I don't wanna be dramatic, but this book was effing brilliant. Could not recommend it more! Have never read a book so fast! I’ll be buying copies for friends and family!

4 stars.
Having read Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, I was expecting a similar plot which we get but in a different format. It brings people together by food not coffee and I like the concept of the departed consuming the steam of the food as if they are eating together.
The remembrance meals are individual to the lost loved one and almost bittersweet that it’s the last meal and meeting together in this life. There is a little recipe at the start of each chapter which is a nice touch bringing it full circle to the remembrance meal.
The relationships form very nicely and all four chapters tie in together leaving you with the sense of a community between the characters.
The language and format are easy, meaning this is a very quick read. I hope that this will be continued to be translated into English and I’m eager to read more.
Thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press for the opportunity to read this.

The Chibineko Kitchen will face inevitable comparisons with the Kamogawa food detectives books, which I also enjoyed, though in both books I was mildly irritated by some repetitive elements.

But setting that aside, I love the premise of this book - that you can visit one last time with lost loved ones by sharing their favourite meal with them at a small seaside cafe. What I would give to have that opportunity to break bread with my beloved parents again!

The characters - Kai, Kotoko et al - are well drawn, and Chibi the cat is a superstar. The setting is evocative, the stories moving, and the recipes provided for the meals mouth-watering. This one's worth checking out! It gets 3.5 stars.

My Rating : 5/5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Chibineko Kitchen by Yuga Takahashi is a real treasure. If you enjoyed Before the Coffee Gets Cold and The Kamogawa Food Detectives, you'll love this heartwarming Japanese book. It’s about a cozy café that serves "remembrance meals," where the taste of the food allows patrons to see or speak with their loved ones again.t's a beautifully moving tale that I knew would be an emotional rollercoaster after just a few pages.
It’s a touching story about second chances and magic, with a cute kitten adding to its charm.I loved it so much that it made me cry, and I’d give it 5 stars.

4.5 Aww, no! I’m not ready to leave this wonderful little world yet! I vastly enjoyed the time I spent with these wonderful characters in this beautifully written story.

What I loved:
😻 The premise of one last visit with a deceased loved one through a shared meal in a cozy seaside restaurant is beautiful! The book explores grief and the connections we make through food as a core theme while also incorporating healing and regeneration after loss.
😻 The writing in this book is exceptional. What I’ve come to love about Japanese fiction is how it can be succinct, simple, and straightforward yet impactful and poetic.
😻 Our cast of characters were wonderful. Each thread has something special about it! I liked how Kotoko appeared in all the sections and the her developing connection and friendship with Kai was beautiful. Yoshio and Setsu’s story almost moved me to tears!
😻 The sense of place was expertly crafted. I could picture the Chibineko Kitchen vividly in my mind, hear the gulls, and feel the seashell path underfoot.
😻 Chibineko translates to ‘little cat’ and Chibi, the restaurant cat, is a delightful wee character. I loved the suggestion that Chibi is slightly magical and how much Chibi featured throughout the book. So many quiet slice-of-life translations have a cat on the cover who barely features; but Chibi was a core part of the restaurant family which was great!
😻 Each section opens with a history of an ingredient from the Chiba prefecture that sets the theme of the section. I really liked reading about the area’s connection with each specific food.
😻 Each section closes with a recipe from the remembrance meal! What a wonderful addition to a healing-through-food novel. I’m going to try some of them! The food descriptions throughout the book deserve praise too - mouthwatering!
😻 The cover is stunning (and played a big part in helping me visualize the setting). The little cat character in the ‘o’ is an adorable touch!

What I wasn’t so keen on:
😿 Repetition in the first two sections: Kai scolding Chibi for going outside, the patrons reflections on how polite Kai is, and the ghosts explaining how they can enjoy the meal. Although, to be fair, books like Before the Coffee Gets Cold and The Kamogawa Food Detectives, which this book will inevitably be compared to, are far worse offenders for this!
😿My ongoing frustration with English translations continues to be Britishified language. There’s something about this practice that jars me out of the setting of Japan and dulls the authenticity in a way that’s distracting as heck. In Taiji’s section, there were a lot of mentions of “primary school”, when, I think, in Japan, folks would say “elementary school”. Do Japanese folks call a stovetop element a “hob”? 🤔

It looks like there are eight books in the Meals to Remember series! I hope they get translated into English too - I can’t wait to return to the Chibineko Kitchen!

I’d recommend this to anyone looking to escape the chaos of the day-to-day. Grab this book when it hits the shelves in November and enjoy the time you spend in a gentle, healing story with food at its heart.

I was thrilled to have my wish to read this book granted through NetGalley. Seriously, I did a little happy dance in the kitchen and everything! Thank you so much, John Murray Press! ✨

Such a lovely book of grief and healing at the Chibineko Kitchen, where they serve exactly what will bring your loved one back to with one meal. Highly recommended!