The appeal of this premise is that the food calls out the people before the events do. Since the menu is short, the dishes customers request themselves become clues that reveal who they are, so a single bowl of food reads as a device that introduces a character. The opening hours, from deep night to dawn, also carry meaning. As this is the time of day when people who stop by late after finishing their day gather, the restaurant's character as a place that soothes the heart more than it fills the stomach fits naturally with the time setting.
It is available on Netflix with a subscription and is rated 15 and over. Because it has a clear framework of a limited space, a small restaurant in a city back alley, and a short menu, it suits being put on calmly late at night to wind down the day.
What to watch for
- 01
The way to enjoy this work is to watch which dishes get ordered beyond the limited menu of miso soup meals, beer, sake and soju.
- 02
The opening hours from midnight to 7 a.m. provide a backdrop that lets you guess what kind of day the customers who visit this restaurant have had.
- 03
Thanks to the narrow stage of a city back alley, attention gathers on the people who visit rather than on changes of place.
This work suits viewers who want to calmly follow stories of food and people rather than provocative plot developments.