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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game vs Cooking City

Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 4.7★ · Free + IAP 85
Winner Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game
Cooking City 4.8★ · Free + IAP 70

Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game is the better choice for players seeking an engaging, ad-free experience with a strong community, despite some concerns about in-app purchases.

Full reviews: Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game · Cooking City

Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game offers an addictive cooking experience with minimal ads and a social guild system, though some players find progression difficult without spending money. Cooking City's reviews are not provided, making a direct comparison on user sentiment challenging.

Head to head

Features and Gameplay edge: Cooking Diary® Restaurant GameR5R6R11R14
Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game is described as addictive and fun, with many players enjoying the core cooking mechanics and extra side games R5R14R28. Some users appreciate the challenges that engage their brain and fingers . However, some find the special missions repetitive and miss older game modes R11. There are also complaints about constant screen movement and too many cutscenes R6.
Cooking City No specific user reviews for Cooking City's features and gameplay were provided.
Ease of Use and Progression tieR1R3R4R7
Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game Many players find Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game easy to get the hang of . However, a significant number of reviews indicate that progression becomes very difficult without spending real money, especially at higher levels R1R3R4R7. Players struggle to earn enough gems (rubies) for necessary upgrades and decor, which can halt gameplay R1R4. Some users have played for years without buying gems, suggesting it's possible but perhaps slower .
Cooking City No specific user reviews for Cooking City's ease of use and progression were provided.
Reliability and Performance tieR10R18R19R33
Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game Recent updates to Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game have led to significant reliability issues, with the app crashing frequently for many users R10R18R19R33. Some players have lost years of progress due to these crashes and reinstallations R19. Glitches have also been reported, preventing the game from loading R49.
Cooking City No specific user reviews for Cooking City's reliability and performance were provided.
Price and Value (Free vs. Paid) tieR1R3R4R7
Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game is free to play but heavily relies on in-app purchases (IAP), particularly for gems (rubies) which are crucial for upgrades and progression R1R3R4R7. Many users feel the game becomes a 'money grab' due to the high cost of gems and the difficulty in earning them for free R1R7. There are also numerous pop-ups promoting purchases . However, some long-term players claim they have never had to buy anything to progress , and others find the gem packs reasonably priced if they choose to spend .
Cooking City No specific user reviews for Cooking City's price and value were provided.
Support and Community edge: Cooking Diary® Restaurant GameR27R28R41R49
Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game has a guild system that some players enjoy, fostering a sense of community R28. One user reported helpful developers when dealing with glitches R49. However, there are complaints about the chat feature censoring non-swear words R27. One user also reported being charged twice for an IAP R41.
Cooking City No specific user reviews for Cooking City's support and community were provided.
Pick Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game if

Pick Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game if you enjoy addictive cooking games with minimal ads, appreciate a social guild system, and are willing to either grind for in-game currency or make occasional in-app purchases to progress R2R28R43.

Pick Cooking City if

Pick Cooking City if you are looking for an alternative cooking game and are not swayed by the specific features or community aspects mentioned for Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game, as no direct user feedback for Cooking City was available for comparison.

Evidence note: The comparison is heavily weighted towards Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game as no specific user reviews were provided for Cooking City. Therefore, the 'edge' for most dimensions defaults to 'A' or 'tie' due to the lack of comparative data. The lifetime ratings for both apps are very similar, suggesting a generally positive reception for both, but this cannot be detailed for Cooking City without reviews.

Frequently asked

Does Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game have many ads?
No, Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game is praised by users for having very few or no annoying ads, unless players choose to watch them for rewards R2R43R44R47.
Is it possible to play Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game without spending money?
Yes, it is possible to play Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game without spending money, as some long-term players report never having to buy anything to progress, but many users find it becomes very difficult to advance at higher levels without purchasing gems (rubies) for upgrades and decor R1R3R4R7.
Does Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game have technical issues?
Yes, recent updates to Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game have caused significant technical issues, including frequent app crashes, the game closing automatically, and loading problems, with some users losing years of progress R10R18R19R33.

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. [R5] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 5/5 · GB Great game: I’m addicted
  2. [R6] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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
  3. [R11] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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!
  4. [R14] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 5/5 · GB AMAZINGG: Amazing it’s addictive!
  5. [R1] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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.
  6. [R3] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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
  7. [R4] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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.
  8. [R7] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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
  9. [R10] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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.
  10. [R18] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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
  11. [R19] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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.
  12. [R33] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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 ☹️
  13. [R27] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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.
  14. [R28] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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!
  15. [R41] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 5/5 · GB Too much !: Hi, I love this game as you can tell !, But I went to buy the £9.99 for the 10 daily stars and I was charged twice ! Can you look into it please Thankyou Ms B
  16. [R49] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 4/5 · GB Best game ever!!: Played this game for years!! Never fails to keep me entertained!! Well that was until it started glitching! Had to delete & reinstall!! Only to find I couldn’t get back to the level I was on! (Rather far!) spoke to developers very helpful!! In a stressful situation! Only to find the damn thing glitching yet again!! Today! & won’t load (pulling my hair out) as only game i play! As
  17. [R2] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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.
  18. [R43] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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.
  19. [R44] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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
  20. [R47] Cooking Diary® Restaurant Game 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 :)

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