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The short answer. After Midnight Diner, watch Solitary Gourmet next: Season 1 is free on TV Tokyo's official YouTube channel with English subtitles. Then try Samurai Gourmet and The Makanai on Netflix. Midnight Diner itself is on Netflix in the US and UK, and its first new season in seven years started in Japan on October 20, 2026. Netflix in the US lists it as Season 6.
Midnight Diner (深夜食堂, Shinya Shokudō) is a slow, kind show about a tiny Shinjuku diner open from midnight to 7 a.m. Each episode is one customer's story told through one simple dish. Japan has a whole genre like it: quiet dramas where food carries the feeling.
Below are 11 of the best, with a short, honest summary of each, where it streams legally, and the manga, book or Blu-ray behind it if there is one in English. We checked every service on its own page or on JustWatch on October 25, 2026. Streaming deals change, so check again before you subscribe.
At a glance
| Show | Year | What it's like | Watch in the US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midnight Diner | 2009 to 2026 | One diner, one customer, one dish | Netflix |
| Solitary Gourmet | 2012 to 2026 | A man eats alone and thinks out loud | YouTube (free, Season 1) |
| Wakakozake | 2015 (anime) | A young woman drinks alone after work | Crunchyroll, Viki |
| Samurai Gourmet | 2017 | A retiree finds his inner samurai at lunch | Netflix |
| The Makanai | 2023 | A girl cooks for the maiko of Kyoto | Netflix |
| What Did You Eat Yesterday? | 2019 to 2023 | A couple's home dinners, step by step | Amasian TV (free) |
| Fermat's Cuisine | 2023 | A math prodigy becomes a chef | Netflix |
| Tampopo | 1985 (film) | The "ramen western" | HBO Max, Criterion Channel |
| Sweet Bean | 2015 (film) | An old woman's bean paste | Kanopy, Kino Film Collection |
| Restaurant to Another World | 2017 (anime) | A Tokyo diner feeds a fantasy world | Crunchyroll |
| Isekai Izakaya | 2018 (anime) | A Kyoto izakaya opens onto a fantasy city | Crunchyroll |
| Delicious in Dungeon | 2024 (anime) | Adventurers cook the monsters they kill | Netflix |
First: where to watch Midnight Diner itself
Midnight Diner (深夜食堂, Shinya Shokudō), 2009 to now. Kaoru Kobayashi plays the Master, a scarred cook whose only menu item is a tonjiru (pork miso soup) set, though he'll make anything a customer asks for if he has the ingredients. It ran for three TV seasons in Japan (2009, 2011, 2014), two films (2015 and 2016) and two Netflix seasons called Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories (2016 and 2019). The new 2026 season brings back 21 regular cast members.
Dishes: the tonjiru set, red "octopus" wiener sausages, tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), nekomanma (rice with bonito flakes and soy sauce), tanmen, omurice and ham cutlet.
Watch (as of Oct 2026): US: Netflix (Netflix lists Seasons 4, 5 and 6: the two Tokyo Stories seasons and the new 2026 season). UK: Netflix. Japan: Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and U-NEXT. Netflix US doesn't have the 2009 to 2014 seasons, and the two films are not streaming in the US.
Read: the manga by Yarō Abe is not published in English. If you read some Japanese, start with 深夜食堂 Vol. 1, Japanese edition (Amazon).
1. Solitary Gourmet (孤独のグルメ, Kodoku no Gurume), 2012 to now
Gorō Inogashira (Yutaka Matsushige) sells imported goods. In each episode he finishes a client visit, suddenly gets hungry, and hunts for somewhere to eat alone, narrating every bite in his head. The restaurants are real places, and the show is famous for one line: hara ga hetta, "I'm hungry." It has run for 11 seasons, plus a 2025 film that Matsushige directed.
Dishes: extra-spicy curry rice at a bar in Nezu, ginger pork and fried-egg rice bowl, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki in Shimokitazawa.
Watch (as of Oct 2026): Outside Japan: Season 1 is free on TV Tokyo's official YouTube channel, with English subtitles (we checked from the US). It is not on Netflix in the US. Japan: Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and U-NEXT.
