Anna Fabrés, creator of Dragon Diner, shares her story in this interview.
Origins
What’s the story behind you and Menut Studios?
Menut is my small indie studio based in Spain. Before going solo, I spent around nine years working in the games industry at Inverge Studios, on projects including Effie, Creatures of Ava and Peregrino.
I’m now taking a new direction in my work, focusing on developing smaller-scope indie games and releasing them more frequently. I’ve always enjoyed creating fun, casual simulators set in charming, cartoon-style worlds.
What made you go independent and start making games?
I wanted to create my own ideas by making smaller games that take at most two years to complete. The industry is also going through some changes, and I feel it was the right time to adapt.
Game Concept & Inspiration
What is Dragon Dinner about?
Dragon Dinner is a cute-but-chaotic restaurant simulator where you play as a dragon waiter. You don’t cook. You seat customers, remember their orders, serve food and drinks, clean tables, and try to keep the restaurant running during busy dinner rushes.
What was the lightbulb moment that made you realize this was the project you wanted to build?
The main idea was being the waiter instead of the chef from the very beginning. As a kid, I played a lot of Diner Dash and The Waitress, and I was trying to find a modern version of those games. Since I couldn’t find one, I thought I could just make it for myself.
Development Journey
How does your game stand out in its genre?
The game combines multitasking and light restaurant management from the perspective of the waiter. You can also customize your restaurant, which directly affects gameplay since objects have different areas of influence, such as increasing tips or giving customers more patience. I believe it’s a fun little twist that makes the player think twice during the build phase.
In addition, between each day you can choose upgrades, a bit like in a roguelike.
It’s the combination of all these features and mechanics that makes the game unique, and if you add the cute dragons on top, I believe there’s nothing quite like it.
What's been the most surprising or unexpected part of bringing Dragon Dinner to life?
How much of being an indie developer isn’t actually making the game! Trailers, Steam assets, marketing, localization, contacting creators, and preparing builds have taken much more time than I expected.
The best part is still watching people play and have fun with it.
Community
Who is your ideal player?
Someone who enjoys cute, charming games but also likes a bit of challenge. Dragon Dinner looks cozy, but underneath it there’s quite a lot of chaos to master.
What do you want players to take away from your experience?
I mainly want people to have fun and create their own memorable moments.
How are you building a community around Dragon Dinner?
I’m sharing development updates and gameplay clips, and I have a Discord where players can give feedback. A lot of improvements have come directly from watching players try the demo.
Looking Ahead
Once your game is released, what's next?
I’d like to keep making small indie games under Menut. I already have a few ideas, but for now I’m focused on getting Dragon Dinner finished and released.
What advice would you give to aspiring Indie Devs?
Make something small enough that you can actually finish it. Finishing a game teaches you a lot about development, marketing and releasing a game that you can’t learn by staying in prototype mode forever.
Where can people find your game and follow your work?
Dragon Dinner is available on the wishlist and demo on Steam, and the game launches on October 8th, 2026. To get more insight into the project, Discord is the best place to follow along.
Steam: Dragon Dinner on Steam
Discord: https://discord.gg/dA8sqZNzZa
YouTube: Menut Studios – YouTube
