Isekai Shokudou

If you're looking for an anime to watch after a hard day (or in any other situation where you want to take it easy and relax), look no further than Isekai Shokudou.

This anime is extremely relaxing and easy to digest. The message here is simple - food brings people (and other anime creatures) together. Food that looks and tastes like an exquisite piece of art can be appreciated by all, no matter their race, background, views and etc.

The show has nice, clean animation, the soundtrack fits the show well and the vibes are warm and cozy.

If that sounds like your thing - definitely check ... it out, if you don't know how you feel about this type of show - try it, it's a good one to start with.

Everyone wants to get the most out of their moment. In an attempt to create new opportunities for their pursuit of bliss, humans seek out numerous things in order to avoid duties. After all, effort leads to fatigue, which is nothing else than a detriment for one's enjoyment, right?

In Restaurant to Another World the viewer follows beings from a typical fantastical setting. It's a world where dangerous foes, social inequalities, and incurable diseases are issues its inhabitants face on a daily basis. Weeks pass, but their demanding lives don't get easier. Be that a life of a gladiator, squaring off against countless enemies to earn ... his freedom, a sole survivor, enduring a solitary existence on a parlous island, or a stray demon, cast away by the society due to her origin, their lifestyles are far from ideal.

Regardless of this, they can still find pleasure and comfort in their challenging, yet steady lives. All thanks to Nekoya: a magical eatery, whose doors appear throughout their universe only once a week, on the day of Satur.

Nekoya by human standards, does not deviate from the norm. Simple dishes are served in simple ways; it's a typical western restaurant on the outskirts. The otherworldly creatures, however, perceive each course as a heavenly gift. Curry, ice cream, fried fish, steamed potatoes and many others provide intense experiences incomparable to any other. A meal—consumed countless of times before—brings forth a sense of joy and satisfaction on their rigid faces. An entire week's severe workload gone in a matter of minutes. Not much can compare to such gratification.

The cook himself, however, sees the restaurant's menu as being anything but exceptional, understanding that despite the feelings it leaves in its patrons, its crudity can be noticed by anyone familiar with the real-life cuisine. Similarly, binge-watching Restaurant to Another World can lead to feeling blasé. The lack of intrigue, absorbing characters, worthwhile art or music leaves it with only its noncomplex emotional resonance, which relies purely on avoiding the aforementioned feeling. The show puts a high emphasis on the fact that, just like the food served at Nekoya, its simplicity is supposed to be enjoyed seldom, allowing for its message to persist longer, as well as give the person receiving it time to utilize it.

Despite that effort, it still can't avoid the results of its bare-bones presentation. The always present redundancy will inevitably cause the viewer to grow bored, defeating the purpose entirely. Unfortunately, following the most popular anime format, it opted out for twelve episodes, rather than a one-shot OVA or a shorter season. The lengthiness damaged what could have been an uplifting and memorable story, turning it into a forgettable piece of animation.

As such, although the show's messages are genuinely worth experiencing, it is hard to recommend—finishing it will grow gradually more tedious, which can suppress everything it's trying to convey. It knows about this, but doesn't attempt to create a captivating experience, instead settling on a monotonous repeat of everything that it already said. The strength its idea possesses is far from enough to carry a twelve episode show on its own.

So ultimately, what you really need to know is that you should enjoy your morning sandwiches more, faggots.

Isekai is a really trending genre, but at the same time it's becoming a triesome genre, so introducing this anime.
There's nothing much to say in this anime other than it's a restaurant who appears on another world where the customers are knights orcs fairies etc.
there's nothing much into it other than that and it's getting repetitive, but the fun factor here in this anime is how the customers would do to go to the restaurant.
Some will hold a tournament some will find it at random, some will be suspicious, but once they tasted the food their reactions are fun to watch.
However that's the ... only good point of the story, the rest are just foregttable, even the main characters like Aletta and Kuro the demon girls and the manager, we never get to know any of them and if we do they don't matter on the story and neither did the customers I mean at least there's 1 customer that we can get invested at right? wrong!!.
nonetheless I still did enjoy the anime.
the art is good but for an isekai anime it's pretty generic, and the same goes with the sound.
I don't recommend to binge watch this becoming there's no real plot and it's repetitive, but if you like light hearted themed anime then this might be for you.

