Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
User consensusAlternativesIs it worth it?
The verdict on

Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game

65
User verdict / 100 High confidence Divided

Cooking Diary is a highly addictive time-management cooking game, praised for its engaging gameplay and lack of intrusive ads, but recent updates and progression mechanics have led to significant user frustration over the necessity of in-app purchases and frequent app crashes.

4.7★ lifetime (163,506) Free to download since 2018 by MYTONA Ltd. updated 0.6 mo ago recent negative 14% 50 reviews across 1 regions
Monetization & Progression Engagement & Addiction Technical Issues Advertisements Content & Repetitiveness
5★26
4★9
3★8
2★2
1★5
recent reviews across 1 regions, vs the 4.7★ lifetime average

Cooking Diary is a popular and addictive cooking game with a strong base of long-term players who appreciate its engaging gameplay and lack of forced advertisements. However, recent reviews highlight growing concerns about the game's monetization strategy, with many players feeling pressured to spend real money to progress, and a noticeable increase in app crashes and glitches following recent updates.

What users like

  • Highly addictive and fun gameplay experienceR3R6R14R23
  • Minimal to no intrusive advertisementsR1R35R38R43
  • Offers challenges for both fingers and brainR34R39R47
  • Many opportunities to earn in-game currency and boosters without spending real money, according to some long-term playersR15R20R30R34
  • Engaging side games, guild features, and eventsR5R17R20R34

What users complain about

  • Progression becomes difficult or impossible without purchasing gems/rubies, especially at higher levelsR2R7R11R18
  • Insufficient free gems/rubies are awarded compared to the high cost of upgrades needed for progressionR2R16R24R37
  • Frequent app crashes and glitches, particularly after recent updates, leading to lost progressR36R46R49R25
  • Excessive and repetitive pop-ups promoting in-app purchasesR12R42
  • Some levels are intentionally difficult to encourage spending moneyR19
  • Repetitive special missions and lack of new content for long-term playersR4R5R9R50
  • Screen movement and numerous cutscenes can be off-puttingR12

Latest update · v2.54.1

What the developer says changed (the verdict above weighs this against what reviewers report):

Chef's Pass: the cute little elephant knows the secret to the perfect vacation! TASTY AIRLINES • The Waves of Chill flight is ready for takeoff! • Meet the new assistant—Jimmy Marbles! EVENT • Food Truck: new outfits for your dream vacation await! RESTAURANTS • Find harmony in Panda World and inspiration in Hobby Zone! PLOT • Mayor Frost makes an important decision to keep his approval rating up! • Can Creighton turn the trends?

Recurring themes

Monetization & Progression negative
Many players feel the game becomes a 'money grab' at higher levels, requiring gems/rubies for essential upgrades and progression that are difficult to earn for free. This contradicts some long-term players who claim it's possible to play without spending.R2R7R11R18
Technical Issues negative
Several recent reviews report frequent app crashes, freezing, and inability to open the game, often occurring after recent updates. Some users have lost significant progress due to these issues. The developer's notes do not mention addressing crashes.R36R46R49R25
Engagement & Addiction positive
A significant number of users find the game highly addictive, fun, and a great way to pass time, praising its engaging gameplay and challenges.R3R6R13R14
Advertisements positive
Many players appreciate the game's lack of intrusive or forced advertisements, which is a common complaint in other mobile games.R1R35R38R43
Content & Repetitiveness mixed
While some enjoy the updates and events, others find special missions repetitive and wish for more diverse content, new outfits not requiring real money, or the return of old events.R4R5R9R50

Who it's for

This game is for players who enjoy addictive, fast-paced time-management cooking games and appreciate titles with minimal forced ads R1R38. It's suitable for those who are willing to either invest significant time to earn in-game currency or make occasional in-app purchases to progress more quickly R30. It may appeal to players looking for a game that challenges their reflexes and cognitive functions R34R47. Skip this game if you are easily frustrated by progression walls that seem to require real money R2R11R37, or if you are prone to motion sickness from constant screen movement R12. Also skip if you are looking for a completely bug-free experience, as recent updates have introduced crashing issues R36R49.

