‘Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu, Volume 1’ by Natsuya Semikawa with art by Virginia Nitouhei is a manga about a medieval town with a strange new pub.

Rumors abound about a new pub that serves cold beer and unusual food. Two soldiers who are tired of the usual fare of potatoes, are treated to a new dish. A little girl who is a picky eater, gets surprised by something she actually wants to eat to the delight of her caretaker. These are just a few of the encounters in this first volume.

I like this series about an unusual bar showing up in an unexpected place. The stories are charming and the premise of a meal unexpectedly made to meet a need is really good. The art is also nice as well.

This was a nice manga. I think it was written more for the atmosphere and food, than for the plot. It was not something I found really interesting, but I do admire the education on different types of food. Also, I don't know if it was an issue with my reading device or the actual images, but they were a bit grainy.

Thank you to Net Galley who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGallery for this amazing manga. I loved everything about it! I will be reading the rest of the manga. By the way, this is such a cozy read. I like how all the characters are very likeable and kind hearted 💖 I feel like this might be ranked high in my favorite manga list.

Really enjoyed the story, there are a few that are not related to one another, but all about the Izakaya and their foods. For someone who knows Japanese food, this manga is a treat. But to those who don't know, this manga offers explanation of the traditional food of Japan.

This story isn't really for me, it did have some interesting characters and a lot of food. Though I prefer a more in depth story. However if you like small character backstories and good food this would be a book for you. It was a cute and interesting concept, just not my cup of tea.

Otherworldly Izakaya is one of my favorite animes! I’m so happy to be approved for this ARC! I’ve always loved the small but fulfilling stories in each episode as well as the showcasing of authentic Japanese food. I always end up on Pinterest saving recipes of food the characters eat. It is such love letter to food. Loved this manga!

This is a really well done manga about food, but it also had really cute stories. I love that the people in the short stories all ended up knowing each other and being connected. This book just made you feel good and reminds me of a manga version of Ratatouille - food bringing people together and remembering good times.

Nice start to a series and I see a lot of potential.

Thanks to #NetGalley for an e-copy of #IzakayaNobu by Natsuya Semikawa (Author), Virginia Nitouhei (Artist) to read and review.

Unexpectedly quick read! I don’t usually enjoy episodic manga but something about these quick and uplifting food stories had me hooked! This manga had a warm atmosphere, cute characters and I wanted to eat all of the food!

I received my copy from Netgalley, I really liked this manga. It's a very good slice-of-life food-based story. I only wish there was more of an interlocking plot through the episodic chapters. The food all looks amazing in the story and what characters we did get were very fun.

One day a mysterious pub opens up in a small Germanic town. No one can read the sign, no one can read the menu, and no one knows where the food Nobu serves even comes from. What they do know is that this little pub, seemingly from another world has brought large helping of warmth with a side of delicious.

I think most manga fans will agree that there is something simply comforting about a story that revolves around food. And I found that Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu serves an extra helping of that comfort. This story most certainly centers around food but it also centers around how food brings people together and puts a smile on their faces, even after the most difficult days.

I really enjoyed the episodic feel as well, because there are many characters lives we are following it gives you the feeling that you are checking with a friend and I enjoyed that immensely. And all of those characters are well done. While some like the tax collector (the reviewer from Ratatouille) immediately come off as
almost cookie cutter Semikawa does a really good job at giving them their own personalities.

Overall, I'm looking forward to the next Volume and definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a manga that just feels like a warm hug. Although, I do highly recommend having some snacks prepared while reading it because I'm starving now!

A cute light read perfect for a cozy day in!

The manga has to do with food, specifically characters exploring cuisine. While this was adorable and id definitely recommend it wasn't super memorable due to the lack of backstories regarding the characters

I decided to pick up this copy because of the food.
I loved this volume. The art is really stunning. The characters are attractive. Everything is very detailed, including facial expressions.
A magic pub?
You learn about a mixture of German and Japanese foods.
The problem is: wouldn’t this get old? the same storyline?
Other than that, it’s a good volume, how would the future volumes be?