(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

Much like the patrons of Isekai Shokudou, I treat eating at a restaurant as a treat in and of itself.

The chatter of the other guests immersed in their own conversations. The services that leave everything up to the establishment. The memories made. Restaurants offer me so much that I can’t help but look forward to that next planned visit.

The biggest reason, of course, is the food. Chicken, steak, hamburger. Appetizers, salads, desserts. The delectable foods found on those menus are already making my mouth salivate just thinking and typing about them here.

While I will never ... be able to partake in the meals made within Isekai Shokudou, it at least crafts an anime that any restaurant-going person like myself can no doubt appreciate.

STORY

Isekai Shokudou caters to its audience through simple yet effective means. It plates such a feasible and digestible course using three key ingredients: atmosphere, diversity, and theme.

First, the show blankets its content with a warm, relaxing atmosphere. At its core, Isekai Shokudou is all about how this restaurant from another world invites its guests (and thus the audience) with incredible ease. To make that situation possible, the anime invests a lot of time in the well-being and focus of said guests.

It starts when a character or set of characters enter through the magic door, the bell ringing out to signal their arrival at Restaurant Nekoya. Aletta greets them, giving them a menu, perhaps some water, and a wholesome smile. Master never forgets a face, too, so he makes sure to catch up with them like old friends would.

The relaxed mood does not stop there. Any earlier drama waits outside as the guest or guests in question happily scarf down their prepared meal. Reactions and explanations give the content a personal feel for an extra edge of relatability. Then, after getting their fill, they depart with kind words and thanks, already anticipating that next Day of Satur where the cycle begins anew.

Truth be told, such a cycle induces unwanted repetition alongside its vital atmosphere since the events almost always boil down to the same happenings over and over save for the different characters. This approach provides Isekai Shokudou with a clear structure and a tangible rhythm, though. Better yet, the anime tenderizes its repetitiveness through its second ingredient: diversity.

Before getting to that restaurant, the show builds up each trek through the cat-sign door with vignettes of the characters themselves. What they encounter and deal with varies quite a bit as well. One episode may entail a knight running desperately to reach nearby aid. Another episode may follow a skeptical elf. And another still charts a sea captain abandoned on an island infested with chimeras.

These non-restaurant portions technically do not make up the focus of the show, but they set the table for the next menu item up for order. In fact, in serving up these slice-of-tales tales sliced from many corners of the other side, the anime goes about building a fantastical yet familiar world. A world that reflects or juxtaposes the inner coziness of the restaurant.

It takes on quite a few forms. Descriptions on separate territories such as the Land of Sand and the Duchy highlight some of the known differences. Cultural details like the use of magic and the mistreatment of those from demonic descent also find refuge among the talking points. Isekai Shokudou even goes so far as to showcase their own version of the Big Bang, complete with a giant chaos monster, elemental dragons, and the origin of man.

Are these nuances towards the world building huge let alone important? No, not really. But they give the anime another aspect to work with beyond the restaurant’s appeal (despite how appealing it happens to be). Moreover, they grill into the final ingredient: a connected theme.

Where does this theme come from? Well, it derives from the structure and the motifs of the narrative. As the show constantly points out, the door to this restaurant pops up at random wherever it so chooses. A setup that leads to a stream of customers not from one location but from several. However, despite their disconnected lives, many of them find that their paths also cross or crossed already.

From a princess’s relatives to a treasure hunter’s job ad, Isekai Shokudou creates such crosses through small subplots of a linked nature. They layer the events of the anime, upholding what took root previously. To the show, it declares that fate finds a way. Or, as Disney would put it, “it’s a small world after all.”

