiple loading screens to get to the restaurants from the beginning of the game. It would be much better if there were a button on every screen that opened a menu of all the restaurants a player has unlocked. Then players could scroll through a list and teleport directly to any restaurant they want to play in.
It would also be great if there were options for spending various coin types once players have completed an area. Maybe add a shop or a wheel for each section of the game, so when players go back to old restaurants to earn achievements they don't end up with hundreds of thousands of coins that they can't spend on anything.
Lastly, if there were a way to view one's high score in any restaurant whenever one wants instead of only after beating a level and passing another player that would be wonderful.

by Mlknowles11

I was so excited when I found this game. I was having so much fun playing it for the first few weeks. The animation is super cute, I love customizing the restaurants, and it’s satisfying to beat the levels. I was fine spending a few dollars on it because I was having fun, but as I advanced in the game, it became clear that I would have to spend a LOT more money to make progress. I realized this when they changed currency in the next district - I now have over 100,000 coins that are useless. You should at least be able to spend these old coins in the wheel of fortune to have a chance to get gems. To get the needed gems without spending real cash, you’d have to spend HOURS completing the same levels you’ve already played 100 times to get the measly 10 gems from a completed challenge - that’ll get you *one* upgrade in the more advanced restaurants (if that). Serve 1000 croissants? Guess I’ll have to play the same old bakery 200 times while earning useless coins. So annoying. Also, the story is pointless. They bring in all these random characters and there’s no real storyline and it doesn’t even relate to your journey as a chef, so why have it? Such lazy writing. And the ads to spend money in the game are CONSTANT. I’ve reached my limit with this game. No way am I going to spend real money on it again - way too repetitive and no incentive to finish the story.

by ShainaME

The game play is quick paced and really fun! ... at first. After about 3 or 4 restaurants in you start getting stuck because in a set time you have to serve x customers or make x amount of money. But to do that you need faster machines and more expensive ingredients... and how do you get those? With gems! But how do you get gems? Well, you can get 1 on day 4 of constant gameplay and 2 on day 5. You can watch an add twice a day and get 1 gen per add. You can spin a wheel for free once a day (I’ve gotten 2 gems this way maybe once a week, it’s hit or miss) and occasionally there’s special events where you can earn gems (1-3 gems every 5-10 levels complete). You also get a few gems when you get through episodes but you can only do that by whining levels. So when you’re stuck there’s 2 options. 1: wait. Every day you get a few gems. Save up to get that 16 gem tray or 12 gem oven upgrade. Might take you a few weeks of not playing and just clicking. Or 2: pay up. For a dollar you can get 100 gems.. sometimes. It’s one of those special offers that keep popping up. Or for $4.99 you can get a golden ticket and earn better prizes (gems and outfits) when you play events in the food truck.

Gems should be a part of level prizes same as coins. Maybe to a less extent because I get it... ads aren’t enough, the game maker wants us to pay up. But it literally halts game play for me and that’s not ok. Do better Food Diary!

by Chinese German Dragon Girl

The only reason I am not giving this a five stars is because some things in the game are really annoying. Earning rubies is really hard unless you pay money, and even when you watch adds, you only get 1! I have three pets in the game, but they don’t help much. They just give me a couple banknotes and maybe some other things, but pretty much never give me rubies! So I am just spending a bunch of rubies to make them happy, even though I could be using those rubies to help me! Also, I don’t like how the pets can lose happiness even when you aren’t playing. That makes it virtually impossible to make them happy and still upgrade your restaurants without spending a bunch of money to buy rubies. If you could make the pets useful, like have them help you in the kitchen or at least get rubies from them, the game would be a lot better. Once every like 3-4 weeks you get a large gift of rubies, but that is really rare. If you could make it easier to get the things that the pets need, that would be really helpful. Overall, it is a good game, but if you could make the pets more useful, make it easier to get rubies without spending a bunch of money, and not have the pets lose happiness when you aren’t playing, this would be an excellent game. Honestly, I would rate this game 3 1/2 stars if I could, but I have to settle for this. Please fix this!

by Cody0513;)

