Bon Appetit, Your Majesty

It definitely started strong,

I haven't been this hooked on a drama in a while, but somehow this show has lost me around epsidoes 8-10.

I think the acting is great, the chemistry between the leads was pretty good, the romance is cute, and I loved all the characters however the plot lost heart somewhere and became very rushed.

[The King & Consort Kang]
Consort Kang who was supposed to be the King's favorite (probably because of the parallels with his mother) until Ji Yeong shows up and Consort Kang basically becomes non-existant in the King's life and the show never really bothers to flesh that out in any regard.

After a while they just stop having scenes together at all which was a total let down.

Consort Kang's character also feels all over the place to me?
Her loyalty lies with the evil uncle, so much so that she's willing to marry him, but she's still hell bent on getting rid of Ji Yeong for no other reason than because.....?

She's oddly possessive over the King for no real discernable reason and that makes her hostility toward Ji Young so plastic that it takes me out of the show.

It's clear Ji Young isnt a spy, she isn't a danger, and her only fault is apparently the fact that the King fell for her, which with his reputation why would anyone find it wildly out of the ordinary for the King to be getting around? Ji Yeong is only really a problem because everyone else is convinced she is for no tangible reason in my opinion.

If Consort Kang only truly cares about working the the evil uncle to get the King deposed, why spend so much time targeting Ji Young specifically when she could be doing literally anything else? The show never elaborates on why I should care about the fact that Consort Kang loves the King, in fact the show tells me that she wants him deposed, but she is still catty and jealous because...?

Consort Kang starts strong but because the show just abandons her at some point her character just fell flat and she's more of a plot device than anything else.


[Court Lady Chu Wol]
Also, Chu Wol's extreme loyalty for someone who is very aware of how the court ladies are discarded also seems extremely out of place. Doing a job because if you dont you die is one thing, but her prison scene where she looked ready to jump out of her body to save Consort Kang was so comically dramatic for no reason? Maybe the scene would have made sense if they gave us insight on why she is so staunchly loyal, but otherwise it was just confusing to me.
Why? Why is Chu Wol so dedicated? Just, because....? It would have been nice if they fleshed out her character more.

[The Royal Family]
I know Yi Heon is a fictional take on a real tyrant, but I didnt expect them to soften the edges of that story so heavily?

The real Deposed Queen Yun was a woman who didnt come from any noble background, gave birth to the crown prince, and though the King seemed to love her she was essentially bullied out of the palace by other noble families (in what I've put together looking into this bit of history)
She supposedly lashed out and scratched the King's face, though she tried to hide it everyone around him jumped on the opportunity to force her out and have her deposed and executed, especially the King's mother.

In the show, they do a lot to sand off the edges of Yi Heon's family. The Dowager Queen and Queen Ja-Hyun especially. When I realized they weren't going to get any depth as characters I kinda tapped out. If theyre both decent people who care about the King and Ji Yeong, then what weight does the Deposed Queen's death even have?

The edge in the early episodes, that sense of venegence Yi Heon was after and the bite he had going after it evaporated at some point. I understand Ji Young changed him, but Yi Heon was at his best when he was a misunderstood tyrant with something to prove but that doesn't hold any weight when the key people involved in the Queen being deposed are presented as 'not that bad actually'.

When the grand prince was poisoned, imagine if we had gotten insight on Yi Heon's relationship with his step mother? Maybe how she neglected him, or favored her own son over him in a way that gives weight to him feeling lonely in the palace? How he wished his step mother would care for him like she cares for her son? Something? Like, give us a reason to care about the deposed Queen because when you present the royal family as mostly decent, except that one evil guy, the stakes disappear.

Queen Ja-Hyun had utterly no screentime outside of being the benevolent mother just caught somewhere in an evil plot that she has no relation to. For someone who *should* be important, she's barely important to the plot at all.

[Cooking]
The cooking in the show and how every instance of cooking is a race against the clock for something becomes this weight on the plot. The spectacle becomes more important than the story and the cooking takes up so much time the story doesnt get time to develop. It also becomes boring and predictable when the keep doing the same thing over and over, beat for beat.