None of these three distinct ingredients – atmosphere, diversity, and theme – impress the palate to the point of awe. Meaning, while they give the dish its strength, they do not leave a lasting impression when the visit finishes. But that does not stop the anime from baking a flavorful meal worth chomping into.

ART & ANIMATION

When it comes to its visuals, Isekai Shokudou cooks some parts well and dries out others.

On the tasty side, the show avoids charring its mainstay setting: Restaurant Nekoya. The wooden décor, the soft lighting, the roomy seating layout, the various amenities. Just as the story aims for a relaxed atmosphere, the restaurant itself likewise relaxes the mood through its modern, inviting construction.

The anime also features many a character design thanks chiefly to the many separate guests that find their way to this unbelievable place. Ethnicities, species, builds, ages, and races reach across the board in terms of detail and direction, giving the anime a wide selection of people to highlight. From the lion man of the arena to the dignified half-elf witch in the secluded tower, they each have their own distinct look. Looks that tie back to the anime’s world building through a collective offering of different designs.

Similarly, variance exists to some degree when the show moves onto those uncommon glimpses into the other side. Sandy deserts, lush greenery, and dense cities paint their nations as impressive areas to see if one had the opportunity. However, because these areas (understandably) do not take precedence when compared to the restaurant, they do not always receive a lot of focus or detail. After all, the anime must make sure that its core set of events – what goes down at and within the restaurant – comes first.

Nevertheless, certain shots of glossy, colorful seas demonstrate that these places can stand on their own artistically. Plus, with the extra focus, dual-rooster reactions become possible despite their absurdity, and the scrumptious-looking meals turn into mouth-watering creations that the audience only wishes they could reach through the screen to grab a bite of for themselves.

Unfortunately, these qualities cannot quell many of the misgivings in the artistry Isekai Shokudou encounters the further along the season progresses. While the anime does not have any egregious art errors, it does succumb to low levels of animation and poor presentation. Episode eight takes the hardest hit with a ton of problems: reused scenes, odd cuts, too many still frames, and only mouth movements.

The drop in the art’s integrity impacts the visuals enough to not only be noticeable but also be a detriment to the overall execution of the show. Thankfully, this blemish does not override the setting, the designs, and the focus at hand, so it still tastes okay, dryness or otherwise.

CHARACTERS

With every episode of Isekai Shokudou, at least one new character makes an appearance. Moreover, before they arrive or stumble upon the fated door, their backstories commence.

Naturally, this situation leads to many of (if not all of) the cast members not having a whole lot going for them. Yes, the audience learns about Thomas and his popularity as a culinary “genius” and about the lizard man Gaganpo and his charge as the toughest warrior. But these backstories arguably do not give them much to latch onto in terms of intrigue.

But that’s okay, for the anime is not about crafting elaborate characters. Indeed, their varied upbringings and stations in life strike at a thematic element similar to how they did with the story and its small-world ideology. For, despite having these differences, they all demonstrate the same thought: tasty food brings people together.

Once the plates hit the table, nothing else matters but the succulent grub and the familiar company of likeminded individuals. Granted, they often keep to themselves and argue vehemently over which dish reigns supreme. Yet when a demon, a dragon, and a dude not only exist within the same space but also befriend each other over some yummy eats, the power of food cannot go denied.

Speaking of that dude, Master surprisingly receives some small tangential info about him. His major lack of character writing, though, actually makes some sense on a motif level. Normal restaurant goers wouldn’t learn much about the chef that makes his or her food, so it follows that they (and the audience) do not learn much about him anyway. In a way, he’s their guardian angel, delivering them food (with the help of Alleta and Kuro of course) to satisfy their appetites and keeping himself out of sight to let his expertise do the talking.

