If you love a light hearted slice of life story and vast japanese cuisine, you would've like this... And there are already the manga adaptation version (if visualization is your taste)

While adorable, I feel awkward reading it. Every chapter so far has been more or less summed up by: "Oh my! My German (ish) tastebuds just cannot handle how amazing and novel Japanese food is! Our food is rubbish by comparison!!!".

I love Japanese food, but some days I just really want some kraut in a sandwich. So it's not for me. Maybe it's for you.

First time writing a review here. But it had to be done.

When I saw the "cooking" and "food" tags on this a while ago I totally discarded it even before reading since I hate many stories about adventure, suddenly become like a cheap cooking novel but oh was I wrong. (Yeah, I had the cooking trauma that made me drop various novels.)

Yes the story is about a pub/bar in a fantasy setting, and that's pretty much it, but theres nothing like "and x and x was added and then... more>> mixing for x amount of time and with the fire at x temperature" and so and so, like a lot of cooking stories. Here the story is progressing nicely, the cooking is not really cooking is more about the food. And I'm really happy how it's more about how is the kingdom (or was it empire?) doing, while listening to the stories of the costumers who are fascinated by the otherworldly food, literally.
Also, for those wondering about where is the bar located

Spoiler

The store is connected to Japan while being in a fantasy world, so the food is good, cheap and novel, and the owner and waitress are like a mistery in many ways to the costumers.

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Honestly I enjoy this story for the food and that’s pretty much it. Like other reviews have mentioned, there’s a certain aspect to it that’s like Japanese food is the best which is kind of expected from these types of novels and there’s definitely no historical research or thought puts into it (might be why the author decided to turn the world into some other half way to fantasy realm instead of proper European Middle Ages or something).

Honestly the characters are pretty bland too, but you’re not reading this for... more>> plot or character development at all in the first place. This is meant to be food p*rn-esque and that’s it. It does it’s job well though so I don’t think it’s particularly good but I wouldn’t call it bad either. Japanese food much like this novel isn’t for everyone and that’s ok. Read if you just wanna hear about Japanese dishes with a side of somewhat isekai but don’t read if you’re looking for anything substantial. <<less

I really like the light-hearted feeling the story gives off. The WN isn't about the bar being from another world, so much as it is about the food served there and the stories of the people eating and having fun within it. Really enjoyable

I really wanted to like this but as of chapter 12 Japanese characters are still just like Innkeep NPC and Barmaid NPC scripts in a game.

And the 'European' characters only exist to instantly fall in love with Japanese culture and cuisine.

Imagine a plot where a fully stocked and equipped 21st century french patiserrie opens in Luoyang during Tang dynasty. And everyone goes WOW! Water that flows by itself! Fire that burns by itself! What are these fresh ingredients in winter! What is this marvelous thing called chocolate? This tea is... more>> weird but amazing!

Except, I lied, it is not Luoyang, the author has never heard of it, the city is actually called Old Capital. And it is not Tang dynasty, it is some nebulous period where Confucius is new but everybody braids their hair.

Now, imagine if this Capital City was a total dump with no culture, cuisine, beliefs, religion, architecture, FOREIGNERS, but was some kind of anachronistic stew based on Disney, 1001 nights, and other western works. And the characters only exist to worship European superiority.

And that's basically this novel when I stopped reading.

To like this you really really need to never have read about middle ages, or read works set in middle ages that actually reseached stuff. Ever.

It is over the moment you start thinking about standing armies and potatoes being contemporary with Odin as an actual worshipped god and paper being a novelty, AND a complete lack of a university, guilds, public WELLS, or market in a capital city (with lively troublemaking students, merchants, arists and actors, itinerary monks, street vendors, escaped serfs, and everything that made actual middle ages interesting).

The only interesting part is Japanese food, and for that I might as well read a cookbook.

I kept hoping somebody questions who the Japanese restaurant is paying taxes to, and where they obtained a permit, and how they can be open during a fast, but I was just being petty. <<less

A beautiful slice of life masterpiece on the isekai genre.

I am up-to-date with the manga and the novel, and for this particular work I believe the manga really brings out the story that we readers can see and be happy reading :)

I can see from the character development the efforts the creator has poured in this work.

A unique, refreshing and happy experience.