I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #restaurant(6)

A father is stressed beyond his capacity to cope while trying to raise his preschool-aged daughter while working in a Japanese restaurant. He is saved by a hopeless flirt and serially unfaithful gay customer who is attracted to him, but he is straight and very suspicious of such a flighty man. The relationship takes time to develop and is full of realistic emotional responses. The daughter is adorable and the ending is full of cheer!

Miyashiro Miyagi, whose job at the traditional Japanese restaurant, Tachibana, and entire fortunes exist solely because of Kazuki-Taichou's recognition of his ability and hard work, is threatened in his position by the heir to Tachibana, and must endure both scrutiny and suspicion due to his unknown family connections. Meanwhile, he is being sexually harassed by Haruhi, the assistant chef from Tachibana's affiliate restaurant. Miyagi's heart is filled with gratitude to Kazuki for all his support, but are his affections returned? Or are Kazuki and Haruhi hiding something from him?—Something crucial to his livelihood? This story is rich with well-developed characters and driven by a strong, interesting plot filled with intrigue. The sex scenes are ample, well-balanced in terms of power distribution and very, very satisfying. It is one of my old-time favourites!

A young master strives for personal independence and works at a restaurant, throwing a curveball into the schedule of the coworker asked to oversee his progress. The restaurant manager has a thing for the butler who looks after him. Gentle stories without much conflict.

A finicky eater attracts the attention of the kinky homosexual chef of a fine bistro who combines tabletop sex with feedings in order to stimulate the young man's gourmand tastes, never realizing that a history of betrayal and deception factors into the young man's food aversions. An interesting take on the relationship between appetite and desire, the emotional impact of treachery and betrayal on the gut, the way misery wipes out self-worth and personal boundaries and creates the willingness to be used, and the healing effects of love, even kinky love. Zaria's art is, as always, gorgeous, and this is a surprisingly sweet story, even without the stickier ingredients.

Everybody is gay and more than a little dim in Abe Akane's cupcake yakuza universe, the boundaries of which extend between ground central for the Sakura group's extortion racket, a traditional restaurant and a takoyaki stand. But it does allow for some of the funniest lines I've read in yaoi, like the guy buried in his sempai's rump declaring that his universe has expanded. There are some unexpectedly sweet moments.

An impulsive hire turns into love for a chef-in-training and a computer design student away from home for the first time. The story focuses on the sweet aspects of their relationship, and yet, some very serious story conflicts are skirted as though they mean nothing, like intellectual property theft. I was left wondering if that would ever be resolved, but instead, the story jumped to a love triangle conflict, which is far less interesting to me.