Unfortunately, Master cannot guard against Isekai Shokudou and its amnesia. Looking at every character involved, several disappear after their introduction or hardly have a presence from then on. Both Thomas and Gaganpo from earlier fall prey to this outcome. Others do as well: the dwarves Gilem and Gard, the sailor Roukei and the mermaid Arute, the harpy guy Arius and the harpy girl Iris.

These listed characters appear later in the series, meaning they justifiably have little time to come back into the fold. Even so, the anime doesn’t do right by them when it goes without any follow-ups to their inclusion and doesn’t do right by itself when they also do not obtain the same interconnected feeling that the story likes to tout.

Again, though, the cast members are not truly the point of Isekai Shokudou. Rather, their varied backstories and their common thread on food matter most. So, despite their lackluster individualism and their potential disappearances, the characters serve their purpose well enough within this simple story.

MUSIC & SOUND

Isekai Shokudou finds further success with a hefty amount of execution in its musical offerings and sound direction.

“One In A Billion,” the anime’s opening track, kicks off each episode in perhaps an unlikely way. The high energy and the fast-paced composition contrast with the laidback, relaxing mood that the show meticulously forms. Through this dichotomy, the multiple vocalists and the catchiness of the piece overall make for a lot of fun and liveliness that prep the listener for the same traits that Isekai Shokudou touches on when its comes to chowing down on some good grub.

Swinging towards the complete opposite side, the ending track “Chiisana Hitotsubu” takes on the familiar tone set by the show. Gentle piano keys and a soft orchestral arrangement capture the sincerity and the gratefulness with which the characters (especially Aletta) hold towards this lovely restaurant. A strong vocal performance refines the emotions, too. Altogether, this track guides the audience gracefully out the door with an earful of a wonderful song, outdoing the bellyful of an anime that preceded it.

Between the OP and the ED, the clattering of utensils on plates and the bustling sounds of the kitchen ring out within the restaurant. This standard audio design, though, doesn’t speak of its grander and lesser attempts.

For instance, in episode nine, the royalty half-siblings from the Land of Sand gain a slight echoing effect to their voices as they pass under an enclosed space as a cool little detail during their conversation. Conversely, in episode ten, the leader of the fairies has what can only be described as a weird audio clip where she seems to get abruptly cut off for no other reason than poor editing.

The voice-acting performances also fall under the standard category but, unlike the sound design, do not have any notable examples one way or the other. However, the original soundtrack of Isekai Shokudou is all positives with its calm pieces and more orchestral melodies that boost the relaxing, mellow vibes. Of special note, its signature (albeit overused) piano-and-cello ensembles that play before and during the eating segments dance in the air with a welcome aroma.

To put everything as a metaphor, the OP and the ED are two slices of white bread that contain the cheese and the salami that is the OST. That makes for a nice sandwich. And, if the audio design and VA performances were a sweeter type of honey-mustard sauce as the side, it would have made the whole lunch here as great as it could have been.

ENJOYMENT

Funnily enough, I see myself in these food-crazed characters. To reiterate my beginning anecdote, I love going to restaurants. But, believe it or not, I too have the same habits when it comes to menu choices and eating guidelines.

I’ll find one, maybe two items that I become very fond of. Then I always order them on subsequent visits. Sure, that makes me unadventurous in a sense, but I cannot pass up that tender filet or that multi-ingredient mac ‘n’ cheese if they are there for the taking. Basically, my nickname would most certainly be Mr. Chicken Tender.

While I related pretty heavily to what the show showed, I wasn’t invested in much else. Almost nothing very exciting or very interesting caught my attention in the events portrayed, and the characters themselves weren’t the most engaging. Specifically, I wished that Kuro could have had more screen time. I liked her design and her backstory and her telepathy. So, her halfway-through-the-season arrival and subsequent low presence was not to my liking when it seemed as though she could’ve sparked new life into the show.

Nonetheless, the anime had an aura of simplicity that I can appreciate. And, after watching it and writing about it, I find myself quite hungry now – so it deserves at least some props for that.

