Do not read this when hungry!

An easy listening, cosy slice of life in a magical world. The food imagery and descriptions had my mouth watering. There was just enough magic to keep me interested, A nice continuation of the story.

The narration was engaging and well paced (even if I listened at 1.5x speed).

NetGalley Review

Star Rating: ★★★☆☆

Always love a good audiobook! There are some others that I enjoyed more than this one, but I'm glad I listened.

Like always though, read it and decide for yourself

This new entry into the Hidden Dishes series focuses on waitress Kelly. It must be pretty interesting to be a regular human working in a magical café. The Nameless Restaurant heralded changes in the magic scene in Toronto, and the ramifications are seen through the eyes of Kelly.

As always the star of the show is Mo Meng and his fabulous recipes. The food sounds so amazing, it's a mistake to listen to this book hungry. I'm enjoying this series. This book was quick, fun and thoughtful read.

This is a cosy fantasy novella about food in a magical restaurant.
And also about dealing with getting to many customers and how old magic deals with the world when woken up after a very long time.

Another cute novella in this universe. Quirky fun fantasy for those who want cuisine core in a light high fantasy setting, with a host of colourful characters.

This audio novella is set in the Nameless Restaurant, and they are dealing with becoming a known destination for good food among both the social media savvy foodies and the supernatural world. Kelly is now constantly busy trying to keep up with the front of house and keep people from poking their nose in the back rooms of the restaurant. Mo Ming is busier than ever cooking for new patrons and reawakened gods. If you liked the first one you will like this one as well.

An enjoyable cozy fantasy. The plot was excellent though the narration was a little bland. I loved the food descriptions. Wish I'd read the prequel too.

This was a lovely reading, my experience with the first volume was only in writing and while I did enjoy it, having listened to this one in audiobook made it far more enjoyable.

I read lots of stories that I really don’t wish for them to be real, or to meet similar situations… far too many post apocalyptical and dystopian settings for it, but in the case of this book… oh I wish I could find the door to the nameless restaurant, that would be a fun and delicious situation, I did try to follow directions to make that special grilled cheese sandwich, I couldn’t wait to perfection, nor did I have all the different ingredients, but it was still very good.

Fans of Koduko no gurume drama/manga will enjoy this book, it has enough of cooking, of the story of the guests to make this story even more enjoyable. The audiobook made the experience even more fun.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media | Dreamscape Lore, for the free AAC, and this is my honest opinion.

This is a fun series, set in a magical restaurant in Toronto. I liked that it continued the story from the first book, while also being it's own story. I wasn't sure if that would be possible, with novellas, but it totally worked!

Such a great installment in this series! It’s nice to sometimes just read a slice of life cozy fantasy, even though I absolutely have questions and want to know more on what’s going on in the world that’s being shown through the restaurant. I can’t wait for book 3.

Audio review

This series!! Such a hidden gem. If the writing of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree didn't work for you, but you still want to read about cozy vibes of a business running and the patrons inside (also set in a fantasy world) - highly recommend this novella series.

Emily Woo Zeller does a great job narrating. The writing dips into the weeds on cooking in a restaurant and serving the patrons, but in an all vibes no plot comforting way. There's magic, there's regulars, there's pineapple upside down cake. This was the cozy I needed.

This is a delightful novella which can be read as a standalone although it is a sequel. This story provide a slice of life in a magical restaurant in Toronto, which attracts supernatural and 'mundane' guests. This is for readers who do not need action, but rather life lived in real time. It will especially attract readers who enjoy food related books. The audio narrator is fantastic.
I would recommend this to readers who enjoy a cozy slow story which gives off that cozy feel.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

To be honest, I hadn't even read the first book. I picked this one up not realizing there was a first book and absolutely loved it. It was a short book but full of imagery and food descriptions that honestly made me hungry, it reminded me a bit of an anime I watched not too long ago called "Restaurant In Another World" which I also loved.

The characters were compelling and full of depth and the narrator (I read it on audio) is one of my favorites, Emily Woo Zellar. She always does an amazing job of capturing each character and giving them a voice. A perfect combination of well written and well spoken.

This book is great on it's own, but I assume even better as a series. I liked it so much now I will have to read the first one and let you know!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for a review copy in exchange for my honest review.

As more people start coming to The Nameless Restaurant, Mo Meng has to deal with new problems like customers who are too curious, technology that gets in the way, and friends who may not like changes.

This is a very cozy listen. The busy restaurant scenes and magical interactions in the story are strangely calming. But be warned — the descriptions of the food and cooking are bound to make you hungry.

I have not listened to the previous installment, so I sometimes had trouble understanding the point of the story. As it is a super quick read or listen, the story stopped before I could figure it out entirely. I picked this audiobook out for its cozy vibes, and that is exactly what I got. If you are looking for more storytelling than atmosphere building, this might not be the book for you, though. I would also recommend listening to the first part before coming to this one because I believe it would have greatly elevated by experience. If you are not a fan of abrupt endings, I would maybe also wait for other parts of the series to come out, so they can be listened to in one go.

