The Restaurant of Lost Recipes cover art

The Restaurant of Lost Recipes

The Heart-Warming Japanese Bestseller Perfect for Foodies

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £9.33

Buy Now for £9.33

About this listen

Including an introductory letter written by the author, Hisashi Kashiwai.

The Restaurant of Lost Recipes, translated from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood, is the second book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese sleuthing series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, and follows on from The Kamogawa Food Detectives.

Tucked away down a Kyoto backstreet lies the extraordinary Kamogawa Diner. Running this unique establishment are a father-daughter duo who serve more than just mouth-watering feasts.

The pair have reinvented themselves as 'food detectives', offering a service that goes beyond traditional dining. Through their culinary sleuthing, they reconstruct beloved dishes from the memories of their customers, creating a connection to cherished moments from the past.

Among those who seek an appointment is a one-hit wonder pop star, finally ready to leave Tokyo and give up on her singing career. She wants to try the tempura that she once ate to celebrate her only successful record. Another diner is a budding Olympic swimmer, who desires the bento lunch box that his estranged father used to make him.

The Kamogawa Diner doesn't just serve meals – it revives lost recipes and rekindles forgotten memories. It's a doorway to the past through the miracle of delicious food.

 Amateur Sleuths City Life Cosy Culinary Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Urban Women Sleuths

Continue the series
Menu of Happiness cover art
Menu of Happiness By: Hisashi Kashiwai, and others
A Serving of Hope cover art
A Serving of Hope By: Hisashi Kashiwai, and others

Critic reviews

Feelgood and foodie themes collide in this follow-up to The Kamogawa Food Detectives
Kashiwai is among a certain coterie of Japanese writers to have perfected a globally successful literary formula: create a café-esque setting with beloved staff who deliver plenty of empathic kindness to customers whose visits inspire stand-alone narratives . . . Deliciousness lingers
This cozy book delights in Japanese cuisine
A treasure trove of positivity and charm.
In addition to tantalizing recipes, the narrative is driven by the desire to recapture lost love, reconcile with a parent, or relive one’s youth. Ingredients and items are lovingly detailed . . . The equivalent of delightful comfort food.
Like sights and sounds, tastes are also deeply connected to one's memories. The depictions of the beautiful scenery of Kyoto and its native dishes, which are like the original landscape of Japan, warmed my heart (Genki Kawamura, author of If Cats Disappeared from the World on The Kamogawa Food Detectives)
The food writing is truly superb . . . Reading this heartwarming book almost feels like watching a quiet box set; it's the perfect accompaniment to a rainy autumnal Sunday (Cambridge Edition on The Kamogawa Food Detectives)
An absolute joy; hilarious, emotional, and entirely delicious. Hisashi Kashiwai's tales of love lost, found, grown older and reborn are both striking and comforting - truly one of a kind. Delectable and delightful (Bryan Washington, author of Family Meal on The Kamogawa Food Detectives)
All stars
Most relevant
Much the same as with the first book, a repetitive formula that gives a small glimpse into the lives and meaningful moments of the diner’s visitors. The Christmas Cake story was particularly sad, but it has a nice silver lining.

It's very relaxing if you're used to slice of life, otherwise you might find yourself a bit confused by the repetition.

As with the previous book, it's worth noting it's not meant to be heavy thinking and it's not meant to blow your mind. If that's what you're looking for, you've come to the wrong place. It's meant to be a soft adventure through people's back stories, their assumptions and their misapprehensions about life, missed connections or links back to their past, all tied together by the food that brightened their days. There are no stakes, there is nothing stressful, just a bunch of people breezing through in search of a meal to give them closure to move on.

Relaxing slice of life with no stakes

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.