Highlights

• PlateUp! is an incredible rogue-like cooking game that builds upon the chaos of Overcooked.
• To succeed, make it to day 15 by serving increasingly impatient customers and adapting to challenges.
• Helpful tips include practicing in the risk-free Practice Mode, using the Booking Desk early on, and specializing in a dish.

PlateUp! is an incredible rogue-like cooking game. If you’re a fan of Overcooked, PlateUp! builds upon that chaos wonderfully. You and up to three of your friends can run a variety of different restaurants, from a Steak house to a Salad Bar.

To succeed at PlateUp!, you need to make it to day 15. Unfortunately, reaching this final day can be incredibly tough. With each passing day, you get more impatient customers to serve. You're also given cards every few days that will modify the challenge you're facing in various ways. You might be given messier customers or perhaps a new recipe to follow. To help you reach day 15, here are some helpful tips to give that recipe for success.

Updated on November 21, 2023, by Luke Ackroyd: PlateUp! has had multiple updates since its launch, adding additional challenges for those who have perfected their PlateUp! strategy and helpful features for those who need assistance. This includes a ranking system for each type of dish and a way to make additional saves for your runs. Perfecting your PlateUp! strategy can be tricky, as each playthrough will hit you with different obstacles and opportunities. Fortunately, there are some helpful Plate Up tips that will apply to all your attempts to reach the final day and beyond. This article has been updated with a few more PlateUp! tips and tricks to help your latest restaurant become a huge success.

We've included a variety of tips here, from team strategies you can try with your friends to in-game tricks that are sure to give you the boost you need to reach the final day.

14 Have A Practice Run

This one might feel obvious out of all the PlateUp! tips in this list, but practice makes perfect. Before the start of each day, you can go outside the restaurant and start Practice Mode. This is a risk-free opportunity to run through a day in your restaurant without the chance of it closing down. Instead of customers, you will have cats coming into the restaurant to eat. This allows you to stress-free practice preparing meals, serving customers, and removing dirty dishes.

Your restaurant layout and your menu can change a lot with each day, so whenever you make a significant change, such as adding a new side order or attempting to automate a part of the cooking process, it is recommended to try practice mode first. There's nothing worse than realizing too late that you've perhaps put an essential appliance out of reach or didn't quite check how to prepare a new dish on the menu. The practice mode will ensure you're confident to reach those final days.

13 Use The Booking Desk Early On

The Booking Desk is a free blueprint offered at the start of your run as long as you've reached level 2. You can use it to call customers immediately to the restaurant. This increases the pressure, but you get extra coins for doing so, which is invaluable. During the first few days, using this desk is worth it as you are not getting loads of customers yet. The more coins you can get early on in your run, the more appliances you can purchase to help ease the stress of the later stages.

Although it can be very tempting to call in everyone at once to mess with your friends, it is hazardous to do this when you are several days into the run. Once you've reached day five and beyond, you might want to hold back on using the booking desk beyond a call here and there. But for those first few days, you can go wild and make the most of that extra source of coin.

12 Make A Dish Your Specialty

Deciding what to cook is a crucial part of your PlateUp! strategy. The more you play, the more recipes you can unlock, from hot dogs to a stir-fry. Each dish has a difficulty ranking. For example, burgers are one star, while cakes are three stars. Although trying all the different recipes is fun, if you are struggling to reach day 15, it is a good idea to find one you seem to have a handle on and stick with it. The simpler the difficulty rating, the better.

For example, if you specialize in pizza, select pizza each time you play to keep perfecting your method for it. You'll figure out the best appliances to get, such as the Portioner. You'll determine the best layouts for the restaurant, too. Over time, you'll keep improving with your specialty until you finally reach that final day and beyond.

11 Bring Along Garage Items

Every so often, you will receive a new garage item after the restaurant closes down. These are randomly given out, offering appliances such as a Wash Basin and sometimes even an extra life. The extra lives, in particular, are incredibly helpful. If a customer runs out of patience, the life is used up instead, and you get an extra chance to continue with the current day.

If you find getting to the final day difficult, there is no shame in getting some extra help with these bonus items. You can take up to two of them to the restaurant, giving you a massive head start on your latest run through. It will allow you to save money to buy other appliances instead. So don't just let these garage items gather dust; bring them along to your next restaurant.

10 Keep Your Kitchen Optimized

You only have a limited amount of space in your restaurant, so managing your resources as optimally as possible is vital for your PlateUp! strategy. The best way to do this is by having everything needed for cooking to be within arm's reach. This might involve making yourself a little corner of the kitchen where you can do almost everything without even moving.

Your restaurant layout is something you will want to keep updating throughout the run. As the days get busier, and you gain new cards, such as different types of customers, you will need to change the layout to accommodate this. For example, you might need to put more counters near the kitchen entrance so you can place multiple meals ready to grab.

