[Top 10] Best Anime With Food

[Top 10] Best Anime With Food

10. Gourmet Girl Graffiti 

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Ryou Machiko’s late grandmother always said that the path to becoming a wife begins with being a successful cook. As a middle schooler, Ryou’s skills are absolutely incredible, but while the dishes look and smell amazing, they aren’t necessarily appetizing. Just when she begins to lose hope of finding someone, her aunt informs that Kirin Morino, Ryou’s second cousin, will begin staying with her each weekend.

Kirin has joined a cram school in Tokyo, wanting to attend the same school as Ryou soon. Suddenly, with her cousin’s arrival, her cooking is even better. It seems that her flavors shine the most not because of her skill, but because of the people she cares about.

Gourmet Girl is kind, sweet, and adorable. People love it for its endearing story, cute characters, and an overall slice of life feel. Add that to the fact that the cooking part of the show is well done and actually not a complete plot contrivance.

What We Love About Gourmet Girl Graffiti 

• It’s extremely cute, adorable, and the animation is varied and lovely overall. The best part probably lies in the beautiful character designs and their overall interactions with each other.
• The food aspect is a huge part of its appeal, and the designs of the dishes make you want to jump into the show and eat the food itself. It makes things even more fun and pleasant to watch overall.
• The characters, for children, have decent arcs and aren’t completely portrayed as ignorant children. They have their own stories, arcs, emotions, and are generally incredibly fun to learn and hear about.

9. Dream-Colored Pastry Chef

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Aside from her deep passion for eating cakes, Ichigo Amano has never been good at anything. After meeting Henri Lucas, a famous patissier, Ichigo's amazing tasting abilities—unknown to her—are discovered. Recognizing her talent, Henri offers her the chance to attend St. Marie Academy, a culinary school that specializes in desserts.

In spite of the fact that she is a beginner with zero skills, thanks to Henri's recommendation, Ichigo is placed in the topmost group with the "Sweets Princes." The princes, famous throughout the school for their magical treats, are Sennosuke Andou, an expert in traditional Japanese sweets. Satsuki Hanabusa, with a flair for candied flowers. And finally, Makoto Kashino, a gifted chocolatier. Ichigo and the Sweets Princes, each accompanied by their Sweets Spirits—fairies who make patissiers' dreams come true—all work towards their goals in the competitive world of sweets.

Pastry Chef is cute and different in its more fantasy-like aspects compared to some of the others. It is in an older style, but that doesn’t stop it from being the great show that it is. It’s definitely funny, sweet, and even had some inklings of traditional Japanese culture sprinkled in, a nice touch in terms of how it connects to reality.

What We Love About Dream-Colored Pastry Chef

• The characters are designed for the world in mind, meaning that they fit the overall fantasy theme and look very well. Nothing feels out of place at all, and everything feels like it was meant to be in the terms of the way things look.

• The storyline is simple, but it’s cute, endearing, and not totally boring. The competition aspect of the show ramps up everyone’s attention and makes sure that you absolutely never look away from what’s happening on the screen.

• The animation itself may be older, but it is very well done for its time and should be appreciated for that alone. Everything is bright, colorful, and nothing feels too out of place or low quality. Overall, a great cooking anime.

8. Wakako-zake 

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The series follows the daily adventures of Wakako Murasaki, an ordinary 26-year-old salary woman. After a day's work, she goes off alone to explore various local restaurants, pubs, food stalls, and the like and tries out random Japanese food that she usually pairs up with an alcoholic beverage.

She is said to be a drinker with a taste for liquor. Whenever her drink compliments her food, Wakako shows her contentment with a sigh of "pshuu.”

Oftentimes, Wakako goes to faraway cities as well to try out cuisines or even go out with her close friends. In the first few seasons of the live-action, she also stays at home or visits others to cook with her friends or try out cuisines from venues rather than actual restaurants.

