It can be. Successful restaurants are very profitable (it's possible to do revenue that's 5x your startup cost in the first year, with a 10-20 percent margin, thus paying off your startup costs in 1-2 years). And if you want time off, just close the restaurant for a few weeks in the winter/summer.

Also, restaurateurs can eventually put in a few less hours. The main point is that it pays off to be there for the startup phase, especially if you actually bring skills and talent to your business.

The biggest problem I've seen in restaurants is owners who aren't restaurant people or don't have the right personality and temperament for it.

Probably depends how much of your life you expect to spend at a restaurant. If it's less than all of it I don't think you can expect much of a work/life balance.