This review may contain spoilers
Extremely light and healing
From the time I pushed the play button on this drama, it always kept me interested and laughing like crazy most of the time. It was light, nothing too complicated. And that was the best part!The characters on this show are easy to love, there are no bad characters. Especially the FL, she's such a relatable person. I feel like I would act like she did in some of the scenes,it was that relatable! She is also so beautiful, I love her acting and her. I had already fallen for her in CLOY, this just increased my love for her! I must say comedy is her genre!
The ML lead is one of the most friendly and most mature characters I have ever seen! He is always so understanding, always ready to hear explanations and literally so supportive. Did I mention he is SO HOT ON GOD.
The relationship of our main couple, is literally so wholesome and cute. Thier chemistry and how they understand each other is uwu. I loved our older couple too! They were too funny and adorable to watch.
All the side characters are also super lovable. Especially our queer boy geon-u! He is literally the most stressed person in this show, he's always put in the middle, its literally so funny. I would like to especially mention lee ji hoon,who I loved in rookie historian for his acting, I was once again impressed by how good of an actor he is, literally goosebumps.The first loves are high key annoying, but that's thier role so I wont complain too much lol. But our main couple pulled through quite comfortably without crazy misunderstandings.
The story is actually so unique, the concept is something never seen before, its healing and emotional. This show is a burst of happiness! Even though some scenes I questioned the actions and words of the female lead (she did some things that I didn't really understand?!!?).But they didn't drag anything for long. It was perfect timing!
I also loved the psychological aspects on this show.
I also have to mention that the way they shot the scenes are so beautiful, I especially loved the first 5 mins of the show. I loved some of dialogues too.
Even though the female lead said some things that I was extremely confused about and there were some plot holes too but still I really think this drama is worth the watch.
I would reccomend when you want a break from the intense shows.
Bonus: there are too many CLOY references in the whole duration of the show and the starting 10 mins too,surprise!
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Watch if you are a fan of the actors or if you love Ex-es who won't take No for an answer!
Subjective Rating: 7.75I read the comments and the reviews, and I am prepared for the battle of annoying ex-es. But even with such expectations, I am still amazed at how much “Dinner Mate” focuses on these two second leads. But for the sexy Song Seung Hun (who I was obsessed with in “Obsessed”), I am willing to continue watching this drama. He’s the main reason why I am even giving this drama a shot.
The tone of the drama in the first ⅓ is quite light and fun. When the deeper issues are finally revealed, the drama becomes a lot more melodramatic. The lightness did not return until the last two episodes.
I quite like the general plot of having a dinner mate. Someone you don’t know personally, sharing and enjoying a meal together without any worry or embarrassment. I think the chemistry between the leads is best during their friendly dinner mate relationship. I wanted to see more of their dinners, their conversations and support for each other. I also enjoy the part when their identities are finally revealed and they are in this awkward but attracted-to-each-other phase. But once they are in a relationship, their relationship isn’t as fun. I think mainly because I feel that Kim Hae Kyung (ML) puts in a lot more effort in the relationship than Woo Do Hee (FL). In the beginning, I really liked Do Hee and found her to be a fun female lead. But she seems to have changed to be a different person in the second half. A quieter, gloomier person that’s not giving me the same energy as Hae Kyung. For Hae Kyung, he was the opposite. He was a man of few words, then he became more outgoing and outspoken. The dynamic between them seems to have switched. I also wanted more PDA and skinship from them. Hae Kyung tried but Do Hee wasn’t giving much, and I was a little surprised. She’s been in two long-term relationships before and she doesn’t seem like a shy woman, but why isn’t she kissing as enthusiastically as Hae Kyung? Also, I appreciate them both being true to themselves and never wavered when their exes came back, but they really need to set some boundaries, esp. physical boundaries.
Let’s talk about the exes. The drama really is not giving viewers a chance to even like Jung Jae Hyuk (2ML) and Jin Noh Eul (2FL). They have the audacity to dump someone out of the blue and then come back to DEMAND to get back with their exes? That’s not a good introduction of these characters. Both of them wouldn’t take NO for an answer and continue to be annoying up until the last couple episodes. If you don’t like love triangle/square with this type of irritating exes, it’s best not to watch this drama. In the second half, it seems like Jae Hyuk has more scenes than the main characters. He dominated ¼ of the drama when we find out his backstory, history, and challenges and road to recovery. Props to actor Lee Ji Hoon for making me feel sad, angry, irritated, pitiful and then rooting for him in the end to be healed.
I initially found the little love story of the older couple quite cute. Then, it dragged on for so long and got too cringey for me. I actually would have liked to see them break up sooner, and then give them a little extra more time in the last episode or two.
Oh, we also have a “Crash Landing On You” sighting!. It’s lovely to see Seo Ji Hye had a brief reunion with Goo Seung Jun. Did you see the other CLOY reference during the meditation scene?
I actually quite like the food + psychiatry theme and enjoy those therapy scenes more than the B-class podcasts. I enjoy the few songs in this drama but also feel that they are too overplayed. For a drama named “Dinner Mate”, I don’t think there are enough delicious food scenes!
Overall, I would recommend this drama if you are a fan of the actors/actresses, or enjoy watching ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends come back and cause havoc.
Completed: 5/4/2023 - Review #304
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This review may contain spoilers
Warmed my heart
I rarely write reviews but wanted to for this one. I absolutely loved the chemistry of the main lead couple. Their interactions totally warmed my heart! The way they supported each other and cared for each other was awesome. So many dramas I've seen that they waver and go back and forth and around the corner so this was refreshing to see that they knew what they wanted and went for it. I fast forward a lot because I was mainly there for the lead couple. I think that what actors being a little mature added to the value of the drama as well.Was this review helpful to you?
Terribly mediocre......
You manage to snag a hot shot ML and then you do what??Get him a frigid FL along with a terribly boring story line, an overkill of exes obsessing over their previous loves, silly sideline romances...........just pay for a better screenplay writer please!!
There's no story here, no romance - just a mish mash of characters boiled together.
Why would you take an intensely romantic male lead and pair him with an iceberg?
The female lead was either afraid of his stardom, too nervous, or just plain didn't like him. She stood like a wax statue every time he kissed her.
Aaaarrrggg....... What a terrible drama.
I watched it only for the ML - but even he could only do so much to breathe oxygen into a flaggering object.
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It is boring, but...
Q: What is this drama about?A: Toxic relationship
Q: Is it boring?
A: Yes, the first half of drama only: episode 1-9. This is actually a 16 episode drama, not 32 as written on MDL.
Pros:
- Apink's Naeun. She is my first motivation to start watching this drama lol.
- Seo Jihye. She is my motivation to finish the drama. In short, her 'Seo Dan' brought me to the end of the episode.
- The drama's conflicts are really happening in real life. I had(ve) a friend who resembles Jung Hyuk much. I even got blocked in SNS by him since he thought I would take away his crush. Lol, it's only his crush, not his girlfriend (yet). They didn't even end up dating since his crush actually already had a boyfriend! The most dramatic story I've ever had in my life.
- The antagonists really heat you up. It means the story is actually really good.
- This drama is light, it doesn't require a smart brain to solve the conflict puzzle.
- It is safe, no bed scenes (lol).
Cons:
- Less comedy
- The main OST is too bright (pop-ish) sometimes just doesn't sound good
- Stay strong! You have to reach episode 11 to get the feel of this drama
- Tbh, I didn't feel the good chemistry between the lead characters
- Awkward romance
- The doctor's acting is questionable lol, I hated this. It was supposed to be a sad atmosphere but the doctors ruined everything.
- Family conflicts are not shown properly. Mostly, they are shown by throwbacks. We need more stories about the lead character's family.
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This drama is about two people who meet by coincidence and had a deal to be dinner mates no strings attach and they will will just meet to have dinner together and they also made a rule to never fall inlove with each other. Until one day Doo Hee confess that she breaks the rule because she's starting to like Dr. Kim and thats where the story rolls until Doo Hee's ex-boyfriend Jae Hyuk came out of the picture and wants her back. Their relationship becomes a bit messy and challenging but Hae Kyung makes sure to protect Doo Hee and their relationship from Jae Hyuk. This drama also tackles about on how to deal with a person having psychological problems like Jae Hyuk experienced.
I also love Nam A Yung and Keanu's love story here they make this drama more enjoyable to watch.
At first I say the story is just so so... but later on as the story progress I kinda like it and got kilig na. The drama has lots if emotions but all in fun it is fun to watch and I love to watch happy endings.
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Not bad
If you have watched top 7 dramas for this year you can have a look at this one.The drama is cute and leaves you with warm heart. Acting and ost are not bad there are some tracks that are not that special, but there are also a really good one. The story is nothing new for romantic comedy and the ending wasn't my style, but overall it is a good drama it watch after work.
MOST AMAZING THING in the drama was Lee Ji Hoon performance! I was fascinated! I recommend the drama because his acting was the one of the best for such kind of character.
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In love with Song Seung Heon
This is my first time to watch Song Seung Heon. At first, just watching the drama posters, he came off as arrogant. Wrong! I absolutely love him. Not just for his looks but his voice and delivery of his dialogue. They both looked so good together that it,'s hard to believe they just met during the script reading. They have a great chemistry on screen and I would love for this to be the case in real life.For me, they and the ex boyfriend are the only characters truly worth watching. Great acting by the obsessive ex.
The secondary characters, I can do without them. Found most of them totally unnecessary in the story.
I also loved the soundtrack specially Midnight Cinderella. Very lovely tune....
If I were to rewatch this, I would skip the other episodes and focus more on when the leads both knew each other's identity
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warm but ......
it gives you a sweet and unique vibe coz dinner mates is not what people normally do but it definitely is interesting . The thing which disappointed me a bit was that the start did involve some good dinners but then dinners just reduced to none and some pretty bad problems came to surface. well without problems drama can't me made but it was just a teeny bit over.They could have included food some more i mean at some point i felt the name of the show didnt match it anymore . later on the show becomes about the problems with exes.i also read the manga of same title and if you think that you they are same you are wrong coz only the concept of dinner mate has been taken from the manga the story line becomes quite different
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Make your PRESENT ( NOW) GOOD ENOUGH
No matter how long or short a relationship was and no matter the reason for the break ups... still.. all break ups hurt. . No one can deny that your past happened. But try to make your present good enough. This drama dwells on both premises.OUR MAIN LEADS
Both Dr. Kim Hae Kyung (Song Seung Heon) and PD Woo Do Hee (Seo Ji Hye) suffered hurtful breakups. As he tries to move on from an 8 year old relationship, he met Woo Do Hee in a plane to Jeju Island. Who would have thought that one meal shared together could lead to so much more.
No names. No sharing of personal information, they decided to become dinner mates with the following set of rules:
1. Use a messaging app to contact each other
2. Let’s eat meal together when both are available and plan one day in advance
3. Take turns in picking the menu
4. No borrowing or lending of money
5. Unless it’s about the location and time of the place where we are going to eat a meal, do not try to contact otherwise
6. no dating
7. No touching each other
8. No forcing to have meals that both will not enjoy
9. Do not cross the lines as friends
With such meeting arrangement, one is bound to break the rules. Woo Do Hee began to question if things are just happening or is it ultimately destiny. As they say, there are no coincidences, only fate. But things are too complicated with both their lives especially when past loves enter the picture.
Nevertheless, at one point or another, we seek that great love. We ultimately want that epic love story we can tell our children and children’s children. We want to believe that the love we have now .. the person we are with now was because of destiny and that you are fated to be with that person. For those people who haven’t found theirs, waiting for fate to come.
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Less dinners, more crazy exes
If we had more dinners and less crazy exes, I would've rated this one higher. I mean, look at our OTP's chemistry! It's so good! We wasted all of that on crazy and annoying exes. We could've had more romantic and amazing dinner conversations and banters between our leads. They are so cute together, I was holding it out for our main leads' moments. I though we're gonna have a romcom but it turned waaaayyy like a thriller with one (literally crazy) ex.This show did have an amazing OST so that's a plus.
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