Best Food Manga

Key Takeaways

• Various manga titles feature food as a key story component, offering entertainment and food cravings.
• Unique food manga like “Let’s Buy The Land and Cultivate It” offer fresh takes within the genre.
• Food manga connect characters, development, and world-building through culinary adventures.

Regarding manga, there seems to be a genre for just about every topic, even those that most readers would find mundane. Just as most manga readers may like to read about a worldwide adventure or a romance between two or more characters, other readers may want to read about an unexpected but popular topic: food.

Be it food with enchanted powers or a group of characters coming together over a nice meal, there are many manga titles with food as a key story component. No matter where the story takes place or what events may happen, these manga titles are sure to give readers an equal dose of entertainment and food cravings.

Updated November 14, 2024, by Rie Takumi: The best food manga offer readers a feast for their eyes with mouth-watering illustrations that make them want to chow down. Food is also the focal point of the plot and manga’s world, and taking the spotlight off it would change the story wholesale. Growing ingredients, formulating recipes, and preparing and consuming food also run the world. Great food manga also connects food with character development. Food manga with competitions or tournaments have characters develop as they learn more about cooking. Many slice-of-life or iyashikei (“healing”) manga have character development work around the act of cooking or eating food. Regardless of the sub-genre, food isn’t an overthought in these manga.

23 Let’s Buy The Land And Cultivate It In A Different World

Secret OP Skills For Farming & Harem Catching

Though it may seem similar to other titles in the isekai genre, Let’s Buy The Land and Cultivate It in a Different World can best be likened to farming simulators such as Stardew Valley and Sun Haven. This fact alone makes this title one of the most unique in the food genre due to how the overall universe is set up.

In this title, after being ostracized by a kingdom due to his useless skills, Norio Itonami instead decides to cultivate his land and live a secluded life, free from the toil of his corporate job in his original world. However, due to his skill in fully utilizing the tools at his disposal, Nori finds himself at the center of some odd shenanigans, namely getting a dragon to help with his cooking and having a mermaid as his bride.

22 Specialty For The Fallen Knight

A Knight Gets Another Chance At Love

Much like Delicious in Dungeon, Specialty for the Fallen Knight takes place in a traditional fantasy setting; in particular, this setting is split into three kingdoms, each ruled by humans, beasts, and elves. Additionally, the art style, courtesy of the artist K.K., is far more dynamic and expressive, making the series far more casual.

In this manga, waitress Noelle is struggling to keep her father’s cafe from closing after his untimely death. But before her business can be sold off, she is visited by the Holy Knight Lancelot, who has recently awakened from a long sleep and currently mistakes Noelle for his lover from long ago after being fed scones.

21 Sweet Reincarnation

A Pastry Chef Gets a Second Chance At Sweet Dreams

Sweets are a popular food constantly portrayed in manga and anime, and Sweet Reincarnation is no exception to this trend. For readers with a sweet tooth, this manga may be of great interest, for this title is as cute as it is wholesome in terms of artwork, premise, and main protagonist.

After a freak accident involving one of his famed desserts, a pastry chef is reincarnated as a nine-year-old boy named Pastry Mille MorteIn, whose only goal is to make the best apple pie ever. However, Pastry soon realizes that if he wants to achieve his goal, he will first have to wield his newfound power to rid the land of Mille MorteIn of bandits that wish to raze the land’s foodstuffs.

20 Mysterious Dinner At Bistro Sangen-tei

Food Mystery Webcomic Set In A Cozy Tokyo Neighborhood

Illustrated by the artist Memeta, Mysterious Dinner at Bistro Sangen-tei boasts mouthwatering depictions of the typical food found at any fine dining restaurant. Intriguing still is the titular bistro, whose clientele consists of eerie figures eagerly awaiting the food tailored to their palettes and preferences.

The main protagonist of Mysterious Dinner at Bistro Sangen-tei is Ryuichi Kamisaka, an aspiring actor who has not had much luck debuting in the industry. However, after a chance dinner at Bistro Sangen-tei with his sister Kyoko, Ryuichi is suddenly thrust into the waiter position in the world of Sangen-tei, which is chock-full of extravagant cuisine and mysterious characters.

19 How To Grill Our Love

A Spontaneous Marriage Deepens Through BBQ

Food often has a way of bringing people together, as shown by the main relationship in How to Grill Our Love. In this case, however, what starts as mutual gushing over barbecue turns into a true test of commitment when things start to get serious between the two lead characters.

How to Grill Our Love stars Keita Fukuyama, a master barbecue chef who yearns to get married, but has had very little success until he meets fellow barbecue lover Chihiro Yamaguchi. After starting a relationship with Chihiro, Keita suddenly finds himself getting transferred to a new job. This prompts Chihiro to propose marriage, so they may stay together.

