Updated October 30, 2026: Rewritten for 2026. This guide now covers build and layout ideas, how to unlock and run the drive thru, what every rating needs for 5 stars, upgrade and worker costs, the fastest ways to earn cash, and which codes still work. Game data was checked against the Restaurant Tycoon 2 Roblox page and the developer’s official event listings at 08:15 UTC.
Restaurant Tycoon 2 is Ultraw’s Roblox restaurant builder: you design a cafe, diner or restaurant, cook and serve food, then hire chefs and waiters so it runs on its own. The quickest path is to buy the three plot expansions first, then the drive thru, delivery and a second floor, and to build toward the 6 ratings on your restaurant sign. Each rating has fixed targets, such as 80 seats, 35 nature items and 7 drinks.
Table of Contents
Restaurant Tycoon 2 quick answer (October 2026)
- Drive thru: buy all three Expand Plot upgrades in the Restaurant menu, then the Drive-Thru upgrade (3,200 cash, per the community wiki). Place the two drive-thru windows and hire an operator to run it. You can pick a small drive thru (right side only) or a large one that circles the whole building.
- 5 stars: each of the 6 ratings (Service, Food, Design, Experience, Popularity, Eco) has three parts with fixed targets. The full checklist is in the table below.
- Best build: a compact kitchen right behind the order stands, wide aisles so waiters never get blocked, about 80 seats, lots of decor, plants and a bathroom. Then fill every plot upgrade up to the MEGA Plot.
- Money fast: add advanced cooking stations, unlock more dishes, buy the Credit Card Payments and Tip Jar upgrades early, and keep workers above 50% happiness.
- Codes: six codes are listed as active by two dated trackers: christmasmiracle, Gruffalo, subtoveddev, light it up, razorfishgaming and ocean. Redeem them in the Store.
- Last official update: the St. Patrick’s Day items on March 16, 2026. No Halloween 2026 event has been posted for Restaurant Tycoon 2. Ultraw’s newer game, Restaurant Tycoon 3, gets the weekly events now.
Restaurant Tycoon 2 at a glance (checked October 30, 2026)
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Developer | Ultraw (verified Roblox creator; community group Ultraw Games, 768,000+ members) |
| Released | Beta July 1, 2019; free release September 30, 2019 (per the community wiki) |
| Visits / favorites | 1.65 billion visits, 4.31 million favorites |
| Players online | About 1,200 at 08:15 UTC on October 30 |
| Rating | About 93% likes (1.34 million up, 100,000 down) |
| Server size | 9 players |
| Recent official updates | Festive Furniture (Dec 2025), Wheelchair Update (Jan 2026), Modern Home Update (Mar 2026), St. Patrick’s Day items (Mar 16, 2026) |
| Sequel | Restaurant Tycoon 3 (Beta), linked from the game description |
How to get the drive thru in Restaurant Tycoon 2
The drive thru is an upgrade, not something you build from parts. It only unlocks after you buy all three plot expansions, according to the community wiki’s upgrade table. In order:
- Open the Restaurant menu (third button on the bottom bar) and scroll to the upgrades.
- Buy Expand Plot 1 (600 cash), Expand Plot 2 (1,200) and Expand Plot 3 (1,600).
- Buy the Drive-Thru upgrade (3,200 cash). It adds a road for cars around your restaurant and unlocks the Drive-Thru Window items in Build Mode.
- In Restaurant Settings, set Drive Thru to Small (the road runs along the right side) or Large (it circles the whole restaurant).
- In Build Mode, place the pay window and the food window on the walls that face the road. You need both.
- Hire an operator in the Workers tab (up to 2) so the drive thru runs while you cook or serve. Operators take the payment at the first window and hand out the bagged order at the second.
The Restaurant menu: MEGA Plot sits above the Drive Thru size setting (Small or Large) and the Delivery toggle. Screenshot from 2023; menu layouts can change.
Restaurant Tycoon 2 drive thru not working?
Check these in order. Most problems are a missing piece rather than a bug:
- Drive Thru is set to Small or Large in Restaurant Settings, not turned off.