Wakako-zake is unique in that it’s hilariously funny and also generally serious at the same time. Viewers love it for its goofy aura, but they also appreciate it for its animation and the areas of the world that it explores throughout its general runtime.

What We Love About Wakako-zake

• It’s hilarious, for one thing. The main character is funny, has goofy facial expressions, and sometimes over-the-top reactions. It’s funny in that it covers many aspects of different cities without being offensive or crude.
• What makes this anime unique is that the second half was live-action instead of being animated. Some argue that this is where it falls apart, but many think that it makes it even funnier and all the more entertaining in terms of style.
• The food aspect really brings the cities together overall. What would have been many different places with zero connections, they are all brought together by the food being tasted and made. This makes for a great setup and a great story.

7. Bonjour Sweet Love Patisserie 

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With dreams of becoming a pâtissiere, Sayuri Haruno has worked hard for her scholarship to Fleurir Confectionary Academy, an elite school designed to train world-class pastry chefs. The staff consists of unrivaled pâtissiers, who work with absolute precision—the prince-like Mitsuki Aoi, famous for his work with chocolate; the friendly and extroverted Gilbert Hanafusa, an expert in confectionery hailing from France; and the stoic Yoshinosuke Suzumi, who has perfected the art of Japanese sweets.

Upon admission to the school, Sayuri is thrust into a world of advanced baking, surrounded by both supportive and charming staff and fascinating classmates. Sayuri's attention is captured by the dedicated Ryou Kouzuki, who seems to share the same determination to achieve his dream.

Sayuri is set on the path for greatness, and her newly cultivated culinary skill will help her handle any challenge the school throws her way.

Based on a game, Sweet Love can get a slightly bad reputation for either not adhering enough to the game, or adhering to it too much and not having an original enough story. Sweet Love is slightly underrated because of these stereotypes, but it shouldn’t be ignored.

What We Love About Bonjour Sweet Love Patisserie 

• The animation is absolutely beautiful beyond comparison. It’s smooth, the designs are beautiful, and the characters especially have the most beautiful expressions and overall looks about them.
• The story is a little sweet and saccharine, but that doesn’t make it bad. In fact, it’s sweet, adorable, and incredibly endearing overall. The cooking really makes it all happen. 
• The designs of the food are gorgeous. Everything is so detailed and amazing that you can’t help but want to eat everything off of the screen itself.

6. Ben-To

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The supermarket is an important building in any city, for they provide a convenient way to purchase a variety of food in a family-friendly, safe environment. However, these stores change in the blink of an eye once the unsold bento boxes go on their nightly half-off sales! War breaks out and friends become foes as each person fights for honor, pride, and dinner. There are no longer any people in these supermarkets, only Wolves and Dogs⁠—winners and losers.

High schooler You Satou is painfully introduced to these battles after unknowingly stumbling into the war zone, but instead of choosing to avoid these nightly fights, he wants to join in. After seeing Satou's lack of fighting skills, upperclassman and Wolf Sen Yarizui invites him and Hana Oshiroi, a girl who enjoys spectating the brawls, to join her Half-Priced Food Lovers Club to show them the distinction between the Dogs and the Wolves. Together, they learn what it truly means to fight for your food.

The fact that this show equates food with fighting and competition rather than family or love really sets it apart from the rest of the list. It’s very entertaining, and it creates a unique world that is uncommon among this genre in terms of how much you see it.

What We Love About Ben-To

• The world-building is stellar and a fun ride from start to finish. Everything about it is entertaining, a wild time, and unique. There isn’t much you see coming, and that’s what makes it great.
• The character relationships are funny, deeply developed, and generally healthy. The alliances they form really speak of their passion for food, each other, and of course, the bento boxes.
• The animation is fun, sharp, and the fight scenes don’t feel like they last too long or that they don’t have an end goal. Never do you get bored by anything you see happening on screen.