Emily Woo Zeller did an excellent job with her narration (5/5 for the audiobook production), it was very fitting to the story. If the blurb appeals to you, I would recommend listening to the audiobook, because it really adds to the cozy experience. I think this audiobook would work well as a good night story or other instances in which you want to listen to a magical, calming tale.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for gifting me this ALC of the audiobook to review.

Chaotic Apéritifs by Tao Wong is the second audiobook in the Hidden Dishes Novella fantasy series featuring mage Mo Meng and his Nameless Restaurant. The restaurant is warded, but magic wielders are discovering it. Come see why I love this cozy urban fantasy.

I loved returning to the Nameless Resturant as Mo Meng decides what to prepare and guest chat around the tables. The story, like the first novella, takes place in one evening and I devoured it. Meng uses magical wards to hide the restaurant in Toronto from government officials and humans, but more and more people are discovering this cozy magical restaurant.

Meng serves a limited menu as conversations give way to intrigue and we discover that something from the first story had unexpected consequences.

I enjoy the characters from the hostess/waitress to the unusual guests. Meng’s menu will make your mouth water as you settle in for the evening meal. I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Emily Woo Zeller does a lovely job of narrating and pulled me into the story. These are under four hours and the perfect listen for a commute or evening at home.

As The Nameless Restaurant becomes more popular, Mo Meng faces new challenges including fading wards, new customers with prying eyes and intrusive technology, and old friends who may not be ready for a modern world. What’s on the menu tonight?

Listening to this book, my friends who’ve worked in the restaurant industry will likely reminisce over their serving days. Although I’m sure none of them have ever served the fantastical customers that grace The Nameless Restaurant. The details of a busy dinner service and interactions of the magical customers are strangely soothing. Meanwhile, the descriptions of the food and the cooking are delectably mouthwatering.

Rating: 3/5 ⭐️s - Nice short read with great food descriptions. If you’re a fantasy lover needing food inspiration, look no further. Or if you’re looking for your next meal with a side of fantasy, this book will give you some ideas. Solidly enjoyable and easy to read as a standalone. Chaotic Apertifs is the second of Tao Wong’s Hidden Dishes series. My biggest critique is that the brevity makes the overall storyline a little forgettable and challenging to connect with the characters. I was glad to get a little more insight into both Kelly’s and Mo Meng’s characters and their relationship. Would likely recommend listening over reading this book as the food comes alive with the descriptions and I found myself wondering if I should start cooking while I listened.

Thank you for this enjoyable and mouthwatering ARC read!

I did not know about this series or the author before I stumbled across this book on NetGalley. I was looking for something different and this looked like a nice quick story. I checked out and read the first Hidden Dishes book (The Nameless Restaurant) so I was repaired for the world where this was set. These are very cozy, food centered books. This book features a little less food descriptions than the first and a few more characters. I did miss the food a bit and would have liked for maybe one more course to have been featured. I think the stories about ingredients and their preparation are some of my favorite parts. Emily Woo Zeller is an excellent narrator and makes the descriptions even more engaging. I can feel the particles of a story dancing in the air and I keep paying attention so that when things come together I will be ready. Until then, the narrative is a touch lacking. I do think this one was better than the first, but I still can't quite tell you where everything is going or what's happening besides some supernatural characters and magic...and food. Overall still very enjoyable. Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media/Dreamscape Lore for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Don't read this when hungry! This novella is maybe 70% loving descriptions of food being made and being consumed, going into detail about the flavors and the experience of eating it. I love "magical food" as a trope (if it's prevalent enough to call it a trope), as well as magic mingling with the mundane. This is certainly a cozy read, and I didn't feel like I was lost diving into this one without reading the preceding novella.

However, since the food descriptions take up the majority of the novella, there's not much room left for much of a story. Getting lost in cozy descriptions of food is pleasant, but the hints at magic and other characters' backstories without getting into more detail left me, dare I say it, hungry for more.

A wonderful sequel to the cozy, slice of life urban fantasy featuring immortal beings pouring their hearts out at a quaint restaurant where Mo Meng, an archmage (retired), is just trying to live a peaceful life cooking good food. This sequel scored much better in intrigue than the first novella however, as an event in the first novella is shown to have direct knock-on effects in this book. What will happen next? I am happy to keep on with this series and find out.

I listened to this on audio and I just have to gush about Emily Woo Zeller. She has such a good voice, with the perfect balance of a soothing but dynamic cadence for a cozy story. If she stays on to narrate the rest of this series, you bet I will collect them all.

Thank you Dreamscape Media, the author and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I leave this review voluntarily.

This was every bit as delightful and charming as I expected. It made me very hungry, and also gave me some mildly stressful flashbacks of being a server on a busy night. 😂


I liked the variety of supernatural entities enjoying their meal. They were interesting characters. (I wanted to punch O though. God, she's obnoxious and smug.). The meal sounded so delicious 🤤. The setting and magic were interesting, but didn't take over the focus from the food and Mo's cooking.


The only thing I did not enjoy was the narrator. She made every character voice super annoying and was trying to hard to do her neutral news anchor impression when not doing horrible voices.