- Both windows are placed, and they sit on the side of the building the road actually passes (the small drive thru only uses the right side).
- An operator is hired, or you are standing at the windows yourself.
- Your kitchen can cook what the cars order. Chefs need at least an oven, a preparation counter and a stove to start working.
- The Waiter Trays upgrade (100 cash) lets operators carry 3 orders instead of 1, which keeps the queue moving.
The drive thru also counts toward your rating. Under Popularity, Ordering options gives 2.0 stars for the drive thru, 2.0 for delivery and 1.0 for the Food Truck. They only need to be switched on, not busy.
All Restaurant Tycoon 2 upgrades and costs
Upgrades are bought in the Restaurant menu and work right away. These cash prices come from the community-run Restaurant Tycoon 2 Wiki (page revised July 2025), so check the in-game price if it differs.
| Upgrade | Cost (cash) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Waiter Trays | 100 | You, waiters and operators carry 3 plates at once instead of 1 |
| Tip Jar | 250 (+50 to place) | Collects tips from leaving customers. Only one jar pays out |
| Credit Card Payments | 600 | About half of all bills go straight to your balance, so tables free up faster |
| Baby Chairs | 600 | Families with babies can visit; +1.0 Kid friendly |
| Basic Advertising | 800 | Popularity 0.1 to 2.5, ad on the EKEA building |
| Advanced Advertising | 1,200 | Popularity 2.5 to 5.0, billboard ad |
| Playground | 1,800 | Unlocks playground items (Kid friendly) |
| Restaurant Reviews | 2,000 | See customer reviews; slightly more customers |
| Expand Plot 1 / 2 / 3 | 600 / 1,200 / 1,600 | Two extra tiles per side, then backward twice |
| Drive-Thru | 3,200 | Car road and drive-thru windows (needs all 3 plot expansions) |
| Delivery | 3,500 | Delivery station and phone orders from houses on the map (needs all 3 expansions) |
| Outdoor Expansion | 2,000 | 4 blocks of outdoor space at the back (needs all 3 expansions) |
| Food Truck | 2,500 | A truck to drive around the map and serve from |
| Second Floor | 8,000 | A second floor; you get free basic stairs (needs all 3 expansions) |
| MEGA Plot | 16,000 | Four more tiles sideways (needs the Outdoor Expansion) |
A good buying order: Waiter Trays, Tip Jar, the three plot expansions, Credit Card Payments, both advertising upgrades, then Drive-Thru and Delivery. After that, save for the Second Floor and the MEGA Plot, since Restaurant size only reaches 5.0 with every plot upgrade.
How to get 5 stars in Restaurant Tycoon 2 (every rating)
Your overall star rating averages six categories on the Restaurant Information Sign, and each has three parts. These targets come from the wiki’s Restaurant Ratings page (revised May 2025). They come from players testing the game, not from the developer.
| Rating | Part | What gets it to 5.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Service | Waiter politeness | Waiters above 50% happiness. Level 15 waiters alone give 4.0 |
| Time to get served | Enough waiters; all level 15 gives 5.0 | |
| Time to get food | Enough high-level waiters and chefs (harder with more seats) | |
| Food | Cooking quality | Chefs above 50% happiness (1.0), all level 15 (1.0), and the right station for every dish plus the advanced recipe equipment (3.0) |
| Chef skill | All chefs at level 15 | |
| Food choice | 10 starters, 30 mains and 10 desserts on the menu | |
| Design | Restaurant value | $25,000 or more (0.1 star per $600) |
| Decorative items | 150 items (art, statues, aquariums; 0.1 star per 3) | |
| Restaurant size | All plot upgrades, including the second floor and MEGA Plot | |
| Experience | Music | Play a music disk (4.0) and place 2 music items such as a Vinyl Box or guitars |
| Drinks | 7 drinks on the menu (smoothies don’t count) | |
| Entertaining items | Aquariums, paintings, TVs, toys, culture items (2.5 stars per 6) | |
| Popularity | Kid friendly | Kids menu of 5 starters, 10 mains and 5 desserts (1.0), 8 toys (1.0), a Stack of Baby Chairs (1.0), Playground upgrade plus 10 playground items (1.0) |
| Restaurant capacity | 80 seats (0.5 star per 8) | |
| Ordering options | Drive thru (2.0) and delivery (2.0) switched on, plus the Food Truck (1.0) | |
| Eco | Nature | 35 trees, bushes and plants (1.0 per 7) |
| Bathrooms | 2 toilets, 2 sinks and 5 bathroom decorations | |
| Cleanliness | A dishwasher (2.0), and you or your waiters cleaning dishes often (3.0) |
The Ratings window lists each part of every rating. A 5.0 Service Rating here adds a +5% tip chance. Screenshot from 2023.
