Title: リスパラ | Ristorante Paradiso Media: Manga Approximate Length: Four volumes, light on text, all of which can be read in one sitting.
What It's About Ristorante Paradiso by Natsume Ono and its sequel volumes, Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso, tell the story of a small restaurant in Rome whose hook is that all the waiters are dapper older men with glasses.
The series is predominantly made up of slice-of-life stories about the staff's romantic and familial relationships, with a backdrop of picturesque locations and a feast's worth of delicious Italian food. The first volume is primarily concerned with the arrival of a young woman named Nicoletta, who's come to Rome to confront her estranged mother. She gets a job at the restaurant, and as she meets the new people in her mother's life—including a shy older waiter that she becomes smitten with—the story expands to reveal more about the owners, chefs, servers, and customers of Casetta dell'Orso.
Where to Find It English translations of the series are available through VIZ Media LLC digitally and in print wherever you buy or borrow manga, including (region-dependent) Comixology, Google Play, and many library systems.
What I Love About It While Nicoletta's story was a good jumping off point, it's the older characters in the series I fell in love with. Among the nominated characters there's Lorenzo, the restaurant owner and gentle patriarch who takes care of the people around him and has a boundless tolerance for their eccentricities, and Olga, his wife with a complicated past. Gigi the silent, superstitious sommelier who entered Lorenzo's life under unusual circumstances and occupies a strange but dear part of it. Vanna, the brusque head chef who finds herself in a tense budding romance with Teo, the younger man she's mentoring. And Luciano, the grumpy widower still mourning his wife as he helps raise his young grandson.
These are quiet, often subtle little stories about love in its various forms and how good food and comfortable places can bring people together.
I'm Requesting Gigi Orsini/Lorenzo Orsini (fraternal incest between two half-brothers forbidden to meet as children who reunite as adults) and Gigi Orsini/Original Male Character. Gigi is my favourite character, this delicate and doe-eyed older man who winds his way through the various stories like a stray cat who gets fed by half the neighbourhood, seeming to partially exist in his own world while keenly observing the people who matter to him. He's great, and I just want nice things for him, whether that be romantic adventures, secret affairs, new hobbies, personal growth, or just some interesting days out.
Content Warnings One of the volumes has a minor subplot in which a supporting character meets a woman dealing with ('off-screen') domestic violence at home.
Ristorante Paradiso (Manga)
Media: Manga
Approximate Length: Four volumes, light on text, all of which can be read in one sitting.
What It's About
Ristorante Paradiso by Natsume Ono and its sequel volumes, Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso, tell the story of a small restaurant in Rome whose hook is that all the waiters are dapper older men with glasses.
The series is predominantly made up of slice-of-life stories about the staff's romantic and familial relationships, with a backdrop of picturesque locations and a feast's worth of delicious Italian food. The first volume is primarily concerned with the arrival of a young woman named Nicoletta, who's come to Rome to confront her estranged mother. She gets a job at the restaurant, and as she meets the new people in her mother's life—including a shy older waiter that she becomes smitten with—the story expands to reveal more about the owners, chefs, servers, and customers of Casetta dell'Orso.
Where to Find It
English translations of the series are available through VIZ Media LLC digitally and in print wherever you buy or borrow manga, including (region-dependent) Comixology, Google Play, and many library systems.
Ristorante Paradiso (Comixology | Google Play | WorldCat)
Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso vol. 1 (Comixology | Google Play | WorldCat)
Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso vol. 2 (Comixology | Google Play | WorldCat)
Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso vol. 3 (Comixology | Google Play | WorldCat)
What I Love About It
While Nicoletta's story was a good jumping off point, it's the older characters in the series I fell in love with. Among the nominated characters there's Lorenzo, the restaurant owner and gentle patriarch who takes care of the people around him and has a boundless tolerance for their eccentricities, and Olga, his wife with a complicated past. Gigi the silent, superstitious sommelier who entered Lorenzo's life under unusual circumstances and occupies a strange but dear part of it. Vanna, the brusque head chef who finds herself in a tense budding romance with Teo, the younger man she's mentoring. And Luciano, the grumpy widower still mourning his wife as he helps raise his young grandson.
These are quiet, often subtle little stories about love in its various forms and how good food and comfortable places can bring people together.
I'm Requesting
Gigi Orsini/Lorenzo Orsini (fraternal incest between two half-brothers forbidden to meet as children who reunite as adults) and Gigi Orsini/Original Male Character. Gigi is my favourite character, this delicate and doe-eyed older man who winds his way through the various stories like a stray cat who gets fed by half the neighbourhood, seeming to partially exist in his own world while keenly observing the people who matter to him. He's great, and I just want nice things for him, whether that be romantic adventures, secret affairs, new hobbies, personal growth, or just some interesting days out.
Content Warnings
One of the volumes has a minor subplot in which a supporting character meets a woman dealing with ('off-screen') domestic violence at home.