5. Bartender 

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Hidden in the backstreets of the Ginza district is Eden Hall, a lone bar operated by Ryuu Sasakura, the prodigy bartender who is said to mix the most incredible cocktails anyone has ever tasted. However, not just anyone can find Eden Hall; rather, it is Eden Hall that must find you. Customers of varying backgrounds, each plagued with their own troubles, wander into this bar. Nevertheless, Ryuu always knows the ideal cocktail to console and guide each distraught soul.

Bartender is unique because it has so many varied stories and primarily focuses on drinks instead of food. But that doesn’t separate it from the genre, and if anything it serves as a completely underrated show compared to most on this list. It definitely deserves more attention than it gets and should be recognized for how good it actually is.

What We Love About Bartender

• The animation is beautiful. Everything is seamless, clean, well-detailed, and lovely. The facial expressions properly portray emotions, and overall the show is beautiful.
• The story is intriguing and unique in its setup. By telling several stories instead of just one, it really demonstrates the diverse skill of the writing team. It also means that the show itself never gets boring or dull.
• The characters are well developed, even the ones we only see for one or two episodes. They all seem to fit well together, and nothing feels out of place in terms of how or where a story is told.

4. Sweetness And Lightning

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Since the death of his wife, Kouhei Inuzuka has been caring for his young daughter Tsumugi to the best of his abilities. However, with his lack of culinary knowledge and his busy job as a teacher, he is left relying on ready-made meals from convenience stores to feed the little girl. Frustrated at his own incapability to provide a fresh, nutritious meal for his daughter, Kouhei takes up an offer from his student, Kotori Iida, to come to have dinner at her family's restaurant. But on their very first visit, the father and daughter discover that the restaurant is often closed due to Kotori's mother being away for work and that Kotori often eats alone. After much pleading from his pupil, Kouhei decides to continue to go to the restaurant with Tsumugi to cook and share delicious homemade food with Kotori.

Amaama to Inazuma follows the heartwarming story of a caring father trying his hardest to make his adorable little daughter happy while exploring the meanings and values behind cooking, family, and the warm meals at home that are often taken for granted.

Sweetness And Lightning is absolutely adorable in every way. The relationship between Kouhei and Inuzuka is a cute father-daughter relationship uncommon in anime, and it’s a huge staple to the show itself. The heartwarming designs of the characters also make it really appealing to audiences, and it’s definitely recommended.

What We Love About Sweetness And Lightning 

• The characters. The characters in Sweetness And Lightning, especially Kouhei and Inuzuka, are endearing, relatable, and you always want the best for them. It’s easy to get invested, and that’s a part of any great anime.
• The character designs are soft, light, and adorable. They were clearly made with the targeted story in mind, and the designs fit the themes and motifs extremely well.
• The story is cute, entertaining, heartwarming, and an overall great slice of life tale. It integrates cooking in the best possible way and is extremely popular among the genre. It’s a great anime for anyone to check out.

3. Food Wars

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The series is set mainly at Totsuki Saryo Culinary Institute, an elite culinary school located in Tokyo, Japan, which only a handful of students graduate from each year.[a] Its students mostly come from Totsuki's junior high school, but transfers are taken provided they pass the entrance exam. The campus is a wide-ranging resort with many research societies (clubs), cooking classrooms, and large arenas used for competitions. Housing varies, but the most affordable is the Polaris Dormitory, where characters have to impress the dorm matron with a dish in order to secure residence. Totsuki also runs a chain of resort hotels, with the biggest being the Totsuki resort run by Gin Dojima, which is visited during Soma's first year at Totsuki.

The top student chefs occupy seats on the Council of Ten Masters, the highest governing body in the school aside from the school director. Students can initiate a shokugeki (anime: food war), a cooking fight with stipulations on the line, with any other student or alumnus. Battles fought in this way could be for cooking utensils, research society facilities, council membership, or even expulsion from the school.