Isekai Shokudou serves a dish brimming with mild success. A straightforward yet well-structured story, a solid artistic direction, a big set of cast members, a handful of swell audio tracks, and a relatable premise. Definitely enough flavor to treat its patrons.

SUMMARY

Story: Good, three ingredients in a warm atmosphere, a helping of diversity, and a theme on this “small” world support the narrative even if these individual items do not impress outright

Art & Animation: Fine, a cozy restaurant setting, a wide range of character designs, and glossier focus cook up the order, but noticeable artistic troubles dry out the visuals

Characters: Fine, while some guests sadly go forgotten or hardly reappear again after their introduction, their varied backgrounds demonstrate that food has a way of bringing people together

Music & Sound: Good, a lively OP, a sincere ED, and a mellow OST make for a nice sandwich, but the grander and lesser audio design decisions as well as the average VA performances make for a less-than-ideal honey-mustard sauce

Enjoyment: Fine, Mr. Chicken Tender can totally relate

Final Score: 6/10

This anime promised a lot in it's two first episodes.

I will review the most importants pros and cons of the serie to make this short and avoid any possible spoil.

Pros:

- Cooking anime, and it really likes to play with the viewer's senses of taste+smell+visual of the food.

- Few cliches, mostly a mature show, you won't find childish jokes or moments in this serie. Of course if you are aiming for a mature serie.

... For cooking plus ecchi and shounen i would recommend Shokugeki No Soma.

Cons:

REPETITIVE

Story 4/10:

As i said, first episodes were very interesting, but the following ones didn't really bring anything new, the chapters begin the same way each one of them, which is like this:

A new costumer reaches the restaurant, then u are given a random flashback of his past/actual history, he tastes the food, makes some orgasmic faces, gets happy with the food, and that's the show till now. Not really any plot twists, any unexpected turn or events, or anything that could give some hint about if this show is going somewhere.

The art is average/ decent

Characters 6/10:

Most of the appearing characters aren't interesting in any single way, I mean elfs, minotaurs, a veteran warrior, we all have seen this before, bring something new for god sake. Except maybe for the morph dragon/women.

Enjoyment 6/10 (Might go down if the story just keeps going the same way)

It's interesting to watch if u are hungry or if u want a chill anime without hentai/violent or noisy content, but just that.

As far as Isekai anime goes, this is somewhere in the middle of the road.

The show's Isekai restaurant premise has already been done once before, but this one is a step-up from Isekai Nobu.
The animation and character models are great for what the show tries to do but nothing that stands out so much to make this a "Top tier" Isekai anime.

The show doesn't have a plot line, only episodic tales that only gives insight to how the fantasy world works through each characters personal experiences with the main character (If we could call him that) the chef of the restaurant, offering each ... of his patrons hospitality followed by him serving their favourite meals. The character gives commentary on how delicious the food is and then they leave the restaurant satisfied, and that's basically the whole show in a nutshell.

The violin melody that plays when someone is giving a commentary over their meals is soothing and pleasant to listen to but can get pretty repetitive if you binge watch the whole show. Other pieces of music showcased in the show is somewhat generic and not very memorable but are passable as background music.

There are a few characters that stand out mostly due to their unique traits. There is of course the main two stars of the show, the chef and his recent demon girl hire, Aletta with Aletta standing out the most whenever she appears, which makes most sense considering that she's the first face you see when you first enter the restaurant. There's the elf woman who doesn't eat any foods that uses an animal by-product like meats, eggs or dairy which I personally found it interesting since she is like our world's vegetarians.

While I enjoyed the show in it's entirety on my first watch, there's really nothing here that makes me want to come back and re-watch the show. Because it's essentially a show about food and not much else, there's nothing to come back to except wait for another season. The world in which the customers come from is pretty interesting itself and I wished that the show delved more into it.