Evidence note: The recent reviews show a strong negative trend regarding monetization and technical issues, contradicting the high lifetime rating. The confidence in the monetization point is high due to the sheer volume of recent complaints, despite some older or less frequent reviews stating it's possible to play for free. The technical issues are clearly linked to recent updates, as noted by multiple users.

Frequently asked

Is Cooking Diary a free-to-play game?
Yes, Cooking Diary is free to download and play, but many recent reviews indicate that progression, especially at higher levels, becomes extremely difficult without making in-app purchases for gems or rubies R2R11R37.
Does Cooking Diary have a lot of ads?
No, Cooking Diary is widely praised for having minimal to no intrusive advertisements, with many players highlighting this as a major positive aspect of the game R1R35R38R43.
Are there issues with the game crashing?
Yes, several recent reviews report that the game frequently crashes and closes the app, with some users experiencing this issue specifically since the latest updates, leading to frustration and lost progress R36R46R49R25.
Is it possible to progress in Cooking Diary without spending money?
While some long-term players claim it is possible to progress without spending money by consistently collecting free gifts and engaging with pets R15R30, a significant number of recent reviews state that it becomes nearly impossible to advance in higher levels without purchasing gems or rubies for necessary upgrades R2R7R11R18.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 50 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R3] 5/5 · GB Great game: I’m addicted
  2. [R6] 5/5 · GB AMAZINGG: Amazing it’s addictive!
  3. [R14] 5/5 · GB Cool master: This game is way to addictive. And lots of fun
  4. [R23] 5/5 · GB Fantastic: I absolutely love this game and it’s so addicting so be warned it’s hard to stop playing it xx.
  5. [R1] 5/5 · GB 👍👍: Definitely a fun game to play. I like that’s there’s no annoying ads, would be nice to get gems after every mission, but you get 5-10 gems after every 10 times you do a mission. So to be fair very good.
  6. [R35] 5/5 · GB Very good: Very good game 5 stars for a game there is not alot of ads which is very good, you are truly great developers.
  7. [R38] 5/5 · GB Awesome: Really good game I like how there aren’t any ads which is quite rare for games at the moment but I like everything it’s not too challenging but it’s perfect defiantly get this game
  8. [R43] 5/5 · GB Love it!: The only game I can play without constant adverts, it’s simple and fun. Brilliant for children 9+ o reckon :)
  9. [R34] 5/5 · GB All about cooking diary: I love this game it challenges your fingers and your brain. It’s perfect for taking up time. There’s so many fun updates once you’ve been playing for quite a long time like me you start to get more coins and gems so you can buy stuff for example rollerskates, so you’re quicker and faster cooking which is basically where you put something in it straight away gives you it so
  10. [R39] 4/5 · GB I love cooking: If u like cooking and being rushed then this game is for u (and I love it)
  11. [R47] 3/5 · GB Help: I enjoy this game loads ..it helps with cognitive functions…but the game is very unfair …you struggle to get rubies it cost 800 coins to feed pets ..it’s not that much fun anymore and people friends are losing interest the only quest I can complete is food truck it’s fun the rest are really hard …please help give us more food truck quests it get coins n rubies to complete kitchens give us so
  12. [R15] 5/5 · GB Never bought a gem: Great game i have never had to buy anything been playing for years and will continue
  13. [R20] 5/5 · GB Brilliant: Absolutely love this game, be prepared to be addicted straight away, great game play, loads of extra side games and so many chances to win gems, but if you want to spend on gems the packs are very reasonably priced.
  14. [R30] 5/5 · GB I love this game: I have been playing this game a while now and I love it! For anyone wanting to know if this is one of those games where you HAVE to purchase stuff to progress…then the answer is no you do not have to! However, it does make the gaming experience more fun if you do spend some money! There are lots of other ways to gain boosters and rubies. I log into the cooking diary websit
  15. [R5] 4/5 · GB Love it but!: I really love this game, it’s so much fun! However only downside is that some of the special missions seem a bit repetitive…. You guys used to have this turbo round! Where you would go to an old restaurant and just keep playing until you messed up I really miss that!
  16. [R17] 5/5 · GB Great Game: I never leave reviews but this is one of the best games that I have played. Cooking games are always a favourite of mine but this one is different and completely addictive, I’ve even joined a guild and competed in the quests which I never thought I would do!