The ratings people search for most:
- How to get cleanliness up: place a dishwasher (2.0 stars), then keep plates moving. Active waiters clean dishes regularly, so a dishwasher close to the dining room plus enough waiters gets the other 3.0. You can also wash dishes yourself, which earns player XP.
- How to increase kid friendly: the four pieces above each give 1.0. The wiki doesn’t say where the fifth star comes from, so treat 4.0 as the documented maximum. Kid customers only show up once at least one dish has a Kids Meal.
- How to increase ordering options: buy and switch on the drive thru and delivery, then the Food Truck. That is 5.0 with no extra work.
- How to increase cooking quality: it mostly comes from equipment. Every dish on your menu needs its station (Kimchi needs a Preparation Counter, for example), and the advanced stations (Mixing Counter, Deep Fryer, Grill, Tandoor, Teppanyaki and others) unlock better recipes.
Restaurant Tycoon 2 build ideas and layout tips
“Builds” and “build ideas” are the most searched Restaurant Tycoon 2 topics. The best-looking restaurants still have to work for the NPCs, so start with layout and then pick a theme.
Layout rules that keep a restaurant fast
- Kitchen in one block. Put stoves, ovens and preparation counters close together and the order stands between the kitchen and the dining room. Finished dishes appear on the order stands, so short paths mean food arrives faster.
- Clear walking paths. Waiters only seat a group at a table they can reach without obstructions. Leave a one-tile aisle to every table and don’t block doors with decor.
- Mix table sizes. Groups ask for a table that fits their size, so pair 2-seat tables with a few 4-6 seaters. The 200 Robux Mega Table pass adds a table for up to 20 customers.
- Booths against walls and windows. The wiki’s build tips suggest booths along walls or windows, stools along the kitchen counter and free-standing tables in the open middle.
- Dishwasher near the dining room so waiters clean plates between orders.
- Use the free floors. Floor tiles cost nothing. Use modern floors indoors and stone or cobblestone outside to mark a patio.
- Plan for 80 seats. Capacity only maxes out at 80 seats, which is why the second floor and MEGA Plot matter for 5 stars.
Chefs work a compact kitchen block: stoves, ovens and counters side by side keep cooking paths short. Image: Ultraw (Restaurant Tycoon 2 on Roblox)
Restaurant Tycoon 2 design ideas by theme
| Idea | What to use | Rating bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Modern cafe | Light walls, booths, hanging lights, shelves, TVs on walls customers face | Entertaining items, decor |
| Japanese restaurant | Japanese pack (wall patterns, lamps, stands, Kawaii Sofa), Teppanyaki station, Japanese menu | Culture items count as entertaining |
| Beach bar | Beach pack (huts, loungers, surfboards, umbrellas), outdoor seating on the Outdoor Expansion | Capacity, decor |
| Garden or farm diner | Outdoor and Farm packs (gazebo, fountains, hay bale chairs, vegetable beds), lots of plants | Nature (35 items) |
| Western saloon | Western pack (saloon doors, barrels, wagon wheel tables, cacti) | Decor, theme |
| Medieval tavern | Medieval pack (stone walls, torches, banners, chests, well) | Decor, theme |
| Aquarium seafood restaurant | Aquarium pack (aquarium stoves, ovens and counters), aquariums in the dining room | Entertaining items |
| Fast-food drive-in | Large drive thru around the building, drive-thru signs and markers, small 2-seat tables | Ordering options |
Packs are bought with diamonds and also add themed music and customers. Seasonal packs such as Halloween and Christmas are not always on sale. The Modern Home Update in March 2026 also lets you restyle your house with a modern look.
