If you’ve ever dreamed of running a restaurant which your guests are vampires, orcs, skeletons, and the cuisine is chaotic medieval fare – then Restaurats might just scratch that itch. Except that, your team is made of rats. Developed by the indie gamedev toR and published by Polden Publishing, this indie kitchen simulator launched on Steam on 7 November 2025.
With the taglines “Lead a medieval restaurant with a team of rats like you!” and “Cook the food, throw it at the guests, wipe the drinks under the skeletons!” the tone is obvious: equal parts fun, chaos and rodent-flavoured culinary madness.
Let’s follow us at Indie Games Tavern to dive in this indie game review, we’ll dig into what works, and what to watch out for – especially if you’re a fan of indie simulation/co-op games.
Core Gameplay & Loop
Restaurats blends restaurant management + co-op chaos + roguelike progression. Key features:
- Play as Rat Chefs: You and up to 4 players (or solo) play as rats running a restaurant in a medieval fantasy world. You cook, serve, clean, deal with weird guests, throw food, fight metaphorical (and literal) fires.
- Guest Variety & Preferences: Your patrons include skeletons, vampires, orcs, etc. Each has unique demands and preferences, so serving them well requires attention.
- Daily Run + Upgrade System: After each “day” or session you get bonus cards and unlocks that improve your rat, your recipes, your tavern. It has a roguelike or run-based progression feel.
- Restaurant Growth / Customisation: Build new blueprints, expand your tavern, level up the rat, improve your gear, unlock recipes. There’s also costume/custom rat options.
- Co-op & Chaotic Kitchen Gameplay: Much of the fun is in the messy, hectic kitchen – order management, cooking, serving, sometimes throwing things. The co-op aspect adds the mayhem.
Thus the loop: Enter a restaurant shift → serve guests, manage chaos → complete the day → pick your upgrade/bonus cards → expand rat tavern → next shift with higher stakes.
What Works Well
1. Originality & Charm
The indie gamedev toR successfully delivered the idea of rats running a medieval tavern, it is a strong hook, especially when you co-op with your friends. It’s fresh, visually fun, and the tone is light but purposeful. Reviews and community posts highlight this:
“This game is actually amazing… we had so much fun and were sad when it ended.”
2. Co-op Kitchen Chaos Fun
For party play or co-op with friends, this kind of simulation (think Overcooked meets rat chefs meets fantasy) excels. The rat theme and weird guest types amplify the fun.
3. Strong Indie Execution
While not a massive simulation juggernaut, for an indie studio it delivers quite a lot: multiple languages supported, co-op, run-based progression systems. The steam store reports “Very Positive” user reviews (~89% positive from 185 reviews, at the time this review was written) as of launch. Bravo to toR – an indie gamedev we should keep our eyes on (at least for us at Indie Games Tavern).
4. Visual & Thematic Flavour
The medieval tavern vibe, rats as protagonists, vampires/orcs as customers – all combine into a visually appealing, comedic package, there’s not much indie games like Restaurats. Players enjoy the weirdness.
Areas for Improvement & Considerations
1. Depth & Long-Term Replayability
While the initial runs are fun and chaotic, the question is how much variety and depth exist after you’ve played a few sessions. How many recipes? How many guest types? How much does the tavern upgrade/change? If they’re limited, the novelty may wear off faster.
2. Learning Curve & Coordination (Especially in Co-op)
As with many chaotic co-op kitchen sims, coordination and communication matter. Solo players or those new to this kind of game may feel overwhelmed at first. The more players, the more chaotic – which is great if you want that, but could be stressful otherwise.
3. Polish & Performance
Since this is an indie game with ambition, some rough edges are typical: UI clarity, error management, optimization. Community posts don’t yet indicate major problems, but it’s something to keep in mind.
4. Genre-Expectations
If you expect deep restaurant management simulation (detailed economics, supply chains, staff hiring, etc), this game leans more toward fun chaos than ultra-deep sim. That’s fine—but worth knowing going in.
Final Thoughts
Restaurats is a delightful indie simulation/co-op game with strong charm, fun gameplay loops, and plenty of potential. If you want a party co-op game, quirky theme, and chaotic kitchen fun—or if you enjoy indie games with strong identity and humor—add this to your wish list.
To us at Indie Games Tavern, if you’re ready to scurry into the kitchen, don your rat chef apron, cook fiery dishes for orcs and vampires, throw a baguette at a dissatisfied guest, and build the most legendary rat-run tavern in the kingdom—Restaurats may be your next great indie co-op hit.
Who Should Play It?
- Players who love co-op cooking/kitchen games and want something with a fantasy twist.
- Fans of indie games that lean quirky, fun and visually distinct rather than ultra-serious simulation.
- Groups of friends looking for a party game session with chaos, laughs, and teamwork.
Who Might Wait or Skip?
- Players wanting ultra-realistic restaurant management sims with deep economic systems.
- Those who dislike hectic or fast-paced co-op kitchen games.
- Players looking for extremely long single-player campaigns rather than repeatable run-based shifts.
Restaurats Review by Indie Games Tavern.
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