18 She Loves To Cook And She Loves To Eat

A Lesbian Couple Learns To Love Through Food

Cooking is one of many ways people can relax, and no manga proves this to be true more than She Loves To Cook and She Loves To Eat. Set in the present day, this manga not only shows off delectable foods cooked by someone truly passionate about cooking, but it also shows how food can help create relationships between other people.

Nemoto is a contract worker who dreams of experimenting with her cooking by making foods derived from video games and bigger portion sizes. Unable to eat that much food herself, however, she invites her neighbor Kasuga to have dinner with her, thus starting a romantic relationship between the two women.

17 The Drops Of God

Sophisticated Wine Manga By Brother-Sister Duo

Not all food manga has to do with restaurants and home-cooked meals. As The Drops of God shows, food manga can be sophisticated when the situation calls for it. Much of the conflict within this manga involves wine, a drink that is far more sophisticated than most alcoholic beverages.

After the prominent wine critic Yutaka Kanzaki passes away, his wine container, which contains the fabled Drops of God wine, is up for inheritance. This sparks a bitter feud between his two sons, Shizuki Kanzaki and Issei Tomine, for the valuable container and the highest quality vintages, which are dubbed The Twelve Apostles.

16 What Did You Eat Yesterday?

A Gay Couple In Their 40s Bond Over Food

What Did You Eat Yesterday features its main couple bonding over preparing meals for each other during their time outside of work. Unlike the casual, sudden nature of some manga romances, the main couple in this manga is far more mature. Both men have a lot of experience in both work and romance.

What Did You Eat Yesterday revolves around lawyer Shiro Kakei and his hairdresser boyfriend Kenji Yabuki, who find solace in their meals together after dealing with their jobs and families. Shiro cooks meals for himself and Kenji after their long shifts at work, but Kenji also tries his hand at cooking when Shiro is not around.

15 The Food Diary of Miss Maid

Cute Maid Eating All The Things

Suzume is an English maid who is forced to stay in Japan while her master’s mansion undergoes repairs. Rather than be put out, Suzume finds positives while staying at her grandmother’s place. Specifically, she discovers Japanese food, from snacks like takoyaki to full meals like curry, across the seasons.

Cute maids aside, Suzume’s pure enjoyment of food forms a not-insubstantial part of why The Food Diary of Miss Maid is a hit. Britishisms and Japanisms explained in spades also help create a cultured atmosphere that offsets the manga’s relaxed, and occasionally mysterious, vibes.

14 Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen

Witch Hat Atelier Focused On Food And Male Characters

Witch Hat Atelier follows Coco and her journey to becoming a witch despite having zero magical abilities. Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, on the other hand, focuses on her mentor Qifrey, and his Watchful Eye Olruggio. Every night when Coco and her fellow apprentices sleep, Qifrey and Olruggio stay awake to whip up food the old-fashioned way.

Qifrey and Olruggio get a fair bit of development in this comfy side-series. It also serves as a behind-the-scenes type of side content as chapters are patterned as companion stories to events in the main series. Any home cooks can cook along with the male witches thanks to the real recipes tucked into every volume.

13 Patisserie of the Inner Palace

Bringing 21st-Century Sweets To Ancient Palaces

Patisserie of the Inner Palace takes place in feudal Japan; the manga’s art style reflects this period, as many characters, locations, and pastries look as though they have been intricately painted instead of drawn.

The story of Patisserie of the Inner Palace features Kokoro Yuzuki, a present-day pastry chef who finds herself in Edo, Japan after falling down a flight of stairs. From there, however, Kokoro manages to resume her duties as a pastry chef for the Shogun, but she soon finds herself becoming embroiled in brewing conspiracies.

12 The Devil Is A Part-Timer!

A Legendary Comedy Manga With Fast-Food Fun

Already a popular isekai anime and light novel series in its own right, The Devil is a Part-Timer is a prime example of a reverse isekai series, in which a fantasy character or creature is transported to the present day. Naturally, this means the characters in question must explore what the present day has to offer, which includes trying this era’s food.

In this case, the former demon lord Sadao Maou and his lackey Shiro are transported to the present day after being defeated by a hero in their world. To make matters worse, the pair must also deal with the typical financial stressors that one may experience in the present, prompting Sadao to take up a job at a fast-food restaurant to pay his expenses.

11 Campfire Cooking In Another World With My Absurd Skill

Comfy Food Manga With Pet Raising To Boot

In a similar vein to certain isekai series, Campfire Cooking in Another World With My Absurd Skill sees its protagonist transported to a fantasy world out of nowhere and with a seemingly useless and strange power. But as it turns out, what starts as a strange power ends up being the main protagonist Tsuyoshi Mukouda’s saving grace.

After finding himself in a traditional fantasy world, Tsuyoshi is suddenly tossed into a dangerous mission despite his horrid strength and stats; he is tasked to defeat a Demon Lord and save the kingdom of Reijseger. His only true skill is to order food from his old supermarket, a skill that ends up satiating the Demon Lord’s stomach so much he starts asking for more.

