Time for my second in my trilogy of Favourite Facebook Apps (have you read the first one?) – (insert cheesy drumroll here) Restaurant City (hereafter ‘RC’). I cant say for sure whether this is my second favourite, but its the one I’m currently playing so I’m choosing to post about it second. Again, you can click the images for larger versions.

This game is also made by Playfish, who made Pet Society) but it’s created a little different. You get a restaurant to run, you hire friends to work as waiters or chefs, you get to decorate your restaurant, and you get to choose from a list which dishes you want to serve. I’ve chosen Lamb Samosas (the adjective before the dish’s name changes with each level – cute!) for starters, Tuna Sushi for mains, and Pomegranite Parfait for dessert. I’m working on getting them to level 10 before moving on to new dishes (you can only serve one of each course at a time anyway) but some peeps choose to level up each dish as they get the necessary ingredients.

Ingredients play a large part in RC…without them, you cant level up your dishes, and with low-level dishes, it takes longer to level up your restuarant (more on that shortly). There are a few ways to get ingredients (yet it still doesnt seem like enough!): a daily quiz (brush up on answers here), a daily free ingredient, trading, and each time you visit a new friend for the first time only. Trading is the easiest, but if you dont have a lot of friends, or if you’re all trying to level up the same dishes it can get tricky. You can also lock items which you dont want people to be able to freely trade (without your confirmation) but periodically its nice to unlock ingredients you dont need…this helps out other RC players (maybe let them know in a status update) and you might just get something you need!

Leveling up is done by collecting Gourmet Points (GP), which you get each time a customer eats at your restaurant. The higher the dish they eat, the more GP you get. Each time you level up, you’re rewarded with a small cash bonus and either a larger restaurant or an extra employee. Employees start out on 100% energy, but the longer they work that number declines. They have to either be fed or allowed to rest. In the beginning, its best to let them run down to 0% (they’ll conk out and fall asleep on the floor), put them to rest, save the game and come back in 2-3 hours. They’ll be back at 100% and ready to work. You can either put them all to work again and save and close (you can come back in 3 hours and you’ll have earned $2000 but they’ll be at 0% again) or you can leave the game running and feed them when they get to 75% or lower. I recommend the latter when you have enough cash.

With the cash you earn, aside from feeding your employees, you can purchase items for the inside and outside of your restaurant, earning you trophies (“Buy 10 Indoor Items” and so on) and making your place look cool. You can also buy clothing for your own character (mine’s in Chef’s clothing).

All in all, its a simple game and it takes a while to get hooked, but once your restaurant is going – wow its addictive! I have a few friends playing it who have simply flourished and some who I didnt think would enjoy it are having a ball (my boyfriend included!). Its great to have a friend or two playing (as opposed to adding random people you dont know) because you can work out who wants which ingredient, and your chances of getting that ingredient are much, much higher if you’re all in agreement. So, if you havent tried it, here’s me saying, “Go for it, man!”


Inside my restaurant


Decorating my restaurant – choosing tables


Outside my restaurant


Clothes shopping!


Trophies you can collect (visiting friends, spending money, upgrading your outside decor, upgrading your inside decor and cleaning up trash)


Replenishing your employees