First thing first let me tell you that I'm not a fan of isekai SoL genre, so by this alone this story which eluded aura of being isekai izakaya shouldn't be interested me.

The reason I start reading this just because I saw who was translating this novel so I gave it a try, a quick read, and yeah I'm glad I took that step.

Usually, novel bearing isekai SoL could be translated as a lazy novel with lazy writing, but this I absolutely love reading this novel.

First thing first the characters.... more>> As an SoL I believe the characters carried the novel so it isn't understatement that character decided the outcome, and this novel pass with flying color to the infinity and beyond!

While there is some hint of cliche trait, every character in this novel feel like a real person, and think like a real person, with some difference ofcourse as they belong to other world and thank god author didn't make anyone s*upid just to make MC seems smart.

From the progatonist, to the main Characters, even side character or mob in gallery, everyone really feel alive.

Next, the story progression. I know it's kinda dumb to rate plot in SoL genre but here, I believe this novel managed to tell a great story with nice pace. There is almost no info dumb, we learn about the world, the motivation etc as we read further to the story and nothing feel like abrubt or out of place, althought this doesn't mean everything just following the template and you suddenly could saw everything until the end, no. Like the character, here the story also feel alive, and like real life, sometimes unexpect thing happen, and even if you could somehow predicted it, the stort deliver seamlessy so again, it won't feel abrubt or out of the place whatsoever.

For people who wondering about foodganism, well there is, but not as heavy and as focused and other novel in NU, for ke personally this is a plus poin.

Welp it has turned into quite long, anyway I definitely recommend this novel to anyone out there, just try to read the first volume first, I'm glad if it's interest you, and even if you decided to not continue it, it's okay too.

Ps. Sorry for my bad english <<less

This novel have soothing atmosphere I could say.

Story is about japanese transported into isekai, but not as hero or anything but powerless cafe owner

Character and plotwise, its simple, just interaction between MC and cafe visitor. Some character got interesting setup and attitude. Probably the only cons would be MC so dense but cant be helped as seems natural MC would be like that with his attitude "take it easy" on anything, and also this kind of novel.

We also got smooth translation and sometimes beautiful illustration on chapter. This novel has... more>> a lot infodump that really descriptive and the pace that I could say really slow, but I didnt found that annoying at all cause its fitting as slow slice of life novel.

Overall, its not some kind of superb novel but honestly I did enjoy this anyway. Sometimes you need something that could soothing your soul. 5/5 <<less

This might be one of the most different isekai series I have read thus far. The protagonist is nothing special, not overpowered not anything, his most special ability is playing chess and brewing coffee. This novel has great characters. IMO the best part of this novel is the character interactions. It's like a collection of short stories that are loosely inter-connected by some way or another. Characters feels alive, they are well-written and have something to add to the story. MC is average, but not run-of-the mill, he actually has... more>> a will and thinks about what he wants to do. Worldbuilding feels very natural. I feel that the series is missing the "Romance" tag, thought it is subtle, it is there. The fact that returning to the original world is actually an actual plot point is very refreshing for me, most isekais (that I have read) doesn't even mention it. Unlike most isekai, which focuses on escapism. The MC here isn't really trying to escape from life, he even wants to go home as he feels truly lonely in another world. As the story progresses, the protagonist also develops and with that also the character that surrounds him. It warms my heart to see the growth in relationship of the characters.

Thank you for the translator for delivering a quality translation and for finishing it! I'm glad you decided to pick it up

For people who are tired of the same isekai pattern and just want something laid back, I truly feel this is the right Isekai to read. <<less

the MC in this novel is difference from most MCs from genre Sol and fantasy. Usually they are a retired hero or have some insane power but the MC in this novel doesn't have a superpower or magic like other mc's. He's just have his coffee making skill and his chess skill, and the MC is someone who homesick unlike most MCs who focuses on escapism in the new world. The story is focuses on the caffe not explore the world, he even doesn't go to the labyrinth in his... more>> city. The romance on some part is kinda vague that made me wondered if this a harem? When I read the novel but in the end we know it's not. The mc's too slowly change by people around him from wanting to get home to want to stay.

i recommend this to someone who want a slow pacing story or someone who want to rest a bits from the action novel <<less

If you were expecting to read a traditional cafe novel, despite its name this is surprisingly not a cafe isekai story. As it is written in the first-person it dwells on Yu's perspective on his fears of loneliness, dreams, and ultimately a search for a place to call home.