If you're hoping to watch a show that has conflicts and drama then you won't find it with this show as what you see in the very first episode is what you're going to get in the next 11 episodes (Including season 2)

This is a great series to just sit down and unwind. To watch characters from different background all enjoy a simple meal is the main charm. It is refreshing from the usual food anime with a slice of life element to it. The characters introduced in the series have enough background story and how they discover the restaurant or their favorite dish. I think it works because this anime knows what its about.

But it has a few flaws that I can't get pass. Mainly the animation and art. While it is not one piece bad, it is still noticeable and it takes me out of ... the moment. The generic character design isn't inherently a bad thing since it makes animation much easier and allow more fluid movement. But even with the simple design, some characters move as if they are in 3 fps shot. Its as if the studio doesn't have enough time to animate, which is concerning because despite its predictable story it still retains a charm to draws me to it.

The ost is generally good although repetitive especially since all character who ate the food always have the same piano score on it. The sound of characters take a bite is off as they make sound that quite frankly if it isn't there, would make a more effective scene.

Overall the anime is enjoyable and great for people who are bored of the current season tittles where so many high stake story gets stale. But the animation flaw is glaring so I doubt people can binge watch the series.

Isekai Shokudou sells itself as an isekai while actually, it is not. This would be like buying a video game called Call Of Cooking Mama and actually expecting a militaristic FPS.

Obviously, if you were to take a textbook definition of an isekai then Isekai Shokudou is an isekai, as written in its title. But that is somehow deceptive, pick any anime marketed as an isekai and it will appear very different.

Isekai Shokudou is not about some OP protagonist getting reincarnated by a goddess after being hit by a truck, there are also no RPG level-ups: this is not an isekai. The concept of a 'restaurant ... isekai' is not new but those stories and this one have little in common.

This anime is non-toxic.
There is no plot, no fan-service, no 'genius' character, no wish-fulfillment, no tension, no competition, no humor, no cringe and that is the whole point. The characters are taking a break from the isekai life and so is the watcher. The food in this anime is not even that great and I am not even mad because those who watch are more likely to relate to a simple eatery rather than a gastronomic food restaurant.

Better characters, better sub-plots, and actual cooking advice could have made this show very good instead of good-enough. But you know what? I am fine with it as it is and I am recommending it.

The idea has merit, but all it does is repeat itself over and over.

There's a wide range of characters, most with one single trait they share as the same:impatience, like much of the real world dining experience. There's a nice slide between each different world for each character and where they hail from, but that's about all the novelty you'll see.

The idea has merit, but all it does is repeat itself over and over.

The intro is nice, though there's not much to it. There's often WAY too much dialog that fills space between each of the 2-episode per full episode format.

The idea has ... merit, but all it does is repeat itself over and over.

A lot of people were comparing this to food wars. I have not watched food wars because it is not really my "type". The same is true of this series. Isekai type series is really a hit or miss for people and for me it has to be out of this world, or has to be combined with another style type.

I gave it a go thinking that the supernatural/fantasy theme would be a fun twist but honestly to me it was a bit boring.

This is maybe a Shojo and also maybe slice of life. Very lighthearted with a few comedic moments throughout so ... it is enjoyable enough to watch. If you like this type of anime you will most likely enjoy this a lot.

Note: This review is based on the anime alone. I have not read the source material.

Story (12/30):

Isekai Shukudou is nothing more than a collection of common Japanified western dishes (called youshoku), the people who like them, and the backstory of those people. The "another world (isekai)" setting allows for more fantastical story settings, but in the end most of the stories are rather shallow, and the focus inevitably turns to the food and what the inhabitants of this fantasy world thinks about them.

Characters from past episodes sometimes show up as backdrop or do limited interaction with new patreons, and on very rare occasions cross ... path in their fantasy world as well. But that's about the limit of a coherent story -- for the most part each story is short (half an episode) and discrete, which leaves a trail of undeveloped and forgettable characters.

