Restaurant Tycoon 2 Tier List (2026) — Best Recipes Ranked
Restaurant Tycoon 2 has crossed 1.6 billion visits on Roblox with a 93% approval rating and roughly 3,900 concurrent players at any given time. That's impressive for a tycoon game — and it's because the recipe system has real depth. The right dish combo can push you past 20,000 coins per hour; the wrong ones leave you struggling to break even.
This tier list ranks every major recipe by profitability. We weigh four things: price per dish, equipment cost to unlock it, how frequently NPCs order it, and whether it qualifies for the advanced-recipe price bonus. We've also noted which dishes feed into the 5-star rating formula, since hitting 5.0 stars unlocks VIP customers — a meaningful revenue jump.
Table of Contents
S Tier — Best Recipes in Restaurant Tycoon 2
These are the dishes every efficient restaurant should have. Each one either commands the highest price in its category, unlocks cheaply, or generates the most coins per NPC visit. If you're only going to optimize one part of your menu, start here.
Custom Burger (5-Ingredient Advanced) — $16
The Custom Burger is the most profitable main dish in the game. The basic version sells for $11, but once you unlock all five toppings and configure the advanced recipe at your burger station, the price jumps to $16 per serve — the highest of any main. Mains make up 30 of the 50 menu slots needed for a 5-star food rating, so every high-price main you add pulls double duty.
Equipment needed: Burger Station (with all five topping unlocks). Why it's S tier: Highest main price in the game, frequent NPC orders, and the advanced recipe bonus is one of the biggest single price jumps available — $5 per dish just for using more ingredients.
Spring Roll — $10
At $10 per serve, the Spring Roll is the best-priced starter in the game and it's not particularly close. Most starters cap at $6–7, so Spring Roll's $10 price tag makes it nearly as profitable as some mid-tier mains. It also fills one of your 10 required starter slots for the 5-star food rating.
Equipment needed: Fryer. Why it's S tier: Best starter price in the game by a significant margin. Fills a rating slot and pays well per NPC order. The fryer isn't the cheapest piece of equipment but it unlocks multiple other high-value dishes too.
Waffle — $9
The Waffle is the top-earning dessert from dedicated cooking equipment at $9 per serve. Most desserts hover around $5–6, so Waffle's $9 price puts it well ahead of the pack. Desserts fill 10 of the 50 menu slots needed for 5 stars, and this one earns more than almost anything else in that category.
Equipment needed: Waffle Iron. Why it's S tier: Highest-earning dessert from a dedicated station, strong NPC demand, and the Waffle Iron is one of the more affordable specialty appliances. This dish is almost always worth the equipment investment.
Italian Salad — $7
The Italian Salad sells for $7 per serve and unlocks from the Prep Counter — one of the first pieces of equipment most players buy. It's the best starter available from the Prep Counter and it gives you a high-earning slot early in the game before you can afford a Fryer for Spring Rolls.
Equipment needed: Prep Counter. Why it's S tier: Best prep-counter starter in terms of price, available early, and the Prep Counter itself also unlocks other S-tier dishes. If you've already bought a Prep Counter, Italian Salad is essentially free to add to your menu.
Halo Halo — $7
The Halo Halo is a Filipino-inspired dessert that sells for $7 — the best dessert price available from the Prep Counter. Like Italian Salad, it's accessible early and provides solid earnings before you can afford a Waffle Iron. Many players keep it on the menu permanently even after unlocking Waffle, because it fills a dessert slot at a strong price with no additional equipment cost.
Equipment needed: Prep Counter. Why it's S tier: Best prep-counter dessert price, no extra equipment needed if you already own a Prep Counter, and it fills one of your 10 dessert slots for the 5-star rating. Strong value at every stage of the game.
A Tier — High-Value Recipes
A-tier dishes earn well and are worth including on any serious menu. They're either slightly below S tier on price, require more expensive equipment, or have lower NPC demand — but they're all profitable and several are essential for hitting the 5-star food rating.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Spaghetti Bolognese is one of the stronger mid-price mains, typically around $12–13 per serve. It's a reliable NPC favorite and one of the mains you'll want to include when padding out your 30-main count for the 5-star rating. Equipment required is the Pasta Station. Not as profitable as the Custom Burger, but solid and consistent.
Cheese Pizza
Cheese Pizza sits at a competitive price point for a main dish and the Pizza Oven it requires is a mid-tier investment that pays off quickly. Pizza dishes have reliable NPC demand — it's one of the most-ordered items once it's available — making it a smart A-tier main for consistent coin flow.
Beef Wellington
Beef Wellington is one of the higher-priced mains behind Custom Burger and earns well per order. The Oven it requires is a standard piece of equipment that unlocks multiple dishes, so the equipment cost spreads across several recipes. If you're building a high-end themed restaurant, Beef Wellington is your anchor main.