9 Prep Meals Early

Preparing your food immediately after the day begins is invaluable. Even when the first table begins to walk in, you'll still have a little while before you need to take their order. This gives you plenty of time to prepare as much as you can.

Having a few meals prepared at the start of the day allows you to stay ahead of the demand. For example, with steaks, it can be a great idea to have one of each variant: rare, medium rare, and well done. There is no downside to meals being left out on the side. Apparently, your customers are completely fine with eating cold steak, so take advantage of that.

8 Get Additional Plates

It doesn't matter how great your cooking is if your customers can't eat it. At the start of the game, you only have four plates. This is fine for the first day or two, but cleaning them takes quite a while, especially with just one sink. Get more plates as soon as possible to keep serving food without delay.

Although your available blueprints are random daily, it is always quite common for the Plates Blueprint to show up. It is pretty cheap too, at only 20 coins. Just one set should be enough for a while, as it gives you eight additional plates. This is invaluable and will make life so much easier for you during your playthrough.

7 Fit In As Many Tables As You Can

Having too many customers waiting outside always adds to the stress of this intense game. If just one guest waits too long, it is game over. To counteract this, you want to squeeze in as many tables as you can manage. Just like the plates, the tables only cost 20 coins. Since you mainly serve groups of one or two, you can remove excess chairs to provide more space in the restaurant.

A great alternative to the dining table is to get a coffee table. This is an additional place for customers to wait until they're seated. This helps slow down the impatience meter and gives you time to focus on other guests.

6 Assign Specific Roles To Your Friends

PlateUp! is perfect for playing over video chat with your friends. Even though getting everyone to pitch in might seem like a good idea, giving everyone a specific role is far more efficient. In a four-player game, you can have one person playing as the chef. A second player can be the porter, cleaning the dishes and mopping the floor. The other two can be the servers, delivering the meals and grabbing the plates.

Of course, help each other out when necessary, but mostly stick to your roles. This will avoid moments where you block one another in the kitchen, causing delays and burning dishes. Working together will create a memorable restaurant that can survive for days!

5 Avoid Having An Elaborate Menu

Cooking in PlateUp! certainly isn't as relaxing as other games. Because of this, it is best to keep your menu simple. As the game progresses, you are offered more food options, such as desserts. Picking alternative meal options is always a risk. It makes it challenging to prepare meals in advance, as you no longer know exactly what someone will order. Because of this, it is best to avoid them.

But, if you do take on an extra option, be aware of the consequences. These extra dishes will give you more money but also increase the duration of each customer's stay, preventing other customers from getting a seat. So, avoid too many menu options and keep things manageable.

4 Grab Dirty Plates Quickly

Plates are often a critical bottleneck in the cooking process of this game. Customers will refuse to take a seat at a table with a dirty plate on it. No matter how many tables you have, this is always one of the easiest ways to fail. Even if you need to temporarily put dirty plates in an awkward place, keeping your tables clear will ensure no impatient customers are left outside.

To help with this holdup, get an additional sink or dish rack. This will help you be able to remove dirty plates quickly without having to wash the dishes right away. A dishwasher, in particular, is a great way to remove this stressful factor, as it will hold multiple plates simultaneously.

3 Place A Table Right Next To The Kitchen Window

If you place some of your tables right at the pass-through window, you can serve customers without having to take a step out of the kitchen. This saves you a lot of time. In solo runs, it also means that you do not have to worry about the restaurant getting dirty and slowing you down. You can focus on keeping the kitchen clean.​​​​​​​

Your customers will get to watch your delicious food being prepared before you slam their meal right down on their table. You will also be able to grab their dirty plates from them without leaving the kitchen as well. It is a simple but efficient way to serve people.

2 Upgrade Items When You Can

One of the best blueprints to purchase is the research desk. The desk allows you to upgrade your appliances, which is vital in this cooking game. You only need to use the desk briefly at the start of the day, and then you can continue running the restaurant.

You can upgrade your hobs to cook faster. You can turn counters into workstations to chop ingredients more quickly. Not everything you upgrade will be helpful for your specific run, but since it only takes a few seconds to upgrade them, it does not hurt to try and see what you get. Anything that will help streamline your cooking process will help you reach those final days.

1 Decoration Bonuses Are Worth It

Every so often during the run, you will get access to a selection of decorations. These will be themed based on what card you select. You might go for a formal-themed restaurant or perhaps an affordable one. Your decorations will give different perks based on the theme. Although you might want to focus on buying utilities for your kitchen, it is a good idea not to ignore the perks you gain from these decorations.

Your decorations will make everyone eager to visit your restaurant. The more decorations you have, the more benefits you will get. For example, one perk ensures that customers no longer make any mess. Another bonus will increase their patience. These perks are great for negating the difficulty provided by the cards throughout the game, making your chances of reaching the final day more likely.

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