I liked Food Wars a lot. The story was fun and hilariously well-written, and I loved watching the competitions overall. The animation was beautiful and the characters were fluid and bright. The scenery is well detailed and fun to look at every time, always showcasing something new. Overall, a great anime.

What We Love About Food Wars

• Who knew cooking could be so funny and entertaining? Food Wars manages to make something completely normal and turn it into a hilarious comedy with a great story, and plenty of well-written characters. 
• The humor is great and meshes well with the serious tone Food Wars sometimes chooses to portray. The jokes don’t feel dirty or overused, and the material feels original and fresh with the start of each episode.
• The set design is gorgeous, as well as the characters too. Everything looks so original, bright, and so well thought out that you can’t look away. Food Wars is a very eye-catching and appealing show.

2. Bed And Breakfast For Spirits

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Abandoned as a child by her mother, Aoi Tsubaki has always had the ability to see "ayakashi"—spirits from the Hidden Realm. Shirou Tsubaki, her grandfather who shared the same ability, took her under his wing and taught her how to live with the ayakashi in peace. When her grandfather abruptly passes away, the independent Aoi must continue her college career, armed with only her knowledge in cooking as a means of protection against the human-eating spirits. In hopes that the ayakashi will not turn to her or other unknowing humans as a tasty meal, she takes it upon herself to feed the hungry creatures that cross her path.

After giving a mysterious ayakashi her lunch, Aoi is transported to the Hidden Realm, where the ayakashi reveals himself to be an ogre-god known as Oodanna, the "Master Innkeeper." There, she learns that she was used as collateral for her grandfather's debt of one hundred million yen and that she must pay the price for her grandfather's careless decision by marrying Oodanna. Aoi valiantly refuses and decides to settle things on her own terms: she will pay off the debt herself by opening an eatery at Oodanna's inn.

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi follows the journey of Aoi as she proceeds to change and touch the lives of the ayakashi through the one weapon she has against them—her fabulous cooking skills.

Breakfast For Spirits has beautiful animation, amazing character designs, and the way food is integrated into the story is superior to most animes. Particularly when it comes to connections between characters. It really serves as a good example of how to bridge gaps and create character relationships.

What We Love About Bed And Breakfast For Spirits

• The story is absolutely fantastic. It’s original, entertaining, fantastical, and interesting. It’s overall a very enjoyable ride from start to finish.
• The character designs are sleek, stylish, unique, and even adorable. They fit well with the character's personalities, and that makes the story even better.
• The way food brings the entire cast of characters together and serves as a motivation for everyone. The food itself is also really well designed and detailed, meaning that it fits perfectly with the rest of the show.

Best Food Anime: Ristorante Paradiso

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When Nicoletta was a little girl, her mother, Olga, abandoned her and ran off to Rome to remarry. Now, 15 years later and a young woman, she travels to Rome with the intention of ruining her mother's life. She tracks Olga down to a restaurant called Casetta dell'Orso, but the second Nicoletta steps through its door, everything changes. 

It's a peculiar place staffed entirely by mature gentlemen wearing spectacles, and like their clientele, she is helpless against their wise smiles and warm voices. Before Nicoletta realizes it, her plans for vengeance start to fade, and she's swept up in the sweet romance of everyday Italian life.

People love this anime for its style, overall message, atmosphere, and story. It feels authentic, heartwarming, realistic, and creative. Nicoletta is a relatable protagonist, and so is her relationship with her mother. The integration of cooking into familial and emotional relationships is an interesting one and one that is very well done.

What We Love About Ristorante Paradiso

• The show has a lovely, warm atmosphere. The setting makes you feel as if you are actually in the restaurant itself, and in turn makes you want to eat the food itself.
• The art and character designs defy normal anime art styles and standards, making it a great and interesting show to watch. It serves as a breath of fresh air in these aspects compared to other animes.
• The setting, in Italy, is portrayed beautifully. The natural surroundings are gorgeous, and the animation itself is absolutely beautiful overall.