Read: The Solitary Gourmet, the complete English manga by Jiro Taniguchi and Masayuki Kusumi (Amazon)
2. Wakakozake (ワカコ酒), 2015
Wakako, a 26-year-old office worker born with a "drinker's palate," goes out alone after work and pairs one small dish with one drink. Each tiny episode ends with her happy sigh, pshuu. It's the closest thing to Midnight Diner's mood, told from the customer's side of the counter.
Dishes: salt-grilled salmon, roasted ginkgo nuts, deep-fried asparagus skewers.
Watch (as of Oct 2026): In English, only the 2015 anime (12 short episodes): US: Crunchyroll, or free with ads on Rakuten Viki and AsianCrush. UK: Crunchyroll. The live-action drama starring Rina Takeda (nine seasons so far) has no English release we could find; in Japan new seasons stream on TVer and Lemino.
3. Samurai Gourmet (野武士のグルメ, Nobushi no Gurume), 2017
Takeshi (Naoto Takenaka) has just retired and doesn't know what to do with his days. When he's too polite to order what he wants, he imagines a wandering samurai who would, and follows his lead. It's gentle, funny and short: 12 episodes of about 20 minutes.
Dishes: a midday beer, hayashi rice (hashed beef on rice), oden.
Watch (as of Oct 2026): Netflix in the US, UK and Japan.
4. The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House (舞妓さんちのまかないさん), 2023
Two friends from Aomori move to Kyoto to train as maiko. Sumire becomes a rising star, while Kiyo (Nana Mori) finds she'd rather cook, and becomes the house's live-in cook. Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters) led the directors, and the 9 episodes are as warm as they look.
Dishes: oyakodon, cream stew, tamagoyaki and salted salmon for breakfast, toshikoshi soba on New Year's Eve.
Watch (as of Oct 2026): Netflix in the US, UK and Japan.
Cook: the manga it's based on isn't in English. For Kiyo's kind of everyday food, see Japanese home cooking cookbooks (Amazon).
5. What Did You Eat Yesterday? (きのう何食べた？, Kinō Nani Tabeta?), 2019 to 2023
Shiro, a careful, budget-minded lawyer, and Kenji, his cheerful hairdresser partner, are a middle-aged gay couple in Tokyo. Almost every episode ends with Shiro cooking dinner, shown clearly enough that you can follow along. There are two seasons (2019 and 2023), a New Year special and a 2021 film.
Dishes: salmon and burdock rice (takikomi gohan), chicken and tomato stew, tuna-mayo somen.
Watch (as of Oct 2026): US: free with ads on Amasian TV, as an English dub. UK: not streaming. Japan: Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, U-NEXT and FOD.
Read: What Did You Eat Yesterday? Vol. 1 by Fumi Yoshinaga, English edition (Amazon). The manga has 23 volumes in English, full of recipes you can follow.
6. Fermat's Cuisine (フェルマーの料理), 2023
Gaku (Fumiya Takahashi) gives up on becoming a mathematician, until star chef Kai (Jun Shison) hires him and shows him that cooking can be solved like an equation. It's faster and more dramatic than the others here, a restaurant drama with rivals and big plates, over 10 episodes.
Dishes: naporitan (ketchup spaghetti) and high-end restaurant plates.
Watch (as of Oct 2026): Netflix in the US, UK and Japan. Prime Video, Hulu and U-NEXT also have it in Japan.
7. Tampopo (タンポポ), 1985, film
Two truck drivers stop at a failing ramen shop and help its owner, Tampopo, make the perfect bowl. Juzo Itami's "ramen western" cuts away to short food stories all over Tokyo, and it's still the best-loved Japanese food film. Note that one of the side stories is sexual, so it's not one for kids.
Dishes: ramen, above all; also omurice and a spaghetti-slurping etiquette class.
Watch (as of Oct 2026): US: HBO Max and the Criterion Channel, or rent on Amazon and Apple TV. UK: Prime Video. Japan: not streaming.
8. Sweet Bean (あん, An), 2015, film
Sentarō runs a small dorayaki stand without much love for it. Tokue (Kirin Kiki), a woman in her seventies, asks for a job and teaches him to make sweet bean paste slowly, by hand, and customers start lining up, until the town learns about her past. Naomi Kawase directed; bring tissues.
Dishes: dorayaki and an (sweet azuki bean paste).