A slice of life and an isekai, are two genres often mixed together.

This combination often leads to the story of exploration and discovery of the new vast world the author makes.

However, this is not the story told in this story, instead, it... more>> sticks to only a singular setting of the cafe. Instead of exploring the world, it follows the troubles of owning a cafe business in a culture our protagonist, Yu, does not connect with initially. The characters and even more the community Yu meets help influence his outlook on life and homesickness and through the length of the story, he learns to accept this new world and call it his home. You will read and learn about many characters' stories, but also influential ones like the romance subplot which honestly while cute and wholesome, feels rather mature through Linaria. I would like to ask you to finish about 3 volumes to get the atmosphere of the story but will be too long, you may decide through this review if this is the story you expected.

I would like to rate this 4.5/5. <<less

The thing about this story is not the uniqueness of the SoL in isekai combination, it's the characters in it. SoL isekais nowadays can be a dude wandering/ living a slow life while being surrounded by super great people with no flaws whatsoever, occasionally deal with the villages' trouble and such. Or you know, the kind where heroes retire early and have beautiful wife and cute kids, and they create plots by having the bad guys kidnap one of the child or something. Those are, at most, mid. I mean,... more>> the charm of SoLs are not the dramas that the protagonist got dragged in, featuring some grandiose problem like in the action ones. I understand the SoL genre as stories with, literally, slices of everyday life. So I want to find the personal struggles of the characters, their relationships, their mistakes and their growth mentally; if possible sympathize with them and learn a thing or two about my own self and relationships.

Here, I found most of that. It might not be the main character's problem, like the part about one guy who lied to his mom about how well has he been living or the gambling addict's story, those felt so real and so relatable to me. There is, of course, still some kind of big drama in the story, I don't know if it help with the plot or not. And the main character does fit in the overly lucky type, in the same boat with the one who picked up legendary items after being betrayed. That's for the plot, yes it feels lazy, but it's okay because the plot is about personal development, so those lucky moments are just little pushes. It's not like he skipped through the growing period with those help, most of the work is from struggling to find answers, seeking advices and came to a decision himself.

The thing feels good to read because from the problems to the conclusions (not the outcome) that they came to could very much be real. Aina's story about the chess pieces won't be real anytime soon, still, question about dreams or risk free life is a very real question that I or anyone in this Earth can have. I learned some great lessons with this, yep.

And also, the romance, yesss. Cute and filled with youth energy. I saw some review and even the tags saying the protag is dense, but really, he is not AT ALL. Firstly, he's from another world so he has no common sense thus is oblivious to the customs about romance here. Secondly, the period of him being unsure about feelings toward him is normal, all of us gone through that to get to a relationship of our own. Dude, and the perspective about love is so good, with love being when both parties can trust and rely on each other, and they executed that brilliantly. What this did that is rarely seen for me is they rely on each other mentally, solves the other's struggles and insecurities. Taking care of one's lover is common trope but it just cannot convey nearly enough trust and love as this.

After reading this I realize the 'light novel' genre is starting to become not enough for me as I start to crave more meaningful and easy to connect to stories, I want more real characters with real worries, biases, insecurities and strengths, real passion which this genre just cannot satisfy with most stories being shallow, fluffy and generally for light read, as the name suggest. It helps me get into reading so yep it's great. <<less

I usually enjoy those izakaya/coffee/restaurant in another world, it's always interesting to see the customers and their reactions to new and interesting dishes.

However the first thing I disliked with this novel is the use of the first person point of view. I kept going on and got over it because I thought the idea was still interesting: introducing coffee to people from another world. Then my second problem was with the characters. The MC is a regular person, which I expected, but I often felt like he was immature and... more>> too afraid of some of his customers (particularly girls). That's my third point, the female customers are all very cliché. "The older sister elf", "the number one student who is interested in him", "the young cat girl", "the noble yandere stalker girl who admires the number one student"... While the male customers felt way more interesting and fun to read about. After reading for a while, I felt more dissatisfied with the MC and I couldn't enjoy the novel, the dialogues felt very formal (maybe due to the editing) and the cooking part is very small so far so it wasn't enough to keep me reading.

