Most users of Restaurant City adopt an island layout. This comprises a closed section of tables with the Customers sitting on the outside and the Waiters serving on the inside. This layout is efficient because it minimizes each waiter's walking distance. While it is efficient and makes full use of the game mechanics, users have often criticized this layout as unrealistic since this layout is seen very rarely, and even then, is typically only seen in much smaller restaurants than upper-level Restaurant City restaurants.