While there are no serious faults, I'd give an under-average score for the lackluster story.

Art (10/20):

The art in this Anime does its job, but little more. The restaurant setting means that most scenes within are static, but there's rarely much action outside of the restaurant either. Characters are decently drawn, if a tad low on framerate. However, as a food-centric anime, it certainly did its utmost to ensure everything looks tasty, and the food has proper texture and "physics". I certainly commend it for this fact.

Sound (10/20):

There's very little to be said about the sound -- the OST blends nicely into the background, to the extent that you won't notice it's there, and totally forgettable. The OP and ED are standard fare for such anime, again neither one are particularly memorable.

Enjoyment (25/30):

For all its mediocre-ness, I actually enjoyed it more than many other anime. It's format and light nature makes it great to watch while eating (don't watch it without food nearby), and there's really no plot to remember or follow.

It also reminded me of how it felt like eating food in Japan -- just looking at some of them brought back fond memories, and I added quite a few things I'd like to try out on the next visit. That's certainly something rare to come out of an anime.

Overall (57/100 = 6/10):

The isekai restaurant setting could have been used to showcase many good stories, or even as a platform for some social commentary. But instead the focus was placed on food and food alone, which is a shame and IMO a lost opportunity. It had been somewhat enjoyable for me, but I'm not sure that applies to everyone.

“Restaurant to Another World” is what happens when You have a lack of food porn in Your life.

One day a young, hungry demon girl, named Aletta, stumbles into a place that she has never seen before. Thinking it’s a dream she helps herself to the food she finds there. The next day she is found by the owner of the establishment. Terrified, she explains the situation and hearing her story the Owner offers her a job in his restaurant. A restaurant that has connections to different places in another world.

Let’s get this out of the way. If You want a show with an overarching ... plot, character arcs and goals… this is not it. You will find none of these things here. The show is episodic in nature and shows 2 short stories that go mostly nowhere, but I’ll get to that. First let’s meet the cast.

The main cast consist of two characters:
The Owner - the owner (I know, shocking) of the restaurant. He doesn’t seem to fully understand the magic that is responsible for creating doors to his establishment. When asked about it all he could do was to apologise for the inconvenience. He hired Aletta, and later Kuro, as help and doesn’t seem to ask too many questions. Given the type of place he runs I guess that comes with the territory and is probably the smartest way go about it. He’s calm, collected and, judging by the guests' reactions, extremely skilled in the kitchen.

Aletta - A young demon girl with small black horns on her head. You could say she’s the main character but that’s not entirely correct. We do however see most of the plot through her eyes and learn the world with her. She’s cheerful, kind and mostly competent at her job.

Kuro - A late hire to the restaurant. She’s a black dragon that uses an elf disguise that is probably addicted to chicken curry. She’s cold, collected and a little distant at first. With time she does seem to catch some warm feelings towards the Owner and Aletta.

Yeah… sorry but that’s about it. There are some regular customers that show up often but they also are just one trick ponies with little to no character arcs. All the characters have one trait that it’s used as their core.

Now… Like I said before, this show has little to no overarching plot. There are some crossovers but not many and they still lead nowhere. That said, it's not all bad. Most of the short stories presented are enjoyable. They are, as one might put it, short and sweet. All of them have some kind of feel good conclusion so if You’re into that You’re in luck. That said, some of the stories are pretty solid and could work as a prologue to something greater. Of course this being the type of show it is, I doubt that will ever happen. Oh well, c'est la vie.

The core of the show is a very relaxed (apart when the customers are arguing about the best dish) atmosphere and the feel good short stories. Just don’t expect anything deep, dramatic or thought provoking and You’ll be golden.

All in all I really enjoyed the show. The relaxing atmosphere and the trivial challenges that the main duo, later trio, encounter was a pretty entertaining mix.

I can’t really recommend this show for everyone but if you like iyashikei You should like this show. That said it’s not 100% iyashikei but it often gives off similar vibes.