I'm going to stop now, but I still encourage readers to give it a chance for a few chapters and see if it's more suited for them. <<less

Nice and sweet. A cozy character-driven story, taking inspiration from Aria and YKK to add a twist to the trend of restaurant stories like Izakaya Nobu and Restaurant to Another World. Being about cafes, the story's focus is less on amazing food a-la-Shokugeki and more on the relaxing and familiar atmosphere one can find at a small cafe. It adopts a slower pace, good for a leisurely read.

4.5 stars

This isekai is very refreshing since most of them end up involving combat or having a lot of travel so seeing one that is a more simple slice of life with just a guy running a cafe is nice.

Well, in short, it's your typical light-hearted novel, with heavy influence of food and such.

From the few chapters you could already see that this is going to be a 'foodgasmic' novel, I don't expect any deep plot, just a relaxed and light plot, like the typical isekai food themed novels when reading this. The translation lvl pretty high so I wouldn't worry about it. The MC is your typical calm, skillful protagonist and the heroine is a kuudere type and lastly the novel gives off a 'relax' vibe typical 'foodgasmic'... more>> novels.

Reading the released chapters, I enjoyed it and looking forward to more updates. I recommend it to those whom wants a light-hearted read, and a good break from the typical isekai action novels.

To why it's 4 stars well I don't expect deep and thought provoking plot, I'm just here to laze around. <<less

9.5/10

Absolutely beautiful, soothing and enjoyable story, not a perfect one but it's still an amazing novel nontheless.

One thing that makes me ashamed of myself that I want to read even more of it.

... more>> I've re-read this all of this novel volume countless of times already, and it still move my heart and makes me cry. But also, it always makes me sad that wan't to read their story even more. Their stories that I will never read.

It's just my rude selfish nitpick as a self proclaimed romance and another world connoisseur.

This is a novel that I feel the world is truly live in, I want to explore it. The people, the two romance afterwards. I want to read more of them even just a little bit.

It makes me wanna write a fanfic, but I feel like it just would be rude to Kazamidori-sama. For I can't even truly begin my own story. <<less

Reading through this novel has been one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had in my lifetime. There's something truly remarkable about how the story develops. There are many novels that attempt something similar, but the ability of this one to keep a plot and character development while still maintaining a somewhat episodic nature in the early sections is refreshing. The episodic new customer idea is perfectly integrated into a real story line. The ending could have gone either way (iykyk) and it would be a masterpiece.

Grade:

9/10

TLTR:

Cozy, almost more kind to a story compilation, nice character and interesting stories, I personally found it really relaxing and cute, a nice and fluffy story to pass the time, it doesnt make much, but what it does is done well, simple, but well. Recomended for a ligth reading.

What a charming concept for a story! Yuu's café in a fantasy world, where he navigates the challenges of keeping his eccentric regulars content, is a delightful twist. The introduction of a magic academy student seeking a quiet study spot adds an intriguing dynamic. It's exciting to think about how magic might influence the café – could there be enchanted treats or potions on the menu? As the narrative progresses, exploring the student's impact on Yuu's café and its growing popularity would be fascinating.

I enjoyed few arcs more than others, by arcs it's really the customers interwined relationships and their development with MC, but the finale is absolutely fantastic, moving, tear inducing, romance and drama filled. Basically what I love.

It's by no means a masterpiece, it is a beautiful story, but I felt some relatively minor 'flaws' or perhaps I'm really nitpicking given the amount of utter happiness it made me feel. I guess the biggest thing I noticed was the lack of romance during many arcs between MC and the female lead,... more>> that isn't to say there were none, just that it was felt... inconsistent timing wise.

Some arcs legit feel like the heroine being someone else and this developing in something like a harem. I guess it's because Author wasn't sure himself of how he wanted to steer the story forward?

Nevertheless, I seriously loved the ending arc. It filled me with so much joy and happiness and... emotions. I felt warmth filling me. If this isn't happiness, I don't know what it is.

I really teared up as well during the final arc, yet it resolved so beautifully and I didn't feel Deus Ex Machina. Sure, there could have been better foreshadow, but there were hints before although not so early planned.

I really, really loved the ending. It truly had everything I love, well, almost.

Spoiler

Drama to the point of slight tragedy, helplessness, almost self sacrifice, resolution, romance, strong romance and happy ending, though we could call it bittersweet if we take into account MC not being able to return.

[collapse]

<<less