Objectives are the game's daily to-do board: rotating tasks across serving, cooking, earning, and building that pay out rewards including food unlocks. They gamify what a working restaurant does anyway, which makes them the easiest free value in the game.
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Service
Front-of-house tasks that busy rushes complete on their own.
Collect dishes
A repeating service objective. Clear finished plates after meals to fill the bar at the top of the screen.
- Activity
- Service
- Task
- Collect dishes X times
- How to complete
- After a table finishes its meals, click the plates when Collect Dishes appears.
- Reward
- Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead.
- Scaling
- Scales up
- Notes
- Can be completed in another player's restaurant.
Earn cash from tables
A service objective that counts bills taken from finished tables, not every Cash source in the restaurant.
- Activity
- Service
- Task
- Earn cash from X tables
- How to complete
- Collect the bill from a table after the group finishes its courses.
- Reward
- Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead.
- Scaling
- Scales up
- Notes
- Can be completed in another player's restaurant.
Serve dishes
A service objective for handing cooked dishes to the matching customers from the Order Counter.
- Activity
- Service
- Task
- Serve X dishes
- How to complete
- Take a finished dish from the Order Counter and serve it to the matching customer.
- Reward
- Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead.
- Scaling
- Scales up
- Notes
- Can be completed in another player's restaurant.
Seat customer groups
A service objective for seating arriving groups at tables so the dining room keeps moving.
- Activity
- Service
- Task
- Seat X customer groups
- How to complete
- Seat arriving customer groups at tables.
- Reward
- Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead.
- Scaling
- Scales up
- Notes
- Can be completed in another player's restaurant.
| Name | Description | Activity | Task | How to complete | Reward | Scaling | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collect dishes | A repeating service objective. Clear finished plates after meals to fill the bar at the top of the screen. | Service | Collect dishes X times | After a table finishes its meals, click the plates when Collect Dishes appears. | Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead. | Scales up | Can be completed in another player's restaurant. |
| Earn cash from tables | A service objective that counts bills taken from finished tables, not every Cash source in the restaurant. | Service | Earn cash from X tables | Collect the bill from a table after the group finishes its courses. | Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead. | Scales up | Can be completed in another player's restaurant. |
| Serve dishes | A service objective for handing cooked dishes to the matching customers from the Order Counter. | Service | Serve X dishes | Take a finished dish from the Order Counter and serve it to the matching customer. | Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead. | Scales up | Can be completed in another player's restaurant. |
| Seat customer groups | A service objective for seating arriving groups at tables so the dining room keeps moving. | Service | Seat X customer groups | Seat arriving customer groups at tables. | Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead. | Scales up | Can be completed in another player's restaurant. |
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Cooking
Cook dishes
A cooking objective for finishing orders on kitchen appliances when the bar asks you to cook, not serve.
- Activity
- Cooking
- Task
- Cook X dishes
- How to complete
- Take an order from the Order Counter and finish the dish on kitchen appliances.
- Reward
- Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead.
- Scaling
- Scales up
- Notes
- Can be completed in another player's restaurant.
| Name | Description | Activity | Task | How to complete | Reward | Scaling | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook dishes | A cooking objective for finishing orders on kitchen appliances when the bar asks you to cook, not serve. | Cooking | Cook X dishes | Take an order from the Order Counter and finish the dish on kitchen appliances. | Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead. | Scales up | Can be completed in another player's restaurant. |
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Cash
Earn cash
A cash objective for making money from restaurant play. Tips and food-critic pay count, unlike the table-bill objective.
- Activity
- Cash
- Task
- Earn X cash
- How to complete
- Earn Cash from restaurant play. Tips and food-critic pay count toward this objective.
- Reward
- Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead.
- Scaling
- Scales up
- Notes
- The auto-collect gamepass no longer blocks cash objectives.
| Name | Description | Activity | Task | How to complete | Reward | Scaling | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earn cash | A cash objective for making money from restaurant play. Tips and food-critic pay count, unlike the table-bill objective. | Cash | Earn X cash | Earn Cash from restaurant play. Tips and food-critic pay count toward this objective. | Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead. | Scales up | The auto-collect gamepass no longer blocks cash objectives. |
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Building
The only tasks that cost money; time them with planned purchases.
Spend cash on furniture
A building objective for spending Cash on furniture. Sandbox mode does not hand out this quest.
- Activity
- Building
- Task
- Spend X cash on furniture
- How to complete
- Spend Cash placing furniture in Build Mode.
- Reward
- Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead.
- Scaling
- Scales up
- Notes
- Sandbox mode does not assign this objective.
Buy furniture items
A building objective that counts how many furniture items you buy, not how much Cash you spend on them.
- Activity
- Building
- Task
- Buy X furniture items
- How to complete
- Buy furniture items in Build Mode.
- Reward
- Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead.
- Scaling
- Scales up
- Notes
- Counts furniture purchases rather than the Cash spent.
| Name | Description | Activity | Task | How to complete | Reward | Scaling | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spend cash on furniture | A building objective for spending Cash on furniture. Sandbox mode does not hand out this quest. | Building | Spend X cash on furniture | Spend Cash placing furniture in Build Mode. | Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead. | Scales up | Sandbox mode does not assign this objective. |
| Buy furniture items | A building objective that counts how many furniture items you buy, not how much Cash you spend on them. | Building | Buy X furniture items | Buy furniture items in Build Mode. | Can unlock a dish from 3 food options, or receive cash instead. | Scales up | Counts furniture purchases rather than the Cash spent. |
Playing the board without detours
Most objectives complete themselves inside normal play: dishes get collected, meals get cooked, cash gets earned. The skill is sequencing, not effort; glance at the board before a session and let the tasks steer which station you staff yourself.
- Service and cooking objectives finish fastest during a busy dinner rush; do not force them in an empty restaurant.
- Cash objectives reward stacking with franchise collections and rush hours.
- Building objectives are the only ones that ask for spending, so fold them into purchases you already planned.
- Food-unlock rewards are the standouts: new menu items for doing your job.
FAQ
How do objectives work in Restaurant Tycoon 3?
A rotating board lists tasks like collecting dishes or cooking meals; completing them pays rewards, including food unlocks from several tasks.
Do objectives expire?
The board rotates, so tasks come and go. Finish reward-rich ones while they are up.
What is the best objective reward?
Food unlocks: several objectives hand you a choice of new dishes, expanding your menu for free.