I wish we had more scenes like the Dowager Queen remembering her mother rather than long winded cooking competitions against the Ming chefs, and dont get me wrong- I liked the Ming chefs, but they didn't do a whole lot to move the internal plot forward and that block of story is probably why all the other relevant things to a major backseat and ended up rushed.

Something exciting happening every single second doesn't really make space for all the other plot elements you built up to reach satisfying conclusions, especially when the royal drama was so interesting before it got watered down, like the writers gave up on committing to a complex plot.

[Evil Uncle]
Also, Prince Jesan, Mister Evil Uncle.

Who would have expected the guy who is involved with all the medicinal things would have some hand in the Prince being posioned?

For a man who was supposed to be the big master mind behind trying to get the King deposed, doing something so obvious felt like the writers gave up, like they just needed any reason for the King and Ji Yeong to follow the trail back to him to wrap that plotline up. Prince Jesan went from this foreboding villain where I'm waiting for this grand clash and story peak, to more so just a Scooby Doo villain waiting to get his mask torn off and then we all move on.

Choi Gwi-Hwa was so good in this role its a shame that it all fell flat. I could tell after a certain point, or maybe I just became disillusioned, but all the actors performances started to feel flat. Like, compared to the first episode by epsiode ten it feels like they're just reading their lines to get it over with. The story lost it stakes, the edge was sanded off, the royal drama isn't all that dramatic anymore, and all the cooking just became so painfully limp and repetitive.

The drama lost heart somewhere, and it really sucks because it had a lot of potential, the spectacle of the cooking aspect was just way too disconnected that the plot came second to everything else.

Read More

Delicious but rushed

✅ Pros

1. Fresh Genre Mashup – I absolutely love the fantasy-culinary-romcom vibe with the time-travel love-hate trope. It’s a fun and interesting combination. Even if the plotlines felt a little cliché and predictable at times, the variety of themes kept me hooked and made it binge-worthy.

2. Yoona’s Performance – She truly shined as Ji-yeong, capturing her personality perfectly. Supporting characters like Gilgeum and Gonggil were also memorable and added charm to the series.

3. Stunning Food Scenes – The visuals of the food were mouthwatering (love that exaggerated CGI!). The attention to ingredients and fusion of traditional and modern cooking techniques was such a chef’s kiss moment.



❌ Cons

1. Unnecessary Character Development & Draggy Scenes – Some episodes felt stretched with unnecessary character arcs, like Ming’s envoy scenes, and there were too many villains. Im Seongjae’s development felt inconsistent and underwhelming.

2. Rushed Closure – The ending was underdeveloped, leaving me dissatisfied with how things wrapped up.

3. Ordinary OST – The soundtrack didn’t stand out and felt quite generic.

4. Awkward Chinese Pronunciation – Some lines felt cringe-worthy due to mispronunciation, which pulled me out of the immersion.

Read More

Mediocre at best

For anyone who has watched Mr Queen, This drama would be a real disappointment. The story line is too weak and it has all the cliché in k drama resulting it being boring and nothing new. The romance between the ML and FL felt forced, the pace of the drama is off, the villains had no real reasons to be villain, some camera angle made the FL look ugly.

The positive side : some scenes are pretty and pleasant to the eyes, good looking ML, humour is OK, the second ML looks cute,

I have watched 10 épi so I will continue just for the sake of finishing. If you are just starting, don't bother.

Read More

Food is the focus

The food being displayed looked actually quite delicious not gonna lie. I really want go try making one of those dishes. When i see kang han-na i know she is hoing to eat her role up but unfortunately we didnt get to see her true true villian style. She really does well in these types of dramas. I first saw her in scarlet heart with IU. Am i the only one who whenever ML and FL appear on screen i remember the 10 year age gap between these actors?? Cook yeon and gil geum and such a cute friendship. The scene where a historical document is revealed to him and he goes mad is actually so good and the grandma telling him his mother wanted him to be a sage king not a tyrant which in turn cook yeon changed the course of history (u see what i did there)... why was that ming emperor so so annoying?! Tang bailong the man you are. The scene where cook yeon changes how the food looks so the other male cook of the ming gets to try really it warmed my heart.

