Title: Restaurant to Another World Vol. 3
Author: Junpei Inuzaka (Story), Takaaki Kugatsu (Art), Katsumi Enami (Characters)
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 146
Genre: Isekai, Food
Publication Date: December 8, 2020
The Story
The stories from Nekoya, the restaurant in another world, continue here in volume three! We start off with a bit of an argument about what dish could be transformed into a sandwich. Some would argue shripe, others pork culet, some teriyaki chicken, or even fruit (!?). Whatever character in the manga claims; however, is dead wrong. Obviously, the best sandwich is the day after Thanksgiving when you toast some sourdough on the stove with melted butter then add leftover herb stuffing, pepperoni, cheese, and mayo!
Yes, I just described an overloaded portion of carbs with a side of heart attack. A DELICIOUS overloaded portion of carbs with a side of heart attack!
Stop judging me.
From there, we are treated to two people, one a warrior named Souemon, and a sorcerer named Doushun whose countries are bitter rivals; however, despite their differences, they can come together through the power of delicious food… in this case, okonomiyaki… a traditional Japanese crepe-like pancake with vegetables and/or meat. Doushun prefers one with seafood and bonito flakes while Souemon likes his with pork and extra sauce. After their arguing stops, they enjoy the food and order another plate; however, this time they swap orders so they can try each other’s dishes!
Next, we are treated to a story about Sirius Alfade, the heir to the Alfade company who produces dishes after trying to copy them from Nekoya. Other companies are starting to develop new dishes that are putting theirs in jeopardy so they wanted to try and find something to revitalize their efforts based on the knowledge that their main foods are grains and marmetts. Sirius takes his chef to Nekoya and orders the Onion Bacon Pizza. Of course, it’s a hit so they try to replicate it back home.
Those are just some of the stories that you’ll experience (I don’t want to spoil all of them) in this volume. I will say that the Pudding a La Mode story gives a little bit of history on Nekoya’s menu, though, so be on the lookout for that one (it closes the volume).
Characters
Aletta doesn’t really get much development here. We saw her take on a job in her homeworld but aside from seeing her head to Nekoya in the very beginning, we don’t really get to see much else of it. On the other hand, Black is starting to get a bit of development and is ending up as a pretty peculiar character.
I’m not sure if it’s her powers as a dragon but she seems to have a bit of foresight when it comes to her customers. Whoever orders with her gets their food exceptionally fast… even if it’s a second helping of it. It’s almost as if she knows what they are going to order before they do it and has the kitchen prepare it ahead of time. Kind of freaky and reminds me a bit of Cyanide and Happiness’ Le Telepathe episode!
Final Thoughts
Once again, I made the mistake of reading this volume on an empty stomach. I forgot that they go into descriptions so deep that even Food Network would be jealous. Plus, Japan has this obsession with making food look incredible and this volume was no exception to that. Everything looked amazing, even if it was just in black and white.
I was hoping to see a little bit more of Alette and Black outside of the restaurant but the individual stories that we got here kept things interesting! Even with some of the simpler ones (as in the case of Lionel’s) everything did a nice job of setting up the backstory and reasons for coming to Nekoya. The only gripe I have is that there is still not a single customer that didn’t enjoy the food. Everything seems too perfect or too preferred by the taste buds of the customers. Just once, I would like to see some drama where someone hated a dish… maybe even call into question if whether or not Nekoya is as good as everyone thinks it is. Just something to (pardon the pun) spice things up a bit.
Conflict makes stories interesting and arguing over sandwiches doesn’t quite cut the mustard. (Okay, I really need to stop with these food puns). Still, the series is pretty wholesome and fun and I’m sure reading it will certainly give you your fill! (Can’t stop! Won’t stop!)
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This item was provided for review by Yen Press