Fajitas
Fajitas fill a useful role as a solid mid-price main with broad NPC appeal. The Grill Station is a versatile piece of equipment and Fajitas are one of the better dishes it produces. Good for menu diversity and the 5-star rating count without sacrificing earnings.
Korean Kimchi
Korean Kimchi is a strong A-tier starter that pairs naturally with an Asian-themed menu. Its price is above average for a starter and it complements Spring Roll well if you want to fill your starter slots with high-earning options rather than cheap fillers. Prep Counter dish — low additional equipment cost.
Smoothies
Smoothies are the best individual beverage for pure earning potential. The Blender is worth buying early because 7 drinks are required for the 5.0 beverage rating, and Smoothies are the most profitable drink slot. Beverages themselves don't earn as much per order as food, but the beverage rating boost affects overall customer satisfaction and tip frequency.
B Tier — Solid Recipes
B-tier recipes earn reasonably well and serve important roles in padding out your menu counts for the 5-star food rating. None of them are your primary earners, but dropping them entirely often means leaving rating points — and VIP customers — on the table.
Standard Burgers (3-Ingredient)
The basic Custom Burger at $11 is still a solid main, and the 3-ingredient standard variants are useful for filling main slots early before you unlock the advanced recipe. Once you have the 5-ingredient version running, these drop to supporting roles — but they're accessible and profitable enough to justify their B-tier placement.
Fish and Chips
Fish and Chips is a Fryer dish that earns a fair price per serve. It's a good secondary dish once you've already bought the Fryer for Spring Rolls — essentially a free menu addition that fills a main slot and earns reasonably well without requiring any extra equipment.
Pancakes
Pancakes are a dependable dessert from the basic stovetop. They're not as profitable as Waffle or Halo Halo, but they require no specialty equipment and can help fill dessert slots early in the game. They're also popular with NPCs, so they generate consistent orders even if the per-dish price isn't spectacular.
Nachos
Nachos are a decent starter that helps fill your 10-starter quota without much equipment investment. The price is in the mid-range for starters — not as good as Spring Roll or Italian Salad, but better than cheap fillers. Worth including when you need starter count without spending on more equipment.
C Tier — Filler Recipes
C-tier isn't a sign of a bad recipe — these dishes exist mainly to fill rating slots. The 5-star food rating formula requires specific counts (10 starters, 30 mains, 10 desserts), and you can't hit those numbers on S and A tier alone. C-tier dishes are the filler that completes your rating without spending heavily on new equipment.
Basic Beverages
Water, juice, and basic sodas earn very little per serve, but 7 drinks are required for a 5.0 beverage rating. The beverage rating affects overall customer satisfaction scores, which in turn affects tip frequency. Fill your beverage slots, prioritize Smoothies as your best earner among them, and don't overthink the rest.
Ice Cream
Ice Cream fills a dessert slot and requires the Ice Cream Machine. It earns less per serve than Waffle or Halo Halo but it's adequate when you need to hit 10 desserts and have already slotted the better options. If you're short on equipment budget, skip the Ice Cream Machine and stick with Prep Counter desserts instead.
Basic American Starters
Dishes like basic salads and simple appetizers fill your 10-starter count without breaking the bank. They earn below-average prices per serve and NPCs don't prioritize them, but they're necessary slot-fillers for the rating formula. Use them strategically — get your high earners (Spring Roll, Italian Salad) in first, then backfill with these.
Tier List Summary Table
Here's the complete recipe breakdown at a glance. Prices shown are the standard sell price per dish. Equipment listed is what's specifically required to unlock the recipe.
| Recipe | Tier | Price | Equipment Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom Burger (5-ingredient, advanced) | S | $16 | Burger Station + all toppings |
| Spring Roll | S | $10 | Fryer |
| Waffle | S | $9 | Waffle Iron |
| Italian Salad | S | $7 | Prep Counter |
| Halo Halo | S | $7 | Prep Counter |
| Spaghetti Bolognese | A | ~$13 | Pasta Station |
| Beef Wellington | A | ~$13 | Oven |
| Cheese Pizza | A | ~$12 | Pizza Oven |
| Fajitas | A | ~$11 | Grill Station |
| Korean Kimchi | A | ~$7 | Prep Counter |
| Smoothies | A | ~$6 | Blender |
| Custom Burger (basic, 3-ingredient) | B | $11 | Burger Station |
| Fish and Chips | B | ~$10 | Fryer |
| Pancakes | B | ~$6 | Stovetop |
| Nachos | B | ~$6 | Oven |
| Ice Cream | C | ~$5 | Ice Cream Machine |
| Basic American Starters | C | ~$4–5 | Stovetop / Prep Counter |
| Basic Beverages (water, juice, soda) | C | ~$2–3 | Drink Station |
How We Ranked These Recipes
Every recipe in this tier list was evaluated on four criteria. Here's exactly what we looked at and why each factor matters for your coin-per-hour rate.
