Bistro City recipes: how to learn and level up dishes
In Bistro City you learn a recipe by collecting every ingredient it needs, then level it up by spending a full set of those ingredients again, up to level 10. Learning and every level-up give you a one-off gourmet point bonus, and every meal you serve of a higher-level dish earns more points.
Game data as of 10 October 2026. 75 recipes are available now; the game data also includes 28 seasonal event recipes that have not reopened.
The four courses
Bistro City has four courses: starters, mains, desserts and drinks. You serve 1 dish per course at first, 2 from level 10 and 3 from level 20.
| Course | Recipes available now |
|---|---|
| Starters | 18 |
| Mains | 26 |
| Desserts | 17 |
| Drinks | 14 |
How many dishes you can put on the menu per course depends on your level:
| Your level | Dishes per course |
|---|---|
| 1–9 | 1 |
| 10–19 | 2 |
| 20 and up | 3 |
Drinks unlock at level 15. Until then the drinks course is locked.
Learning a new dish
To learn a dish, collect every ingredient unit it lists, then choose Learn in the menu. The ingredients are used up and the dish starts at level 1.
- Open the menu and find a dish you have not learned yet.
- Check its ingredients. Each recipe uses up to four ingredient units, and some need two of the same ingredient (for example, Chicken and Leek Soup needs one chicken and two leeks).
- When you have every unit, choose Learn. The ingredients are used up and the dish becomes yours at level 1.
- A newly learned dish is not put on the menu automatically. Select it to start serving it.
You can only remove a dish from a course if another dish is on that course, so a course is never left empty.
Levelling a dish to 10
Each level-up costs one full set of the recipe's ingredients and pays a gourmet point bonus straight away:
| Step | Bonus points | Total so far | Points per meal at the new level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learn the dish (level 1) | 25 | 25 | 1.0 |
| 1 → 2 | 50 | 75 | 1.2 |
| 2 → 3 | 100 | 175 | 1.4 |
| 3 → 4 | 200 | 375 | 1.6 |
| 4 → 5 | 300 | 675 | 1.8 |
| 5 → 6 | 400 | 1,075 | 2.0 |
| 6 → 7 | 500 | 1,575 | 2.2 |
| 7 → 8 | 600 | 2,175 | 2.4 |
| 8 → 9 | 700 | 2,875 | 2.6 |
| 9 → 10 | 800 | 3,675 | 2.8 |
Taking a dish from nothing to level 10 earns 3,675 gourmet points in bonuses, before counting a single meal. Each step also uses up one full set of the recipe's ingredients, so a dish at level 10 has cost you ten sets.
Why dish level matters
Higher dish levels earn more gourmet points on every meal, pay big one-off bonuses and count towards trophies.
- More points per meal. A dish at level 1 gives 1 gourmet point per meal; at level 10 it gives 2.8. Over hundreds of meals, that adds up.
- Big one-off bonuses. The later level-ups are worth hundreds of points each.
- Trophies. There is a trophy for getting 1, 5 and 20 dishes to level 10.
Picking your first dishes
Start with dishes that only use common ingredients, so you can level them several times:
| Dish | Course | Ingredients (rarity) |
|---|---|---|
| Onion Soup | Starter | Onion ★, Garlic ★, Bayleaf ★ |
| Garden Salad | Starter | Salad ★, Tomato ★, Egg ★★ |
| Vegetable Chowder | Starter | Milk ★★, Potato ★, Peas ★ |
| Cream of Mushroom Soup | Starter | Mushroom ★, Milk ★★, Bayleaf ★ |
Save dishes with rare ingredients, like Lobster Soup (Lobster ★★★★★), until you have a steady supply. The full list is in the Bistro City recipe list.
Seasonal dishes
The original holiday events had limited-time recipes for Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day. The game data includes 28 of these seasonal recipes, but they have not reopened in Bistro City yet.
Next steps
Your dishes are only as good as your ingredient supply. Read Bistro City ingredients and trading next, or go back to the beginner's guide.
Play Bistro City · New here? See what Bistro City is.
FAQ
What is the highest dish level?
Level 10. Learning a dish and levelling it to 10 gives 3,675 gourmet points in level-up bonuses.
When do drinks unlock?
The drinks course unlocks at player level 15.
How many recipes are there?
75 recipes are available now. The game data also includes 28 seasonal event recipes that have not reopened.