Review: The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong

Posted March 12, 2025 by Lola in Fantasy, Review / 4 Comments

The Nameless Restaurant (Hidden Dishes #1)
by Tao Wong
narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Cozy Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: no romance

Blurb:
There is a restaurant in Toronto.

Its entrance is announced only by a simple, unadorned wooden door, varnished to a beautiful shine but without paint, hidden beside dumpsters and a fire escape. There is no sign, no indication of what lies behind the door.

If you do manage to find the restaurant, the décor is dated and worn. Homey, if one were to be generous.

The service is atrocious, the proprietor a grouch. The regulars are worse: silent, brooding, and unfriendly to newcomers. There is no set menu, alternating with the whim and whimsy of the owner. The selection of wine and beer is sparse or non-existent at times, and the prices for everything outrageous.

There is a restaurant in Toronto that is magically hidden, whose service is horrible, but whose food is divine.

This is the story of the Nameless Restaurant.

From the bestselling author of The System Apocalypse and A Thousand Li comes The Nameless Restaurant, a cozy cooking fantasy novella perfect for fans of Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes and Junpei Inuzuka’s Restaurant to Another World.

My Review

I love the cozy fantasy genre and when I saw this book it had me curious as I love books about food as well. I eventually got it in audio format and when I wasn’t sure what to read I decided to give this a try. It was a short read and narrated by a narrator I already knew so I figured it would be a nice break while I figured out what I was in the mood for. It ended up being the perfect fit for me mood and I really enjoyed this one. I am planning to get the rest of the series in audio as well as I liked the audio version.

The Nameless Restaurant is a slice of life type cozy fantasy story about a restaurant that caters to humans and magical species. It’s a fun cozy fantasy story with no high stakes, but just a relaxing read. This story takes place over the course of one day in The Nameless Restaurant. It shows the dishes the chef prepares, the people who dine in the restaurant and the conversations between the patrons. There are mentions of magic and some fantasy elements like the wards and spells on the restaurant and some of the patrons have magic or are a magical species as well.

I really enjoyed this book, the low stakes and comforting atmosphere was exactly what I was in the mood for. I like reading about food and this book really takes it to the next level. The descriptions of the food and how the dishes are made are shared in a lot of detail. I liked this and it certainly made me hungry and wish I could try some of the dishes, especially the golden rice and the dessert sounded good. This books reminds me of the anime Restaurant To Another World that I really enjoyed and I am excited to have found a series that has similar vibes.

This book doesn’t have one clear point of view, but switches between the different patrons and the chef. This allows the book to tell the story of everyone in the restaurant, usually not my preferred type of point of view, but I thought it worked well here. There are some interesting characters and I liked seeing how they interacted as well as why they came to restaurant.

The narrator Emily Woo Zeller was one I already knew and that helped me get easily into the book. I liked the narrator and the various voices she did for the different characters. It was pleasant to listen to and I plan to get the rest in audio as well.

To summarize: This was a fun and relaxing read. It’s a slice of life type cozy fantasy book with a strong food theme. I liked reading about all the food and the details and descriptions of the dishes and how they were prepared. I also liked reading about the restaurant and the patrons who visit it. The fantasy element was well done and I liked reading about the magic, spells, magical species and even some questions about how to integrate in modern society. All in all a fun start to this series and I plan to continue it.