The ending do the people who came back from joseon dynasty remember her or only the king himself? I think they shouldve just kept the king only not all of them. I love hwo the dude who first nitpicked on her food continued to do it also in another timeline. And also how the king just randomly told him in modern time "do u wish to be striked down by a sword" ;). The story felt weak but yk just grab some popcorn put it on 1.25x speed or more and let it run. It didnt let me on the edge of my seat but the food and the cute moments were good asf.

Read More

A Beautifully Plated Mess

This isn’t a bad show, but nothing about it is great either. The most annoying thing is the undeserved hype and praise it received online, which had me going in with unrealistic expectations. I’m not quite sure what exactly I expected — I just know it didn’t deliver on any front.

First of all, what exactly passes as fantasy these days? Time travel? That’s all it takes, I guess. The plot was a nonexistent mess. This wasn’t a story with food in it — it was food with a side of story. The writers must have realized this problem toward the end and tried to throw in an actual plot in the last few episodes, but by then, it felt like a betrayal of the tone.

Most of the characters are shallow and one-dimensional. The ML was the only one with any real growth. The side characters were a waste of time and space — their arcs went nowhere and added nothing to the main story. The overused trope of using childhood trauma to justify a ML’s horrendous actions was painfully on the nose here. We barely got a moment to meet his character before being hit with the unbearable tragedy he endured as a child, which the show then used to excuse his behaviour.

As for the romance, how these two fell in love is still a mystery to me. No real conversations, no shared experiences outside of a few scattered episodes. I started watching K-dramas for the romance, but lately, writers seem to have forgotten how to depict the act of falling in love on screen in any believable way. It was so forced, with no build-up — even the actors’ chemistry couldn’t save it.

The acting was fine. Lee Chaemin was good, though I don’t think he deserves any awards for this. Yoona looked like she was in it for an easy paycheck. I’d like to see her in something that actually challenges her.

The OST was pleasant but forgettable. The visuals were overwhelming — and not in a good way. The excessive editing and endless effects scenes got old after the first few times.

Without going into much detail, the last episode was genuinely awful — like hot, flaming, pile-of-garbage awful. I enjoyed this show in the same way I enjoy other average ones like Business Proposal. It wasn’t great, but at least it wasn’t King the Land bad.

Read More

All Hype, No Substance

Bon Appétit promised a lot with Yoona in the lead role, but the result turned out to be a major disappointment.

The finale spends almost the entire episode on the rebellion against the king, in scenes that feel almost copied from Mr. Queen. What should have been thrilling quickly dissolves into a predictable climax. Even the long-awaited love confession feels flat, lacking passion or emotional weight.

The ending, where she returns to the present and reunites with him, arrives without logic or convincing explanation. It all happens simply “because it has to,” leaving the audience to fill the gaps on their own.

In the end, Bon Appétit is neither a memorable K-drama nor a strong romance. It’s a recycled, sugary, and directionless story. The only thing sustaining the buzz around it is the fandom, unwilling to admit that their favorite stars ended up leading a trainwreck of a series.

Read More

Nice to watch if you’re bored, but not worth your full attention.

If you have some free time and nothing much to watch, you can try this drama little by little — maybe an episode at a time to pass your leisure moments.

When this drama was airing, everyone was talking about it — friends, social media, and K-drama fans everywhere. My friends kept asking, “Haven’t you watched it yet? It’s so beautiful! Everyone’s watching it!” They were so excited about it that I heard about it again and again. At that time, I was already watching two other dramas, so I told them, “Okay, okay, I’ll watch it later.”

As a big K-drama fan myself, surprisingly, I didn’t rush to start it. But after a few days, I gave it a try. The first three episodes were quite good — I even watched them all in one day. King Lee Heon and Ji-yeong’s characters were fun to watch. But after that, my interest slowly faded. It didn’t feel important or engaging anymore, though I decided I’d finish it someday.