Watch (as of Oct 2026): US: free with a library card on Kanopy, or Kino Film Collection; rent on Amazon. UK: rent on Pijama Films. Japan: Hulu and FOD.
Read: Sweet Bean Paste, the novel by Durian Sukegawa, in English (Amazon)
9. Restaurant to Another World (異世界食堂, Isekai Shokudō), 2017 and 2021, anime
Western Restaurant Nekoya is an ordinary Tokyo diner, except on Saturdays, when its door opens onto a fantasy world. Elves, dragons and knights each come back every week for their one favorite dish. It's Midnight Diner's format with swords.
Dishes: menchi-katsu, fried shrimp, beef stew, a teriyaki burger.
Watch (as of Oct 2026): Crunchyroll in the US and UK. Japan: Hulu, U-NEXT and FOD.
Read: Restaurant to Another World light novels, English edition (Amazon)
10. Isekai Izakaya: Japanese Food from Another World (異世界居酒屋「のぶ」), 2018, anime
An izakaya in Kyoto has a back door that opens into a medieval European-style city. Soldiers, nobles and tax collectors discover cold beer and Japanese pub food. Each episode is about 15 minutes.
Dishes: cold draft beer, karaage, tempura, eel.
Watch (as of Oct 2026): Crunchyroll in the US and UK.
11. Delicious in Dungeon (ダンジョン飯, Danjon Meshi), 2024, anime
A party of adventurers goes back into a dungeon to save a friend, with no money and no food. So they cook the monsters, with a dwarf who takes dungeon cuisine very seriously. It's the most adventurous show here, but it's still about the joy of a good meal.
Dishes: a giant scorpion and walking mushroom hot pot, and plenty of monster recipes after that.
Watch (as of Oct 2026): Netflix in the US and UK.
Learn the Japanese from these shows
You'll hear these words in almost every episode. Watch with Japanese audio and try to catch them.
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| いただきます | いただきます | itadakimasu | said before eating ("I humbly receive") |
| ごちそうさまでした | ごちそうさまでした | gochisōsama deshita | said after eating ("thank you for the meal") |
| 腹が減った | はらがへった | hara ga hetta | I'm hungry (casual; Gorō's line) |
| うまい | うまい | umai | tasty (casual; oishii is the polite word) |
| 定食 | ていしょく | teishoku | set meal: rice, miso soup, a main dish and pickles |
| 豚汁 | とんじる | tonjiru | pork and vegetable miso soup (the Master's only menu item) |
| 卵焼き | たまごやき | tamagoyaki | rolled omelet |
| まかない | まかない | makanai | the staff meal cooked for the people who work there |
| 居酒屋 | いざかや | izakaya | Japanese pub with small dishes |
| お通し | おとおし | otōshi | small starter an izakaya brings, and charges for |
| 生ビール | なまビール | nama bīru | draft beer |
| 大盛り | おおもり | ōmori | large portion |
| おかわり | おかわり | okawari | a second helping or refill |
| お会計お願いします | おかいけいおねがいします | okaikei onegai shimasu | the check, please |
Try it: Itadakimasu and gochisōsama deshita are set phrases, like greetings. Our lesson on greetings and set phrases covers more of them. Umai and oishii are both い-adjectives, so they change the same way: oishikatta, "it was delicious." See i- and na-adjectives. And words like 定食 (fixed + food) and 居酒屋 (stay + sake + shop) are built from kanji you can learn one piece at a time, as our lesson on kanji compounds shows.
One sentence for the counter
すみません、生ビールと定食をお願いします。
Sumimasen, nama bīru to teishoku o onegai shimasu.
"Excuse me, a draft beer and the set meal, please."
Keep going
Read our news story on Midnight Diner's return after seven years, with the Japanese from the cast's own comments. Hungry for more than TV? Our Japanese travel phrases cover ordering at a restaurant, with kana and romaji for each phrase.
Where-to-watch sources, all checked on October 25, 2026: Netflix's own pages for Midnight Diner, Samurai Gourmet, The Makanai and Fermat's Cuisine (read from the US); TV Tokyo's Solitary Gourmet YouTube channel; the Criterion Channel; and JustWatch for the US, UK and Japan, for example What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Wakakozake, Tampopo and Sweet Bean. The new Midnight Diner season's start date is from Real Sound.