With just two more episodes of 폭군의 셰프 left, I’m both excited and dreading the finale because the story has been such a wild ride. If you’ve also been swept up by this combination of cooking, palace intrigue, and pent-up love, you can’t help but wait to learn more kdramas similar to Bon Appetit Your Majesty to keep that same spark alive.
The idea of the drama is quirkily lovely and fascinating, and it made us laugh, blush and even get teary-eyed at times. Im Yoon-ah stars as Yeon Ji-yeong, a perfectionistic, French-trained chef who gets suddenly whisked away to Joseon to prepare a meal for an angry king. Lee Chae-min’s Yi Heon is a ruler feared as much for his sharp tongue as for his political cunning, and watching their relationship evolve between food battles and palace scheming has been endlessly entertaining. What I’ve loved most is how Bon Appetit, Your Majesty kdrama makes food more than just a backdrop as it becomes a bridge to memory, emotion, and even survival.
All the series blend fantasy, humour, and high politics with only a hint of sentimentality. Whether it’s Ji-yeong’s quick-witted magical culinary skills or the king’s secret squishiness, there is always a balance between tension and comedy. Which is why I’ve compiled a list of Kdramas such as Bon Appetit Your Majesty, that have time-slip, life at court, cookery, or strong historical romance as their settings. If you do have some idea about what to watch next, here is a preview of five dramas which just have this taste.
Kdramas Similar to Bon Appetit Your Majesty
Heo’s Diner
If the food-centric theme of Bon Appetit Your Majesty found its way into your heart, then Heo’s Diner must be the next thing on your list. With EXO’s Xiumin playing Heo Gyun, a Joseon scholar who was exiled for his revolutionary ideas, the story takes a turn for the unexpected when he is sent 400 years forward. In modern-day Seoul, he finds himself running a restaurant with a mother and daughter who take him in. But as he acclimates to this new world, he finds himself drawn into a murder mystery that transforms his position from dreamer to chef-detective.
What I loved best here is how it connects food with identity and belonging. As Korean drama Bon Appetit Your Majesty uses food as emotion and memory, Heo’s Diner uses it as a bridge from the past to the present. There’s just so satisfyingly perfect about watching Heo Gyun find flavours in the modern world, but still be weighed down by his Joseon sensibilities. It’s sentimental, sassy, and somewhat mysterious, just the kind of show that gets you emotionally invested.
The First Night with the Duke
Based on a popular web novel, The First Night with the Duke features Ok Taec-yeon as Yi Beon, a handsome but cold prince, and Seo Hyun as Cha Seon-chaek (taken over by a current university student named K). Just like Kdrama Your Majesty, Bon Appetit, this series also drops a contemporary woman into a world of historical politics, love, and life-defining decisions. The surprise is that instead of being pushed into this world, Cha Seon-chaek is being pulled into her favourite romance novel, whose existence is the threat of destroying the foreordained love affair of Yi Beon and his original beloved, who nevertheless appears in this version as his eventual concubine.
What I adore most about this drama is the way that it treats fate vs choice. I adored how the series toys with the theme of rewriting one’s own fate—while Ji-yeong battles to mark her own territory in Joseon, Cha Seon-chaek wouldn’t care to be a secondary character in another’s love epic. It’s snarky, dramatic, and royally emotional, and it’s a wonderful pick for those who adore the unpredictability of Kdramas like Bon Appetit Your Majesty.
Also Read: Shine Review: Forbidden Love and Emotional Intensity Tale That You Can’t Get Out of Your Head
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo
Perhaps the most successful historical fantasy drama of all time, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo is a series worth watching if you loved the emotional wallop of Bon Appetit Your Majesty kdrama. With IU starring as Hae Soo, the present-day woman sent back in time to Goryeo, and Lee Joon-gi starring as mysterious Wang So, it’s an epic saga of love, betrayal, and political upheaval. It doesn’t have anything to do with food, but it’s equally about an anachronistic spirit seeking to survive and to love amid the cruel royal court.
This series is tragic in the best possible way. As with the complicated affair of Ji-yeong and Yi Heon, the affair of Hae Soo and Wang So is passionate, selfless, and filled with small moments of sweetness that make the eventual disasters hit all the harder. I recommend it because it has the same combination of humour, tension, and heartbreaking romance that has fans of Korean drama like Bon Appetit Your Majesty glued to the screen.
Mr. Queen
Time-slip treat number two, Mr. Queen stars Shin Hye-sun as Queen Kim So-yong, whose body is possessed by the ghost of a male chef living in the present and Kim Jung-hyun as King Cheoljong. It’s a laugh-out-loud funny and heart-wrenching tale of palace intrigue, identity crisis, and unrequited passion. Comedy-drama is what drives the show forward, and it owes it to the way it cuts back and forth from slapstick kitchen farce to life-and-death palace intrigue.
What I loved most about this series is the quirky sense of humour and the jaw-dropping storytelling. One minute, I was giggling so hard, and the next, I was sobbing uncontrollably, which is precisely the emotional rollercoaster that I loved following in Ji-yeong’s life. If you loved snappy banter, tough female lead, and royal politics in Korean drama Bon Appetit Your Majesty, then you will simply love Mr. Queen.
The Crowned Clown
For viewers who enjoy Bon Appetit’s darker, more dramatic take, The Crowned Clown would be the ticket. Featuring Yeo Jin-goo in double lead roles as an oppressive king and his double clown doppelganger who serves as his substitute, the series explores heavily into, amongst other things, power, identity, and survival. Although not food-centric, insofar as it is a palace-centred tale of deadly politics and a psychopathic king, it would be extremely readable to readers who enjoyed similar stories.
What impressed me most, though, was Yeo Jin-goo’s incredible acting, doing both devious king and cowardly clown. There’s emotional investment, tension throughout, and intelligent politics and plotting at stake here. If Bon Appetit Your Majesty’s hot level of intensity and richly developed characters were your cup of tea, this show delivers that same level in spades.
As we head into the final week of Bon Appetit Your Majesty, are you as excited (and nervous) as I am? Feel free to share your thoughts and favourite moments in the comments!