Cooking Diary is extremely fun and slightly addictive. I have been playing well over 2 years and thoroughly enjoy this game. Exciting new foods and restaurants, a corny and funny storyline to advance, an avatar and home to decorate… very fun and interactive. However, I have noticed some glaring issues that worry me. First off, these dang rubies. It’s very hard to upgrade a restaurant to the necessary prestige to complete further levels. This is especially true when you are attempting to complete achievements to obtain rubies. I cannot two you how frustrating it is to be stuck on a level FOR DAYS OR WEEKS waiting to pass or waiting on rubies to upgrade. I understand the game needs to be challenging, but these rubies are few and far between. Something has to be done to correct that. I feel like after some of the recent updates this game has become significantly harder to play. This might be true more so for newer or inexperienced players which could turn people off to the game.

I truly enjoy Cooking Diary, but I am starting to see some things which concern me and long term playability. I sincerely hope these developers do not fall into greed as most tend to do with something that is a few years old. Keep up the great work and maintain this game which I and many other people love.

by Andreanna Allyn

This game is great. The storylines are fun, the animation is bright and updates frequently for seasons and holidays. I spend hours serving up food to patrons and developing my restaurants. I would give 5 stars, but there are just a few things that irritate me enough to stay at 4. The need for gems increases as your levels increase. The ability to win enough to fully upgrade your restaurants are few and far between. Additionally, there are ads you can watch to augment your restaurant develop times as you upgrade, which made it easier, faster and funnier to quickly improve your cooking speeds and earning potential; however one you get to a certain level that ends and you are forced to wait up to 8 hours for upgrades which limits what you can do in your newest restaurant. Gems are expensive and I have been impulsive and spent money to more quickly and efficiently update my stuff, but if you’re patient you can get by with the free gems earned during game play. I love the variety of games within the game. There are team challenges, individual challenges and all kinds of mini games that keep things exciting. This is a great game. I wish gems weren’t so expensive and difficult to get and I wish I still had ads to help push the game along but these negatives aren’t enough to keep me from playing every day. It’s fun, relaxing and you’ll enjoy playing it.

by Irelyn_Tiscareno

First off, great game. It’s very fun and very time consuming. But I still love it.😊 I also love the avatar editor. The outfits are really cute and fun! Although I do have a few complaints, just for the record, I still love this game.
My first complaint is the clothing. I know what your thinking, “You where just raving about how good the outfits where.” Well yes the outfits are still AMAZING but the actual tab for it is locked till after some time. I wish the tab could open sooner. Also once you get the tab to open, you have to WAIT for some sections to be able to use such as the pet section and the shop.
Another thing I want to add it the gems. The gems take A LONG time to earn. I wish that you could get gems more often even though they can be earned on daily login streak and wheel of fortune. Still... I just want to get more gems.
The last thing I wanna add is something that isn’t necessarily about a glitch or a ad problem (which BTW there are like zero ads) or something like that. It’s actually something the players have been doing quite recently. On the guilds people have been putting “Dating guilds”. I don’t like that because there could be little kids coming across that and PRETEND DATING. That’s only something you would do as an adult.
That’s pretty much it but please maybe fix these problems. Thank you 👍

by THEWOLFGURL

I’ve been playing for over a year now and let me just say, this was a lucky find. From the very beginning I knew this was going to be my favorite game. So let’s get straight to it. There is a diamond balance, but honestly, the daily gems and quests you can complete make it nearly impossible to NOT have any gems. I wouldn’t see any reason why people would complain about not getting enough, when really there is a good amount you can gain. I tested it and gained 40 diamonds within 3-4 days. You could probably get more in that period of time. Also the amount of money that you need to play this game is absolutely none. I have gone through almost 11 restaurants without paying a cent. It just takes patience and hard work to save up diamonds to upgrade. Also you can buy certain rare clothing items but that’s entirely your choice. The harder the levels, the more diamonds you’ll need to improve your kitchen, which is what is necessary to complete the game. So be sure to spend them wisely! Overall I would say this is a FANTASTIC creation! The makers of this are geniuses, and they really do deserve shout outs for this incredible mobile game. I can play this all day if I wanted, but be careful with spending diamonds for clothing items (you’ll regret using them for that). Thank you for reading this review! Hopefully this review will help you decide whether or not to get this game. :) Enjoy your day!