  17. [R2] 1/5 · GB Gems?!: From the bakery on you barely get any gems, yet every upgrade costs a lot of gems, so I can still play the levels but can’t upgrade anything ever? That kinda screams money grab to me. The game is nearly a copy and paste from similar games so it’s not worth paying for at all. All these cooking games are money grabs. I’ll find something else to play.
  18. [R7] 1/5 · GB Worst update: I love this game, spent so many hours on it. But the latest update is awful. You now can’t pass levels above 80 unless you buy the restaurant decor. Having to spend gems on decor is so pointless and I’m not playing this game any more now I can’t keep playing a restaurant to build up my gems! Once you reach level 80, you don’t win enough money unless you purchase the restaurant decor.
  19. [R11] 3/5 · GB Fun until it’s not: Been playing for a few weeks and really enjoyed it but you get to a point where it’s impossible to progress without paying - undowloading
  20. [R18] 3/5 · GB Nice game but…: I don’t like the fact that every stage of the game if you want to step up you need to get red gems. And more often than not, the gems get used up so quick so you keep having to dish money out for more. I think there need to be a balance of game play and profit. You have a good game so keep that up, because for many of us, game playing is a distraction from life. To keep us happy an
  21. [R16] 4/5 · GB Good game: It’s a good game but there is a few problems that are annoying. The amount of gems you can earn for free is small compared to the amount you need, not everyone can afford or tbh want to pay for gems and packs. The chat is a great feature but grandpa saying we are swearing, when we aren’t even saying something remotely close to swearing, is very annoying.
  22. [R24] 3/5 · GB Rubies: The game is great, but the main flaw I found was that you can raise money for upgrades easy enough but there is not enough rubies that you can earn and win. It would be better to reduce the amount of rubies needed for upgrades especially when you have the money to get them
  23. [R37] 2/5 · GB Developers always spoil the game with greed: Played this game years ago when it first came out, it was brilliant. I then had phone issues as well as personal issues, & after religiously playing for a few years, the game just got put to the wayside. I decided to download it again this past week.. wow. Ruby’s are horrendously expensive, & incredibly hard to even get in the game (2 Ruby’s will get yo
  24. [R36] 1/5 · GB New update: keeps crashing: Every time I open the game, within 5 minutes it crashes and closes the app. This has only started happening since the latest update.
  25. [R46] 3/5 · GB Having issues now: Game keeps closing automatically since the 6th birthday update. Prior to this I was really enjoying playing the game
  26. [R49] 2/5 · GB Crashes all the time: I love this game but it keeps on crashing all the time, this is the second time I’ve had to start the game from scratch, now I can’t get into the game again. I deleted it the first time and lost everything, 5 years of play.
  27. [R25] 4/5 · GB Won’t open app: I love playing this game , never had any issues until now. It’s recently had a update after Christmas and the app won’t open for me now ☹️
  28. [R12] 3/5 · GB good concept: this game looked interesting in the ad (which is nothing like the actual game), not even a mini game that represents the ads. I started off ok and enjoyed it, I’m seasick with the screen constantly moving left and right after each level, the amount of cutscenes is ridiculous and very off putting, however, the ads to buy things come very thick and fast. There’s also low to little info
  29. [R42] 3/5 · GB So many pop ups: While I really enjoy this game, I have never had one that has so many pop ups! Brewery 5-13 each level. And by pop ups I mean the clever hidden purchase options to get you to buy more gems and “special one off offers” that come up constantly.
  30. [R19] 1/5 · GB Haha: In some levels it’s so hard to pass on purpose just so u can spend actual money on rubies don’t get this game waste of time
  31. [R4] 4/5 · GB A bit boring: I love this game but after a while it gets a bit boring maybe add a special event where you can cook pizza cakes and get rewarded
  32. [R9] 4/5 · GB Only one problem: Well, it is a REALLY fun game but the problem is when you finish all of the restaurants it gets really boring so enjoy it while you can!
  33. [R50] 3/5 · GB 💗: I’ve been playing this game since 2020 and I really enjoy playing it but I wish there were more stuff added eg more new hairs and clothing that are not for real money and also I would love it if you guys bring back the strangers things event! It was super cool!
  34. [R13] 5/5 · GB Best game I’ve ever played: Best game ever!

Synthesized from 50 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store