Review of The Restaurant of Lost Recipes: A Culinary Mystery

Today, we will be reviewing The Restaurant of Lost Recipes by Hisashi Kashiwai and translated by Jesse Kirkwood. This is the second book in The Kamogawa Food Detectives series. Keep reading to find out what we thought of this novel and if you should read it next!

The Restaurant of Lost Recipes Summary

In book two of the Kamogawa Food Detective series, we return to the café and detective agency that helps customers find unique dishes from the past. If you have read the first book in the series, then you will know what to expect. If not, then what are you waiting for? Go read the first book!

Just like before Chef Nagare and his daughter Koishi serve customers delicious food and afterwards try to help them find dishes from their past. In this novel, the duo is visited by a famous swimmer who wants to try the food from his father’s lunchbox to a model who wants to try fried rice from her childhood.

While it calls itself a detective novel, this series is more about food and the power of a delicious meal. The stories are heartwarming and the food is even more mouth-watering this time. 

Commentary

Just like the first novel in the series,The Kamogawa Food Detectives, the second one picks up where it left off. The restaurant in Kyoto, Japan gets visitors from all over Japan as people want to rediscover recipes from their past. The novel was translated in late 2024 and I am very ecstatic because I have come to love this series.

I was lucky enough to travel to Japan and what I remember most about that trip was how delicious the food was. They take pride in their food and it is a big part of their identity. This novel and series are a love letter to Japanese food and always has beautiful messages that readers should take to heart.

Food is tied with childhood memories and parents and loved ones showing affection in the foods they prepare. We all remember food from our childhood or our past and many times, those meals were prepared with love as well as amazing ingredients.

What I love about Japanese novels is that time feels like it is frozen as the focus of Japanese novels is a lot different than Western novels. Instead, you get to read casually and feel how much the author loves the food of their country and will make you book a trip to Japan before you know it!

Conclusion

Japanese novels are becoming some of my favorite books to read and it is because of novels like this one. There are a ton of Japanese translated works that you should check out. They have their own genres and themes and it is a very different experience than reading a Western novel

We are lucky that we are getting a lot translations of popular Japanese novels. This novel and series has become a favorite of mine and I can’t wait to read more books in this series. After reading this book, you will be dreaming about all the mouth-watering dishes. Until next time, happy reading!

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