The 15 Best Food Anime of All Time

Whether it’s soup and eggs in a Ghibli movie or an elaborate lunch box from a slice-of-life series, few things look more appetizing than a good meal in a food-related anime. It’s no surprise that there are an abundance of high-quality anime series related to food. Many animes are inspired by food to define their characters, for example, Tokyo Mew Mew bases its main characters on foods such as strawberries, lettuce, and pudding.

Like many things in anime, cooking is often depicted as a battle between rivals, competing to create the best dish that will truly leave the diner speechless. However, some anime take their time and focus on the relationships between the chefs and their customers, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the show.

Campfire Cooking in Another World The “my useless ability is secretly overpowered” subgenre of isekai has never been more popular, which makes it a surprise that a series like Campfire Cooking in Another World still finds room to make the concept fresh. Campfire Cooking features a group of Japanese people who are given magical powers as they are transported to a fantasy world to help a kingdom besieged by demons. The main character, Mukohda, is given the strange power of the Online Supermarket, which allows him to conjure food from the real world. In addition to the incredible depiction of food, the series is also just a good fantasy story that uses its premise effectively. As Studio Ghibli proved, food and fantasy go well together, which is why Campfire Cooking in Another World is among the best food anime.

Ramen Fighter Miki Ramen Fighter Miki is about a young woman named Miki who works at a ramen restaurant and often finds herself involved in over-the-top situations related to her job. As the title suggests, Miki’s antics often involve fighting, which adds a touch of action to this comedy series. This combination of action, comedy, and, of course, food, gives Ramen Fighter Miki a unique edge compared to its contemporaries. Although it’s a relatively simple series, that simplicity is often comforting in the same way as a home-cooked dish, making Ramen Fighter Miki one of the best food animes.

Wakakozake Comedy series are generally aimed at a younger generation of anime fans, so Wakakozake is surprising. The series follows a young salaryman named Wakako who likes to relax after a hard day’s work with food and drink at various locations. To sell the food and alcohol related jokes, Wakako’s unique character design always enhances the comedy of any situation she finds herself in. Unlike most food-related anime, Wakakozake doesn’t necessarily focus on the preparation or production of food, but rather the healing power of eating it, making the series a fairly unique food anime.

Bartender Sasakura is a cocktail prodigy who can make the best cocktails ever. He opens his own bar, Eden Hall, which is super exclusive and requires an invitation to enter. The characters appear at the bar and are treated to a drink, venting their problems on Sasakura and trying to find the best way to deal with their problems. Sasakura helps people throughout the show through his drinks, for example saving a young girl from a con artist by guessing the name of the con artist’s drink. However, instead of alcohol, the show focuses more on honesty and creating a good environment to have a conversation, helping people stop and consider their options before doing something impulsive.

Food Wars: Shokugeki No Soma A show that has become synonymous with both food and shonen anime, Food Wars follows Yukihira as he reluctantly enrolls in the Totsuki Culinary Institute to become a chef capable of running his father’s restaurant. Yukihira struggles to fit in among the high-class chefs at the institute, who consider his past at a low-class restaurant as something beneath them. However, through culinary battles (known as shokugekis), Yukihira rises through the hierarchy to become an elite chef. Food Wars has incredible and intense episodes, as well as endearing characters that make the audience support them from the beginning. Yukihira’s rivalries are fun to watch because we see the rivals’ struggles as well, allowing us to understand them despite wishing for their downfall.

True Cooking Master Boy Set in 19th century China, and in a fictional era called “The Cooking Wars”, Mao tries to become a Super Chef to take over his late mother’s restaurant. Mao travels across China learning different techniques and ways of cooking, expanding his skills and encountering various spirited rivals along the way. The series initially launched in 1997 and continued for 52 episodes. New Cooking Master Boy was released in 2019, continuing the story since Mao completed the Guangzhou Special Chef Trials. Mao is the youngest Super Chef ever, and his cooking skills are on a whole new level.

Yakitate! Japan This innovative anime follows Kazuma Azuma as he attempts to create a national bread dish for Japan, as many other countries already have one, with the intention of calling his dish “Ja-Pan” (bread being the Japanese word for “bread”). “). Kazuma’s Solar Hands allow him to ferment bread faster, aiding his technical skills in creating brilliant bread throughout the series. The intensity of this anime helps sell the strange premise, as we are literally watching the characters argue over croissants. This anime could be perfect for fans of The Great British Bake Off, due to its lively characters and the strangely high stakes involved in a single loaf of bread.

