Critter Kitchen - À La Cart
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New chefs, new critics, new carts along the streets of Bistro Bay. And finally, everyone is at the table.
What it's about
Bistro Bay expands — and brings everyone to the table
Critter Kitchen: À La Cart is the official expansion for the base game by Alex Cutler and Peter C. Hayward, with illustrations by Sandara Tang. If the base game has already won you over, this box adds exactly what you were missing: more variety, more players, more surprises on the street.
Street carts make their debut in Bistro Bay, bringing rare ingredients and opportunities that didn't exist before. New critics judge your cooking with different criteria. New Sous Chefs offer themselves to your brigade for just one turn. And for the first time, you can bring up to seven people to the table without leaving anyone out.
It's not an expansion that rewrites the rules — it's one that amplifies what you already love. The organized chaos of Critter Kitchen becomes richer, more unpredictable, and more fun to share.
What they say about the base game
"Like a perfectly executed soufflé, it rises to the occasion."
Like a perfectly executed soufflé, it rises to the occasion.
— Meeple Mountain (about the base game)
"Critter Kitchen is warm like an open oven."
Critter Kitchen is warm like an open oven.
— Space-Biff! (about the base game)
Critter Kitchen: À La Cart
The expansion maintains the solo mode of the base game. It works and adds new scenarios, but the expansion's strength is bringing everyone to the table — not playing alone.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and play sessionsWhat it brings to the table
Four additions that change the game
Market carts
New temporary locations along the streets of Bistro Bay. Ingredients you won't find in fixed locations — and customers that change from time to time.
New critics and restaurateurs
Each critic judges with different parameters. Each restaurateur gives you a unique ability. More combinations mean more completely different games.
Additional Sous Chefs
New temporary sous chefs for your brigade, each with a special ability to use in a single turn. Get there first and grab the best one.
6–7 player mode
Two additional boards, new meeples, screens, and complete components. Finally, everyone is at the table — no one has to wait outside.
If Critter Kitchen was already your favorite kitchen, À La Cart adds a second floor — and opens it up to the whole crew.
🎲ComponentsEverything you find in the box
🃏Recommended sleeves1 size · 68 cards total
A game in five acts
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience — with the expansion in play.
Bistro Bay is packed — all aboard
The board is set up, the carts are placed in their new spots, the critic of the round is revealed. With six or seven people, the kitchen is already bustling even before the first turn begins. Someone is studying the rumors. Someone else already has a plan. The maitre d' announces the start.
The Carts change everything
A cart with rare ingredients appears in the neighborhood. Three chefs aim for the same spot. Choices are revealed simultaneously — and the traffic is real. The mouse gets there first but only takes one ingredient. The boar arrives last and takes three. Only now does one discover who chose well.
The Sous Chef changes the brigade
Someone arrives first at the Academy and secures the Sous Chef for the round — an extra help for the next round, with a skill no one else can copy. The table stops ignoring it. Plans are adjusted. Those who didn't foresee it are back to square one.
The rumor comes true
The critic loves rare meat and strong spices — and you knew it. You collected the right ingredients by keeping an eye on the rumors from the first turn. Now the seven-course dinner is served and your dish speaks for itself. The others look at each other. They misread the situation.
The final judgment — and revenge already planned
The critic evaluates. Stars are counted. Someone won because of another's single wrong dish. Someone swears that next time they will get the Sous Chef before anyone else. The box is put away while they are already discussing who chose the wrong cart and why.
How to play with the expansion
The flow of each round — with the carts
The pace of the base game remains unchanged. À La Cart adds new spaces, not new rules to learn from scratch.
The active carts for the round are revealed along with the standard ingredients. Each cart carries specific ingredients and can have unique effects when visited.
Each player secretly chooses where to send their three chefs — mouse, lizard, and boar — among the fixed locations and the new carts. All cards are revealed simultaneously.
Ingredients are collected in order of speed. Whoever arrives first takes what they want, but takes less. Whoever arrives later finds leftovers — or finds a location ignored by everyone.
After round 3 and round 6, dishes are served for challenges. In round 7, the full dinner is prepared for the critic. Whoever has the most stars wins — rumors might decide the margin.
Why it's worth adding
Six concrete reasons to expand Bistro Bay
Carts that shift plans
New temporary locations with ingredients you won't find anywhere else. Every round the market changes — and those who ignore it make way for those who don't.
New critics with different palates
New critic cards with preferences different from the base game. Same rumor mechanic, new interpretations to make each game.
Restaurateurs with more personality
Unique abilities that combine in new ways with critics and rumors. Your kitchen build can now take directions that the base game did not foresee.
Sous Chefs who leave the scene early
New temporary sous chef cards. If you don't take them at the right turn, they disappear. That extra pressure is enough to completely change action priorities.
Finally 6 or 7 at the table
Two additional players with everything needed: player boards, screens, double-sided printed meeples. No compromises on materials.
Almost infinite replayability
The combination of critics, restaurateurs, carts, and rumors from the expansion multiplied with the base cards produces scenarios that do not repeat.
How to win
Stars, critics, and rumors
Same structure as the base game — whoever accumulates the most stars wins. But with the expansion, the paths to get there multiply.
Victory
- The player with the most stars at the end of round 7 wins
- Stars come from challenges in rounds 3 and 6, the critic's dinner, and rumors
- New restaurateurs in the expansion can grant alternative star bonuses
How to lose
- Ignoring rumors and cooking for the wrong critic
- Leaving all the Sous Chefs to others for three rounds in a row
- Sending the boar to the carts when everyone else is going — and coming back empty-handed
À La Cart doesn't change Critter Kitchen — it expands it. Those who already loved the base game will find exactly what they expected: more things to decide, more people at the table, more evenings to remember.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ about Critter Kitchen: À La Cart
Is the expansion worth buying if the base game is already excellent?
It depends on how many times you've played. If Critter Kitchen has entered your group's regular rotation and you want more variety — or to bring more people to the table — the expansion makes sense. If you've only played once or twice, the base game already has enough variability for many games.
Does the expansion make the game more complicated or just richer?
Richer. The carts add new spaces to visit but don't change the game flow — you plan, you reveal, you collect. New critics and restaurateurs add combinations but the mechanism remains the same. Those who already know the base game can start right away.
How does the 6-7 player mode work?
The expansion includes two additional complete player boards with screens, double-sided printed meeples, and all necessary components. No extra purchases are needed. With 7 players, the table is crowded — and the race for ingredients becomes much more intense.
Can only certain parts of the expansion be used?
Yes. You can add only the new critics, only the carts, or only the additional Sous Chefs. The expansion is modular — you can integrate as much as you want without being forced to add everything at once from the first game.
Is solo mode included?
Yes, the base game's solo mode remains compatible, and the expansion also adds content for that mode. However, À La Cart's strength is its scale up to 7 players — solo mode works but is not the main reason to purchase it.
Is the expansion available in Italian?
This is the English edition. The text on the cards is in English, but the language is simple and highly contextualized — few players have difficulty even without extensive knowledge of English. The rulebook is in English.
Critter Kitchen: À La Cart is the official expansion for Critter Kitchen, a simultaneous worker placement board game for 1-7 players (ages 12+, ~60 min duration). Designed by Alex Cutler and Peter C. Hayward, artwork by Sandara Tang, published by Lucky Duck Games / Cardboard Alchemy. The expansion adds market carts, new critics, restaurateurs, and Sous Chefs, plus 6/7 player mode with additional player boards, screens, and meeples. It is not a standalone game — it requires the Critter Kitchen base game. English edition. Available at FroGames.it.
Critter Kitchen - À La Cart
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