by HXJ45

I am not exaggerating when I say THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVER!!!!! I love the little story’s that makes it like a real cooking journey I love how you can interact with your guild as a team and I love how you can customize your character! And about customizing your character, I think you should update the styles ( the ones where you can go in and by with game cash or rubies not real money) I get you wanna make extra money and everything so the only updated styles you give us cost like five bucks each but I don’t think it’s really fair because I know I’m never gonna be able to buy any of the hair styles or outfits all that I can buy ( and not really because the really nice ones cost like 100 rubies witch I can never get ) is the same old never changing outfits that cost game cash or game rubies but you NEVER come out with new ones I can afford! My main problem is the hair styles been there worn that nothing NEW I want something like the ones we have to buy with cash with fancy updos and color highlights I would really like a hair style that is fun and I can afford. I also would like new and fun outfits to chose from but I mostly would like new affordable hair styles thank you for reading this and I’m lease out these thoughts into consideration!!

by Saaaaaaaaamy

So I never heard of this game until SSSniperwolf sponsored this game she is a YouTuber. So I downloaded it and OMG I LOVE IT 🥰 best cooking game I have ever had!! I have downloaded many cooking games but they never seem to interest me but this one really takes the cake! I LOVE the story that goes along with it it really makes the game more fun and interesting I have never seen a cooking game with a story line and well that’s just the beauty of it. And I also LOVE how you have your own characters! I love it how you can be creative in your own way to make your own restaurants and your own character! I played many cooking games where the chef is way too plain and you would love to give it a makeover but you can’t. Just two flaws with the game the first one is that it HEAVILY tells you on your screen “Do you want to buy 100 rubies” all the time! It’s super annoying then when you try to click out it says “ Do you want to miss this special offer?” I know it’s a free game and all but come on. And the other thing is that in my opinion there should be more free clothes I’m being honest right now there is only one free outfit ONE! Can you at least put a little bit more? But other than that I think this is THE BEST COOKING GAME IN HISTORY IF NOT I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS! 😍😍😍😍 ❤️💜💞💝💓💗💖💘💕💙💚❣️💛 😅

by Kenny Balinger

I love this game and I totally recommend it! My friends and I all have a guild and play together all the time. There are fun characters with different personalities, like a forgetful customer, a rushed customer, and one that takes forever. I also like how there is a TastyMe. With that, you can visit your friends' restaurants and get rewards. There are also daily rewards. It's also nice how it is quite easy to get rubies (in-game currency) which helps complete levels. I just wish that they would make it so that you could see all restaurants that there are so far. This game is a very good pastime for me and my family as well. I made a special guild just for my friends and family. There is also practically limitless restaurants and challenges to do. There is always something to do. My personal favorite is the Path to Glory, which is where you serve special customers and get special tokens for prizes. I also like the Food Truck, which is where you get 15 levels and after completing them all, you get a big reward. For every individual level you pass, you get a reward. All in all, this game is awesome and is a must-have in apps and cooking games. It's also a great pastime for friends and family to play alike. Thank you very much MyTona!

by Mortishya

I have a chronic degenerative disease called CIDP. I also have numerous other conditions. Between all of these, I am in bed most of the time and in severe to extreme pain. This game has enough going on that I am able to dive in and put all my focus on it, removing my focus from my pain. Even though I can’t afford to put much money into the developers, I have been purchasing little extras when I can. I really just want to support this game’s development team because of how amazing this game is!
The only negative for me is that the lives system makes it really hard for long play sessions, once your higher level. I have been playing this game a little over a week, I think, and have gotten my level into the 50s (in the 3rd cafe, the cinecafe I think it’s called). In the beginning you can basically play forever because of either lots of storyline and tutorial type things that take a bit to complete or items/extensions to your lives.
Now that I am in the level 50s, the extensions/items are drastically more rare (you can buy these items with real money if you can afford to) and you are having to play multiple difficult levels to get to the amazing and funny storyline (which at this level is much shorter).
So, to sum up, THIS IS AN AMAZING GAME🥰😘💜🤩🥰! I just wish I could afford longer play sessions😞....

