Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Foodie Love’ On HBO, A Spanish Comedy Where Two Thirtysomethings Fall In Love Over Their Love Of Food

These days, there are niche dating apps for just about every interest. We’re actually surprised that foodie dating isn’t more popular, given how much people take pictures of their food for the ‘gram. Foodie Love is a Spanish series that documents a new relationship between two thirtysomethings who met through a foodie dating app. Will it be about love, food, or a lot of both?

FOODIE LOVE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A woman French kisses her image in a fogged-up mirror, while we hear her say in voice over, “I hate licorice. And seedless watermelon.”

The Gist: The woman (Laia Costa), who will go by “She” here, gives the camera her laundry list of likes and dislikes when it comes to food and how people conduct themselves around it; the man (Guillermo Pfening), who we’ll refer to as “He”, just thinks he has absolutely no game when it comes to opening up conversation. The two of them are about to meet for “just a coffee”, having connected on a dating app called Foodie Love.

They meet at a coffee shop, where She says “I like the plants,” and He says, “they’re serious about coffee.” When she says, “Maybe too serious,” he realizes that She is a little different than a lot of the women he’s been meeting. So they have some awkward but flirtatious conversation, and they finally connect when they both realize they like unadorned cheesecake. He also mentions expired yuzu in his fridge, which helps the woman open up about her year in Japan and the man she almost married. Oh, and she also makes a mean bowl of ramen.

Their whole first date isn’t about food, though; part of it was trying to guess if the man and woman running the shop are a couple. He envisions them connecting after closing time with one hugging the other from behind, and She wonders how they can connect if they can’t look at each other’s faces. Then he gets up to get second cups of coffee and he’s chagrined to find that she’s gone, though relieved when he realizes she just stepped out for a smoke.

As they get to know each other more, they start getting more flirtatious. She regretted not getting a look at his bottom as he got up the first time, which launches her into a discussion of why the male bottom is underappreciated. He’s a bit flummoxed by her forwardness, but very intrigued. Let’s say the date is going well.

Our Take: Foodie Love, created by Isabel Coixet, premiered on HBO Spain in December. The first episode of the eight-episode series, which premiered on HBO’s various streaming services — including HBO Max — on July 13, starts a little too cute.

No, not because of how She and He met; that awkwardness and tentativeness feels like a pretty realistic portrait of a first date set up by an app. We have the two of them talking to the camera as they get ready for their date. At first it might seems like what they might have put in their profiles. But it’s basically an annoying running monologue that tells annoying things about them. The show delves a little too much into showing us thought bubbles of what they’re thinking during the date — He thinks he’s screwing up at every turn, She is still thinking about the guy she let go of in Japan. Then there are old-time cartoon interstitials that make little sense.

But once the date really gets into the swing, the charm of both Costa and Pfening takes over. We were relieved that they didn’t just talk about food during the date. Sure, the two of them are definitely in their own heads too much and monologue their insecurities at far too early of a juncture, but we just loved seeing the two of them warm up to each other as the date went on.

Yes, there was more cutesy stuff in the middle of the episode, like a redhead observing their date and making it into a short story, or long, lingering looks at the couple who were running the cafe. But those distractions didn’t take away from our investment in these two people who have found that connection we’re all looking for on that first date.

The rest of the episodes chronicle their relationship, all of which is framed by the food they enjoy with each other. If it’s more of the two of them together and less of the cute stuff, we’re on board.

Sex and Skin: All just talk, at least in the first episode.

Parting Shot: Hours after the two of them have left, setting up another date, the cafe closes. The writer who was observing the daters leaves. Then, just as He described, the couple who owns the joint stop sweeping up and one grabs the other from behind, connecting after a busy day.

Sleeper Star: The coffee? This is more or less a two-person show, so there really isn’t a sleeper. Though we do think Costa is so damn endearing that we want to seek out her other work.

Most Pilot-y Line: Like we said, lose the thought bubbles and the cartoon inner thoughts, and just concentrate on the couple.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Foodie Love has a lot of cringeworthy affectations that might keep you from enjoying the growth of He and She’s relationship. But if you can look past that, you should be in for a fun, light ride.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company.com, RollingStone.com, Billboard and elsewhere.

Stream Foodie Love On HBO Max