How to make money fast in Restaurant Tycoon 2
- Collect tables quickly. A table with uncollected cash stays unavailable to new customers, and you lose that cash if you leave. Credit Card Payments (600 cash) auto-collects about half of all bills. The Auto Money Collection pass (200 Robux) collects all of them.
- Cook better dishes. Advanced cooking stations make customers pay more. Players and chefs at level 11+ can cook Silver dishes and at level 14+ Golden dishes, which earn more, per the wiki.
- Unlock more of the menu. In the Menu, choose “Unlock more” and pick a country. You earn new dishes at the end of each in-game day based on how much you cooked and served.
- Serve VIPs. The game tries to send a rare customer (VIP, celebrity, birthday party, influencer, president) about every 30 minutes. VIPs drop extra cash and sometimes a Mystery Gift. Pick the drops up quickly, because they disappear.
- Keep workers above 50% happiness. Below 50% they walk and work slower. Closing the restaurant for a moment boosts happiness, and a diamond gives an instant boost.
- Add every ordering option. The drive thru and delivery add extra orders on top of your dining room.
Restaurant Tycoon 2 workers: chefs, waiters, operators, drivers
| Worker | Default max | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Chef | 7 (12 with More Worker Slots) | Cooks orders; starts as a trainee who must watch you cook 5 dishes |
| Waiter | 7 (12 with More Worker Slots) | Seats groups, takes orders, serves, collects dishes |
| Operator | 2 | Runs the drive-thru windows and answers delivery calls |
| Driver | 1 | Delivers orders; you still collect the money from them at the Delivery Station |
Each extra chef or waiter costs more than the last: $200, $500, $1,000, $1,500, $2,000, $2,500 and $3,000, or $10,700 for all seven. Workers level up on their own, up to level 15, and level faster when they’re happy.
Restaurant Tycoon 2 codes (checked October 30, 2026)
According to the wiki, most Restaurant Tycoon 2 codes are announced on YouTube, X or Discord. There’s no official code list on the game page, so we compare dated trackers. These six are listed as active by both Roblox Den (checked October 30, 06:52 UTC) and Pocket Gamer (checked October 24):
| Code | Reward | Status |
|---|---|---|
| christmasmiracle | 250 cash | Listed active (2 trackers) |
| Gruffalo | 10 diamonds | Listed active (2 trackers) |
| subtoveddev | 250 cash | Listed active (2 trackers) |
| light it up | Wireframe Lights item | Listed active (2 trackers) |
| razorfishgaming | 250 cash | Listed active (2 trackers) |
| ocean | Dolphin item | Listed active (2 trackers) |
Disputed: Pocket Gamer still lists UltrawEats, grass99, horse2026, vip123, heart5, gift123, snowball, bacon, thanks5, outrage, spotlight, birthday and spook1 as working, but Roblox Den marks all of them expired. They’re free to try, but don’t expect them to work. Old codes such as 10million, RT3, winter2024, future, sunset and Luigi are expired everywhere.
How to redeem: open the Store (basket button), go to the code tab at the bottom left, type the code exactly and press Claim. Codes for Restaurant Tycoon 3 don’t work in Restaurant Tycoon 2. For those, see our Restaurant Tycoon 3 codes page.
How to get diamonds in Restaurant Tycoon 2
Diamonds are the premium currency. They buy packs, music, vehicles, toys and worker happiness boosts, and they’re shared across all your save files. You get them from codes, quests (the 2023 summer quests paid 5 diamonds each), daily rewards and the Robux shop (50 diamonds for 40 Robux, 100 for 70). The wiki notes that diamonds for leveling up stopped working in May 2024.