Almost one and a half months later, I finally finished it — along with two or three other dramas. Honestly, it wasn’t as amazing as people said. It felt more like a cooking show than a story-driven drama. At last two episodes 10 and 11, I just let it play on my phone while doing house chores. And 12th episode finished it by watching 1.75× speed! It wasn’t boring, but it wasn’t something I was excited about either.

The only part I really liked was when Ji-yeong returned to the future and learned the story behind the book — that was interesting. But overall, most of it focused on cooking recipes rather than an emotional storyline.

Talking about the actors — Lee Chae Min did a great job, and Yoona was as solid as always in her rom-com roles. There wasn’t anything particularly special about the plot, but one good outcome is that this drama helped Lee Chae Min shine more as a rising rookie actor.

In the story, King Lee Heon falls in love with Ji-yeong because she reminds him of his mother — especially through her cooking, which brings back memories of the mother he deeply missed. But honestly, there wasn’t much reason that Ji-yeong to fall for the king herself, and the chemistry between them didn’t really stand out. It felt more like the king was just spending time with one of his court ladies or soon to be Queen like lady that chosen by the Queen mother.

As for the OST, it was okay — nice songs, but nothing memorable. I believe a good soundtrack shines when it connects deeply with the story and emotions of the moment, and that didn’t quite happen here.

Overall, if you’re looking for a meaningful K-drama to get hooked on or to lift your mood — this might not be the one. “Bon Appétit, Your Majesty” is visually beautiful and trendy, but the story simply isn’t strong enough.

Still, credit where it’s due — Yoona and Lee Chae Min both performed well. The main problem lies in the weak script, not the acting.

Read More

Forced ending

Had to force my self to finish it....the whole ming cooking arc was so damn dragged on, it was so obvious that the ming representive will not judge the food fairly...the supposed smart cook one from future could've at least suggested blind tasting or something....he might have still known what his people made so who knows... lacking chemistry between actors, how did she suddenly fall in love....made no sense... it's an average drama by the end even the start was quite interesting. They didn't even show how the king made it in her timeline, how did he adapt to the future

Read More

not everyone's cup of tea

It wouldve been a good series except it wasnt (for me). not a hater because i looked forward to watching this since its hyped. the story started slow. i had to endure 2 whole episodes just so it could get me going but ended up putting it in 1.25 speed then 1.5. i got tired of all the cooking show down (i think the only best one was with the Ming cooks) and unending side comments of villains but u know theyre just gonna turn around and like her dishes. Romantic moments are so predictable. cant directors think of anything new?! i hated Yoona's character being winny and loud to the point that its not realistic for someone who got lost in another timeline. theyre trying so hard for her character to be funny but its just so frustrating. The last 2 episodes are dragging and unrealistic. imagine killing each other then sit down together to talk about things. this is the 2nd time i've watched a series in 1.5 speed, even pushing the fast forward button more than 30x. i'd just give the acting a higher rating specially Lee ChaMin. no hate for the actors/actresses, but its just how the series was directed. if directors want a series portraying something light and funny (where Yoona's character fit) then stick to that even if its Joseon era setting - no killings, no heavy drama or revenge or anything, but if its something a bit more realistic, then it shouldve been like that where all the historical dramas fit. its just like directors couldnt make up their minds and tried to throw in everything in it but didnt work.

Read More

Cooking contest or love story? Still not sure ?

The story idea was pretty good, and I really liked the concept at first. However, it felt like most of the drama focused on cooking competitions rather than the romance. I wish they had spent more time developing the emotional connection between the main characters, because sometimes I wasn’t even sure if I was actually watching a romance. Still, it’s an easy and light drama to watch — not one of those slow ones that are hard to finish. The overall vibe is nice, and the story flows well. The only thing I didn’t really enjoy (just a personal opinion) was the casting choice, since the age gap between the leads felt a bit too noticeable.

Read More

what were they thinking?

