NEW NAME, SAME RESTAURANT For 30 long years, Western Cuisine Nekoya has served delicious food and drink to customers across two worlds. But now, as the Master finally inherits full control of the restaurant from his grandmother, it’s time for a rebranding—and a new name! And so the newly christened Restaurant to Another World opens its doors to the public, as the bell rings on Saturday and the customers flood in...
Like the previous part the book is essentially a number of short stories about the restaurant and the people within. New chapters occasionally add a new character, but by now it is mostly about familiar guests. Of course, there is also food. For me it is a nice change of pace and I especially love how it is subtly shown that the restaurant is having a small but significant impact on the fantasy world and its inhabitants. The little hints about friendships forming, people talking, without rarely doing so directly. Of course, it can feel a bit disjointed, progress is slow and no overall plot, with a bit of repetitiveness but for me it keeps working. Looking forward how things keep developing.
The book makes a lot of noise about it being a new name but the same restaurant. And while it is mentioned pretty much every time someone sees the door, it neither adds nor detracts from the story. We get to see a lot more bits of "story" on the other side of the door in this one which helps flesh out the world and is a lot of fun. I honestly can't put my finger on just exactly what it is about this series that I love, but I'll keep reading!
Verdict: Once again you already know what you're getting with this series, and if that's your thing then this one should please.
I do enjoy the novels in this series. Except, they always make me hungry. Once again we get to take a look at the customers, the master and his waitresses, and the food they prepare and eat. This time we get some extra side stories, that add more depth to the various Characters like Aletta the demon waitress and Kuro the spirit waitress. It is starting to get confusing about events in the other world. Since there seems to be a bit going on with the empire and all such events get mentioned in passing. But still a really enjoyable read.
I enjoyed this volume and the series over all. Kind of sad that this is apparently last book that's been published. Not sure if the series in Japan is over or what, but I'd be happy to re-read this series because of how enjoyable it is. The anime is pretty good as well.