Objective To evaluate the quality of recovery in patients who underwent robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy and to compare the outcomes of the transperitoneal or retroperitoneal approach. Methods This study included 121 patients who underwent robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy under general anesthesia from April 2019 to September 2019 at Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. Quality of recovery was defined according to the QoR‐40 Japanese version. The participants responded to the QoR‐40 Japanese version on three designated days. The patients were assigned to two groups according to the surgical approach: transperitoneal or retroperitoneal. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify independent factors associated with better quality of recovery. Results Out of the 121 patients, 56 (46%) and 65 (54%) patients were included in the transperitoneal and retroperitoneal group, respectively. Although the QoR‐40 Japanese version scores were not different between the two groups at admission, a better quality of recovery was observed in the retroperitoneal group than in the transperitoneal group at discharge based on the total score: physical comfort, emotional state, physical independence and pain. A multivariate analysis showed that the retroperitoneal approach and male sex were associated with a better QoR‐40 Japanese version score at discharge. Conclusions A retroperitoneal approach offers better quality of recovery than a transperitoneal approach, and therefore it might represent the optimal approach in selected patients undergoing robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy.