Usami is a chef of an Italian restaurant called MIYA. One day, the whimsical owner decides to turn the restaurant into a "bishie (handsome man) restaurant"! Usami refuses to be part of this frivolous idea and will do anything to get out of it. This leads him to strike a deal with the owner. He's now stuck training Komiya, the spoiled, playboy son of the owner, to take over the business, but Komiya decided to make a deal of his own!
This is another cute offering from Kitazawa Kyou and I really enjoyed the restaurant setting. I expected the storyline between Usami and Komiya to be quite typical - the silly, irresponsible man falls for his strong-willed and intelligent mentor - and it does eventually, but the start of their relationship disturbed me.
Even though he's portrayed as a klutz, I thought Hanano stole the show. He is extremely kawaii and I wish readers could have learned a little more about him. He does have a brief storyline with fellow MIYA employee, Morinaka. I wasn't a huge fan of Morinaka's, but I was just happy to see more of Hanano.
Overall, this is a pretty good manga, but the topic of rape in both storylines (carried out in "Dolce" and implied in "Antipasto") didn't sit well with me. Had that topic been eliminated, because in my opinion it was completely unnecessary, I would have given Dolce another star and a half. I liked the characters, for the most part, the romantic conflict and the restaurant setting. Another thing that I appreciated was the fact that Usami didn't immediately forgive Komiya for assaulting him. He even made it clear that what was done to him was horrible: something I don't often see in manga.
2.5 stars
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