— a delicious 5 ⚝'s

oh my god, have i found a new feel good, slice of life, gourmet series to love with my whole soul? absolutely.

this was incredible. im a huge fan of gourmet manga series. campfire cooking in another world with my absurd skill and food wars are one of my favourite series of all time. while food wars has more of a competitive side to it, campfire cooking is extremely slice of life and feel good. and Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu stirs up the same exact feelings in me. this left my heart feeling full and me feeling extremely hungry. gourmet series just have a charm about them that is unparalleled. seeing various different people respond to food with so much joy and happiness is so delightful. i love that food brought out the inner child in one of the characters in this volume.

it astounds me how much depth a gourmet manga like this can have. i love the setting and the characters. The chief, shinobu, nikolaus and hans are EVERYTHING. this manga fully immerses you in its atmosphere. i am deeply impressed. my cheeks hurt from smiling throughout this entire volume.

so excited to continue on with this series! running to watch the anime immediately 🏃🏻‍♀️

thank you to netgalley and Udon Entertainment for an e-arc of this manga. all thoughts and opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.

I love this book. I want to buy a physical copy. I love when manga has an overall story but then has mini stories within them. This is giving me nightmare inspector without the spookiness of that story.

The imagery of the cooking is beautiful to the point I wish this was a full color manga. The story is basically set in very early times and seemingly in Germany. They obviously haven’t really had a lot of Japanese food so these soldiers and common folk find this place and it’s amazing food and they love it. I am so excited to see where this story goes and if there are any magical aspects add in the future because it kind of hints to a secret market where they get food because how else would they get such good sashimi in a place where meats are bland and is landlocked.

I can’t wait for future novels and after the holidays will be looking to purchase a physical copy.

I enjoyed this lighthearted first volume. It took me back to some of my own experiences dining in a cozy izakaya on many Japanese comfort foods.

Typically with manga I feel that that first volume is crucial for setting up the storyline and characters. I felt this volume introduced us to a lot of characters but left me wanting more. I’d be interested to see if there is further character development in the later volumes with the characters introduced.

Food or sharing a meal is always something that can bring people together and this volume reminded me of a show I love called Midnight Diner.

I’ll be looking for the next volumes to see how the story progresses.

This was a fun read!
Made me very hungry and I learned some German on the way.

It's a fun read, with different scenes, making it feel like you are watching a play.
I'm really curious as to where Hans and Shinobu's relationship is going and as to where there products come from and how it works, like do they have a magic fridge or door that opens up to different market places all over the world or are they able to teleport?

Anyway, it was a good read.

This was a fun and funny manga that I really enjoyed reading! The way they describe the different foods made me very hungry. Such descriptive adjectives to describe what they were cooking. The book was educational, too, as I learned some new Japanese words. Lots of good illustrations. I would recommend this for any manga lover but watch out because you might learn something or become very hungry!

Rating: 3.5 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 2/5
-Cover (+art): 5/5
-Story: 2/5
-Writing: 5/5
Genre: Cooking, Fantasy
-Cooking: 5/5
-Fantasy: 2/5
Type: Manga
Worth?: Eh

Want to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.

A cute manga but not the manga for me. If you like a manga about just some random people cooking and getting a lot of customers go for it. I suppose it could be a palate cleanser between other mangas.

I am a beginner when it comes to Manga but having come across this one I knew I wanted to give it a go.. I love anything that features cooking the storyline

This was cute and I would be interested in continuing the series

4 stars

Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu Volume 1 by Natsuya Semikawa follows in the vein of Restaurant From Another World in that a restaurant from (presumably) modern day Japan somehow exists in a medieval fantasy world for patrons to visit. Each chapter is episodic in that each dish is the highlight and happens to be just what the person is craving. It's a charming manga but it didn't give me enough to want to continue the series and I felt like I didn't get to know the fantasy world at all--the worldbuilding could use some work. The integration of the German words was also difficult as well from an eBook standpoint as the words were often just defined once with a glossary at the back of the novel if readers forgot what the word was, a burden for the reader if the don't want to flip to the back of the book for the definition when a term is used in a later chapter.