10 Restaurant To Another World

Resolving Personal Crises With Otherworldly Food

Though the official art style and artwork are colorful and vibrant, the first few moments of Restaurant to Another World start out like something in a typical adventure-style anime; this may give off the wrong idea for some readers. But in a few short moments, the setting takes a turn for the better when the protagonist, Sarah Gold, stumbles across the secluded titular restaurant.

In this manga, adventurer Sarah Gold meets the waitress Aletta and her chef, both of whom offer her a famed minced meat cutlet that was once eaten by her grandfather. As time passes, however, Sarah soon learns the restaurant’s secret: it is only open every Saturday and hosts many fantastic customers looking for delicious Western food.

9 Giant Spider & Me: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale

Food Manga With Recipes & Post-Apocalyptic Scenes

Nagi’s father goes on expeditions all the time but is never away for too long. All alone in the mountains in this post-apocalyptic world, she eventually meets Asa, the giant mutant spider. Nagi and Asa decide it’s better to stick together and begin a cozy life farming, cooking, and eating.

Recipes are the backbone of Giant Spider & Me’s story, and cooking, eating, or sharing food moves the plot forward. As Nagi and Asa make friends, more of the world and its post-apocalyptic nature emerge, and the nature of time and loneliness is explored while recipes are tested.

8 Hakumei & Mikochi: Tiny Little Life In The Woods

The Sweet Life With Thumbelina-Sized Protagonists

With two cutesy characters and a larger-than-life setting in the most literal sense, Hakumei & Mikochi is a must-read for both food lovers and readers who are fond of the chibi art style. Set in a forest where the animals are larger than normal, this manga makes even a walk through the woods seem like a life-changing adventure.

The manga stars the titular pair, Hakumei, and Mikochi, lifelong best friends who are obsessed with food and everything related to it. While their days usually consist of playing games and collecting food, things take a shocking turn when Conju, a known traveling bard, is suddenly abducted amid a series of other sudden events.

7 Kiyo In Kyoto: From The Maiko House

Educational Food Manga With Neat Recipes

For protagonist Kiyo, her cooking literally saves her future. A naturally clumsy girl, Kiyo failed all her trials to become maiko or apprentice geisha. Before she’s sent back to Aomori from Kyoto, the meals she cooked for her best friend Sumire and other girls earn her a spot at the maiko house.

Kiyo in Kyoto is full of information regarding maiko, their customs, and their history. The anime adaptation brings these tidbits to life through narration and helpful zoom-ins on important items, ceremonies, and persons, to showcase the most important details.

6 Bartender

An Iyaishikei Love Letter To Crafted Drinks

Rumor has it that somewhere in Ginza is a bar called Eden Hall. This invitation-only bar is hosted by Ryu Sasakura, a bartender known to serve the “Glass of the Gods”. Instead of literal ambrosia, what Ryu serves is an experience that makes his customers look at their lives in a different way.

Bartender is a long-running series with multiple spin-offs and two anime adaptations. Although it’s considered an acquired taste for non-Japanese fans, Japanese readers love its simple presentation and comforting nature. Much like the customers served by Ryu, readers indulge in Bartender’s slow pacing for the profound musings that the series ekes out.

5 Isekai Izakaya “Nobu”

Bar Food Changes Geopolitics & Relationships

A long-time favorite for food manga lovers, Isekai Izakaya “Nobu” reinvigorates regular bar staples into life-changing food. Titular chef Nobuyuki and waitress Shinobu serve izakaya food that revitalizes their customers while incorporating local ingredients and techniques to expand their repertoire. Their food serves as an important plot point, as it’s taken as an indicator of their host country’s wealth, and inspires the local chefs to play with their ingredients and serving styles.

Mangaka Natsuya Semikawa also wrote a spinoff, Isekai Izakaya “Gen”, that follows Nobu’s premise to a T. Gen’s differs in that it’s connected to La Parisia, the French-inspired capital of Euryria, as opposed to Nobu’s German-inspired Aethelia.

4 The Knife and the Sword

Time Travel To Cook For A Famous Warlord

Heisei-era chef Ken awakens in the Sengoku Era chased by bandits. He’s found in the river by the female blacksmith Natsu after another modern chef sacrifices his life for Ken. It’s not long before Ken’s natural master chef instincts manifest and attract the warlord Nobunaga Oda. Charged with feeding the Fool of Owari and his army, Ken fights to survive and return to Natsu.

Sadly, the samurai-centric manga has yet to be picked up for English licensing. This is partly due to The Knife and the Sword’s Japanese story, and nuances that would be hard for Western audiences to pick up on. An adaptation would require a great deal of footnotes and translation inserts in the white margins to explain its extensive historical and cultural references.