Delicious Party Pretty Cure Part of the immensely popular Pretty Cure franchise, Delicious Party Pretty Cure is the rare fusion of magical girls and food anime. The series follows the titular magical girls known as Pretty Cures who team up with four fairies to stop a group of thieves trying to take the secrets of cooking for themselves. Perfect for young anime fans with an interest in all things sweet and sugary, Delicious Party Pretty Cure combines all the bright colors and friendship themes inherent to magical girl animes and mixes them with some incredibly delicious foods.

Isekai Izakaya Nobuyuki and Shinobu open Izakaya Nobu on their own terms after moving away from their mysterious past. However, after praying at the shrine in the restaurant, his door suddenly opens to a parallel fantasy world filled with medieval soldiers and giant monsters. Each episode ends with a live cooking lesson from Nobu Plus, showing the audience how each dish featured in the episode is prepared.

The cast of fantastical characters is enough to distract the audience from the obvious product placement and advertising that the show is trying to sell. Waitress Shinobu often steals the show, becoming one of Isekai’s best female leads in Nobuyuki’s absence, and sometimes saves the day by simply being nice to people.

Ristorante Paradiso Ristorante Paradiso follows Nicoletta, a young woman who travels to Rome to confront her mother for abandoning her. Upon discovering that her mother has started a new restaurant, Nicoletta agrees to stay in Rome and live in an apartment near the restaurant. The show has tons of drama in its short run, with relationship problems and endearing characters that keep the audience entertained throughout.

Although the show may be slow-paced, its cast of characters and delicious food scenes make up for it, driving the show with a charmingly sophisticated atmosphere, making it very different from the typical battle-focused food anime seen in series like Food Wars.

Restaurant To Another World The Occidental Nekoya Restaurant opens its doors to a parallel world once a week, on Saturdays. Their customers range from werelions to demons and dragons, but they all agree that Nekoya has the best food in the world. The story primarily follows demon girl Aletta who, after being rejected by human society, finds safe haven and employment at the isekai restaurant. This isn’t the funniest Isekai anime, but it has some touching and funny moments. Restaurant to Another World is also one of the most relaxed and adorable anime, with charming characters who have strange and wonderful stories that inform their actions.

Yumeiro Patissiere Amateur cook Ichigo transfers to the prestigious St. Marie Academy to become a pastry chef. Despite her clumsiness and inability to get along with her high-class classmates, Ichigo proves to be a baking prodigy and regularly wows everyone with her incredible bakes. Ichigo works hard to improve his skills, practicing all night to perfect certain recipes. Although she is innately gifted, her friends and the Sweet Spirits who look after the campus help her greatly, giving her advice and supporting her as she overcomes many people who initially despised her.

Laid-Back Camp A female-led anime that passes the Bechdel test with ease, Laid Back Camp follows a group of girls in the Outdoor Activities Circle who love camping together. The anime is endearing and adorable, often showing the girls cooking together, as delicious food is one way to make camping fun. The recipes that the camp girls prepare are easy and use few ingredients, since it would be difficult to transport many different ingredients and utensils to a camp. One of the most appetizing dishes on the show is a mix of steamed vegetables cooked in aluminum foil over a campfire, turning a group of disinterested teenage girls into camping enthusiasts.

Silver Spoon Although many anime are about cooking food and some even about eating it, there are relatively few series about the process of making raw ingredients. Silver Spoon breaks that trend with a funny and often touching story about a city boy named Yuugo Hachiken who enrolls in an agricultural school after failing his high school entrance exams. What makes Silver Spoon so remarkable is how realistic it is. Hiromu Arakawa, creator of Silver Spoon and Fullmetal Alchemist, grew up on a dairy farm (which is why her author avatar is a cow with glasses), and that real-life story is reflected quite well in Silver Spoon, making it in one of the best food animes ever made.

Sweetness And Lightning Sweetness And Lightning follows a teacher, Inuzuka, whose wife has recently passed away and he must take on the role of primary caregiver for his daughter, Tsumugi. However, Inuzuka has difficulty providing suitable meals for his daughter, who likes home-cooked food rather than fast food, and realizes that he must learn to cook properly. This anime is absolutely adorable, with the heart of the story belonging to the relationship between Inuzuka and Tsumugi. Inuzuka would do anything for his daughter, and seeing their bond grow makes this one of the sweetest anime in a long time.

Any of these amazing animes about food are sure to provide fans with a deliciously good time. Whether fans want a more battle-focused take on the genre or a more relaxed slice-of-life story, there really is something for everyone. So while food-related anime may not generally be the most popular, the series on this list prove that there is no shortage of great shows in this genre for fans to enjoy.