ANOTHER HEARTY HELPINGWelcome back to Western Cuisine an ordinary restaurant on weekdays, but every Saturday it opens up for a wild gallery of otherworldly guests. Master's culinary expertise has wowed elves, mages, halflings, and dwarves alike for over three decades. Master's niece, Saki, arrives seeking a part-time job, but is she up to the challenge of cross-dimensional clientele? The bell rings, and the customers pour in. Bon appetit!
Much like previous volumes, and as such a solid addition to the series. So, a set of short stories somewhat connected to earlier chapters from previous volumes through its recurring characters which includes the food.
I really like the series for its characters, world building and subtle references to earlier parts of the series. Adding the niece was great, it felt good that there is an heir to this place I have come to love. Mind you, it seems to have come at the expense of Kuro, the Black Dragon, who is not just oddly absent, but the niece mentions multiple times she and Aletta are the only waitresses at the restaurant on Saturday. It also has the same "flaws" of earlier volumes, which for me was mostly a bit more focussed narrative on the restaurant and its owner that goes a bit beyond the handful of pages we get. There is also no action, but that I don't mind.
All in all, a solid addition to the series that went as expected.
I’m a massive fan of this series and this was a let down for me. It felt very disjointed and there was no continuation of the minor plot points from the previous books. And the stories were a lot shorter and less detailed. It felt like crammed in stories to add bulk to the book.
I'm glad that someone else from our world is getting involved with the Restaurant, but I wish there was a chapter or two more about Saki and how she got used to the otherworlders, including Aletta. Usually we get to see everything from their perspective, so that would have been a nice change of pace. But alas. We don't even get the reveal or Saki's first interactions with Aletta which was kind of disappointing.
And what happened to Kuro?? She literally only said a single word in this volume!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.