There are several aspects of this show that make you wonder what they were thinking.
1. Yeonsangun - they took the worst South Korean tyrant of all time and made him the love interest. They also post his murderous mother as sympathetic and kind.
2. French cuisine - they pose French cuisine as if it is far superior to Korean cuisine. isn't that a bit racist towards Koreans?
3. Ming - but that's fine because we're know Korea as a whole loves things like macaroons, which are so sweet that the rest of the world finds them inedible. But the Chinese in particular do not like sweet desserts (a dessert compliment in China is "not too sweet") - but here they show FL deciding serving macarons to a Ming ambassador is a good idea. Not only that, but all the "Ming" are Korean, can barely speak Chinese, and the depiction is incredibly racist.

Read More

I honestly don’t know how to review this because while everyone seems to find some flaw in it, I actually found it kind of flawless.. Everything about this drama worked for me.. Yes, even the vague ending with no clear explanation of how he got to the present and ended up with the FL.. I believe it was meant to be open to interpretation and honestly I am satisfied with that..
Even if you argue that the flaws can’t be ignored, I feel they are immensely compensated for by the strength of the script and the performances.. The writing carries such emotional weight and the actors breathe life into it so convincingly that the few imperfections barely matter.. For me, this is a drama whose emotions feel alive.. Remarkable on a technical, aesthetic and narrative level, it stands out as an outstanding piece of work..

Well, the opening paragraph turned into one giant, incoherent mess.. But I suppose that’s alright.. It’s a reaction that came from feeling, not analysis and maybe that’s better than trying to make it sound perfectly organized or polished..

Honestly, casting Lee Chae Min as the male lead was a bold move but it paid off.. Many people doubted the choice and were openly criticizing but he didn’t disappoint for a second.. I actually thought YoonA would have to carry the show but LCM was so good that he even outshone her in several moments.. I am genuinely happy for him and really hope he keeps picking strong scripts from here on unlike Crushology and Hierarchy, which were honestly, complete dumpster fires..

The drama avoids unnecessary distractions.. We know what we are getting and who the bad guys are.. Even though romance is one of the central themes, it’s not presented in an overly grand way.. I was mainly in it for the romance and the cooking and I was satisfied with both.. Honestly, half the drama revolves around cooking competitions and they are surprisingly fun to watch.. I mean, how could they not be?? The characters reactions whenever they tasted her food, along with those silly but hilarious CGI sequences were pure entertainment..

The supporting cast were great.. They were fun to watch.. I hated Kang Mok Ju the most but I liked that she never begged for forgiveness or showed regret for betraying the King.. Even in her final moments, she stood by her choice.. I wished the bad guys had suffered more, their deaths felt too easy.. They killed so many characters I cared about.. The last two episodes were basically a Korean version of the Red Wedding and it was brutal to watch..

I wanted to mention a few other things..

In the present timeline, when the royal kitchen cooks turned out to be her colleagues, I thought that was a really nice touch.. And when they mentioned the Michelin reviewer, I totally thought it would be the lady who used to taste the King’s food..

I really wish this drama had been longer, maybe around 16 episodes.. Seeing him come to the present and figure out how to live here would have been so much fun to watch.. Imagine him trying to be polite when he’s literally a king, that attitude alone would have been a pain for everyone around him, but hilarious for us to watch.. And when he finds out history painted him as a tyrant?? I would love to see his reaction.. Plus, it would have been nice to see how the couple adjusts to their new life together.. If it had been 16 episodes, we could have had all of that..

And honestly I hate how Netflix keeps butchering the subtitles.. When the King called Ji Yeong ' my other half ' they translated it as ' companion'. That scene would have had so much more impact if it were translated properly.. A lot of people are missing the real emotion because of these lazy translations..

Overall, beyond its narrative, Bon Appetit, Your Majesty shines just as brightly.. The visuals are stunning and beautifully rendered.. It’s a drama that manages to be exciting, nuanced and visceral.. It all comes down to whether you connect with the drama’s emotional core.. I understand some of the criticisms but personally, I didn’t share any of those issues.. For me, it was a good drama with strong performances from the leads and an equally good supporting cast.. Even with its flaws, the script leaves you feeling satisfied and happy by the end..

Read More