by Macaronifriend

I really don’t review games nor do I enjoy modern mobile games because of the pushy capitalism that comes with them, the ads have taken truly over. HOWEVER - this game is entirely different. You CAN play this game pleasantly and still have so much to do without pestering ads. You CAN enjoy this game because of the quality of the game mechanics and there is just, like I said, so many things to do. Unlike most games, there is something for everyone here. I loved the integration of the food truck, different cuisines and restaurants, and most importantly GUILDS!! They’ve done it right, when many mobile games miss the mark on these features. This game stands out. It all makes Cooking Diary interesting and fun while remaining wholesome and doesn’t show children or adults horrible despicable ads or themes within the game (other than the witch in the newest update which I am not a fan of). It really is impressive and I give my thanks to the developers for taking their time to make what is, in my opinion, one of the best mobile games to date. Diner Dash can’t stand a chance next to Cooking Diary. And I didn’t even mention that the storyline feature in this game is surprisingly awesome, it’s actually cute and engaging and gives your character life. God Bless the developers and all who play this game in Jesus name. Thank you for bringing quality and wholesome entertainment to CookingDiary Store!

by Blackberrysyrup

This game is very enjoyable and I got addicted fast. Like many other games you have a usual coin currency and then a special ruby currency. You need rubies to upgrade ingredients and appliances which isn’t a problem at first because they are relatively easy to come by when you first start. Now it’s still possible to get rubies but it takes a lot of time (unless you’re willing to throw some money at the game) and the amount of rubies rewarded doesn’t feel worth the task given for the amount of time and levels you’d have to play to get them (like serving 1150 plates of one dish for 5 rubies). Also I don’t understand why the coin currency changed when you make it to the next map. Now I’m not using the original coins for anything but still collecting revenue from those restaurants. I suggest an option to be able to exchange coins for rubies, that way the coins don’t go to waste as I’m not using the ones from the first map and I’ve already gotten more than enough in the second one. The only thing I’m falling short on in this game is rubies which is frustrating when you need them for all of the upgrades, especially when the next restaurant requires more coins and rubies for upgrades. The amount of coins you earn increases but the rubies adversely become harder to obtain. At the least I would like if the ruby rewards were higher and/or the ruby requirements for upgrades were lowered.

by MuzicBabie

I absolutely love this game. I’m not the type to get addicted to games but since I’ve started this one, I have been completely engrossed. Now the only downfall is the rubies, and the time it takes to be able to request assistance especially when you have a guild quest that you need assistance to complete. I have spent so much money on buying rubies at some point during the game I think it would suffice to be able to trade old coins from old towns to rubies for new towns, as many rubies as it takes to upgrade items they will run out quick and you’ll need to still buy more so it’s not completely unreasonable. The old levels are not really played and the money won’t be needed because the items are all upgraded so it’s coins for no reason that I can’t use on any other level across the map. Think about it. Plus it would keep people playing more because they won’t lose levels for not having rubies to be able to upgrade which means they will be more apt to purchasing small amounts of rubies more often to be able to upgrade items. But besides that the game is absolutely amazing and you guys did an awesome job!!

UPDATE:
A year later and I still feel the same way!!! This game is a must. I put it down for about two months and picked it back up...and I’m once again all the way addicted!! You’ll love it!

by Genericpanic

This game is really fun! I’ve never been one to play cooking games for a long time, but I’ve already spent hours playing this game and it’s still enjoyable. I like how there are several things happening in addition to the main story: big events, small events, guild quests etc. I also like that you can add friends without having to necessarily go through Facebook.
I really only have one major issue: the rubies are hard to get. I understand that it’s part of the challenge of collecting the rubies, but it’s at a point where there’s a lot of work just to get a couple of gems (unless I want to pay real money to buy gems). All the upgrades require gems to purchase in addition to coins. Coins I have no problem collecting, but the currency collecting is just disproportionate. I would LOVE if there was a way to trade in coins for rubies! This would definitely help those who collect a lot of coins but are unable to do anything with them because you need coins AND rubies to upgrade. Or, another suggestion would be to make the upgrades cost more coins but less gems.
All that being said, I’m still able to enjoy this game, and while getting the rubies is a slow process, so far it hasn’t been too terrible.
Oh and I would love if there were more clothing options that can be purchased with the banknotes.
I really like this game! Thank you :)