An outdoor seating area with a bar, plants and picnic tables, the kind of space the Outdoor Expansion adds. Image: Ultraw (Restaurant Tycoon 2 on Roblox)
Restaurant Tycoon 2 game passes (Roblox prices, October 2026)
| Game pass | Robux | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings Booster | 50 | +15% cash, +25% diamonds, +40% daily XP (per the wiki) |
| Paint Vehicles | 60 | Recolor your vehicles |
| Statue Pack – Custom | 180 | Statues of yourself or other players (up to 8) |
| Auto Money Collection | 200 | Collects every table’s money automatically |
| Mega Tables | 200 | A table for up to 20 customers |
| Reduce Grid Size | 220 | Place items more precisely |
| 2x Item Limit | 250 | Doubles wall, roof and small-item limits |
| 2x VIP Customers | 450 | Twice the VIP chance |
| More Worker Slots | 500 | Up to 12 chefs and 12 waiters |
| 2x Eating Speed | 600 | Customers eat twice as fast |
| 2x Faster Cooking | 1,299 | You and your chefs cook twice as fast |
If you buy only one pass, the 50 Robux Earnings Booster is the cheapest permanent boost.
Restaurant Tycoon 2 vs Restaurant Tycoon 3
Both are made by Ultraw. Restaurant Tycoon 3 (Beta) came out in 2025 and is where new content goes now: about 5,450 players were in it on October 30, against about 1,200 in Restaurant Tycoon 2. During events such as Halloween 2026 it runs weekly parts, each with a new code, according to its official event listings. Restaurant Tycoon 2 is the finished, slower-paced game with years of dishes, packs and upgrades, 9-player servers and only occasional seasonal updates. If you want events and fresh codes, play RT3. If you want the full menu and build options now, RT2 still has more.
More tycoon guides: our Retail Tycoon 2 guide (best things to sell, layout, money trees), the Theme Park Tycoon 2 guide, how to get 5 stars in Theme Park Tycoon 2, how to get more guests in Theme Park Tycoon 2, Lumber Tycoon 2 secrets and Car Dealership Tycoon codes. On phones, try the best tycoon games on mobile.
FAQ
How do you build a drive thru in Restaurant Tycoon 2?
Buy Expand Plot 1, 2 and 3, then the Drive-Thru upgrade (3,200 cash) in the Restaurant menu. Choose Small or Large in Restaurant Settings, place both drive-thru windows facing the road and hire an operator.
How do you get 5 stars in Restaurant Tycoon 2?
Max all six ratings. The biggest ones are level 15 chefs and waiters, 10 starters, 30 mains and 10 desserts, 7 drinks, 80 seats, 150 decorative items, 35 plants, a dishwasher, every plot upgrade, and the drive thru, delivery and Food Truck switched on.
What are the newest Restaurant Tycoon 2 codes?
As of October 30, 2026, christmasmiracle, Gruffalo, subtoveddev, light it up, razorfishgaming and ocean are listed active by two trackers.
How do you build a second floor in Restaurant Tycoon 2?
After the three plot expansions, buy the Second Floor upgrade (8,000 cash). You get free basic stairs. Place them where both customers and waiters can reach them, then build floors upstairs. Roof pieces can also serve as upper floors if the game says you’ve hit the floor limit.
Is Restaurant Tycoon 2 still updated?
Rarely. The last official listings were the Modern Home Update and St. Patrick’s Day items in March 2026, and no Halloween 2026 event has been posted. Ultraw’s regular updates now go to Restaurant Tycoon 3.
How do you get more customers in Restaurant Tycoon 2?
Buy Basic and Advanced Advertising (Popularity up to 5.0), then Restaurant Reviews. Add seats and tables of different sizes, and add the drive thru and delivery for extra orders.
Sources: Restaurant Tycoon 2 on Roblox (game page, event listings and game passes, checked October 30, 2026), Restaurant Tycoon 2 Wiki (upgrades, ratings, workers, drive thru, packs; community-run), Roblox Den and Pocket Gamer (codes). Prices and targets can change with updates.