- Price per dish — The sell price when an NPC orders the item. This is the most direct measure of profitability. A Custom Burger at $16 generates 45% more coins per order than its $11 basic counterpart, all else being equal.
- Equipment cost to unlock — A $7 dish that requires a $500 machine you don't already own is less efficient early-game than a $6 dish that uses equipment you have. We weighted this more heavily for lower tiers where the price differences are smaller.
- NPC demand frequency — Some dishes get ordered constantly; others sit idle. A $10 dish that NPCs rarely request earns less per hour than a $7 dish they order constantly. High-demand recipes earn more in practice even if their listed price is lower.
- Advanced recipe price bonus — Recipes with an advanced version (like Custom Burger) get a significant rating boost. The $5 difference between basic and advanced Custom Burger is larger than the total price of some C-tier dishes. Always unlock the advanced version when available.
The Community Meta Combo
The most widely discussed high-earning setup combines Spring Roll ($10 starter) + Custom Burger advanced ($16 main) + Waffle ($9 dessert). Players running this trio with optimized staff and a Dishwasher for cleanliness consistently report around 20,000 coins per hour. If you're trying to hit income targets fast, build toward this combo first — then fill out your remaining rating slots with A and B tier dishes.
It's also worth noting the rating formula: 10 starters + 30 mains + 10 desserts = 5.0 food rating, and 7 drinks = 5.0 beverage rating. You need both to unlock VIP customers, who tip significantly more than standard NPCs. Don't neglect your C-tier filler dishes entirely — they're what completes the count and opens that VIP revenue stream.
For cleanliness and tips: a Dishwasher boosts your cleanliness rating from the 2.0 base to 3.0. Tip chance scales with cleanliness, waiter level, and chef level. At higher star ratings (4.0+), VIP customers appear and tip much more generously. The Dishwasher pays for itself quickly.
Check out our Restaurant Tycoon 2 codes page for active codes that can give you a head start on equipment purchases. And if you're looking for ways to fund Robux for game passes, see our Restaurant Tycoon 2 free Robux guide.
For context on how RT2 stacks up in the broader Roblox tycoon ecosystem, see our Restaurant Tycoon 2 hub — it covers the full game including updates and comparison guides. The game's official Roblox page is also worth bookmarking for patch notes that might shift the recipe pricing meta.
Earn Free Robux for Restaurant Tycoon 2
Robux helps unlock game passes, premium equipment, and VIP perks in RT2. Earnaldo lets you earn Robux for free by completing simple tasks — no credit card, no catch.
FAQ
The Custom Burger (5-ingredient advanced recipe) at $16 is the single most profitable main dish. For a full menu, pair it with Spring Roll ($10 starter) and Waffle ($9 dessert) to build the highest-earning three-course combo in the game. Players running this setup consistently hit around 20,000 coins per hour with optimized staff.
The Custom Burger has two versions. The basic 3-ingredient version sells for $11, while the advanced 5-ingredient version sells for $16. To unlock the higher price, you need all five burger toppings purchased and correctly configured in the burger station's recipe settings. If you're only seeing $11, double-check that all five ingredients are slotted in the advanced recipe configuration — it won't trigger automatically.
You need exactly 10 starters, 30 mains, and 10 desserts on your menu to reach a 5.0 food rating. A 5.0 beverage rating requires 7 different drinks. You don't need to use every recipe in the game — just fill each category to the target count. With 50 menu food slots and 7 drinks, a 5-star rating is achievable without buying every piece of equipment in the game.
Tip chance scales with three factors: cleanliness, waiter level, and chef level. Buy a Dishwasher as early as you can — it pushes your cleanliness rating from 2.0 to 3.0, which meaningfully increases how often customers leave tips. Beyond that, prioritize levelling your waiters over chefs for the tip bonus, since waiters interact with customers directly. VIP customers (who appear at 4+ stars) tip the most, so the star rating grind pays off.
There's no single locked cuisine — the meta is mixing Asian-inspired and Western dishes for the best price coverage. The Spring Roll (Asian, $10 starter) and Korean Kimchi (A tier) both earn well and pair naturally with a Custom Burger main and Waffle or Halo Halo dessert. Menu diversity also helps you fill your 10 starter / 30 main / 10 dessert counts efficiently without having to rely on too many low-value filler dishes.
Buy a Prep Counter first — it unlocks Italian Salad and Halo Halo, two of the best S-tier dishes for their equipment cost. Then get the Waffle Iron for Waffle ($9), and upgrade your Burger Station to unlock the full 5-ingredient Custom Burger ($16). A Dishwasher should come early too for the cleanliness bonus and tip boost. The Fryer is a solid mid-game buy since it unlocks both Spring Roll and Fish and Chips at once.