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I just had a dining experience straight out of "The Jetsons."
2015-09-01
Futuristic fast-food chain Eatsa opened today near San Francisco’s Embarcadero Center. The vegetarian restaurant, which specializes in quinoa bowls that cost about $7, uses technology to automate the ordering and pick-up processes.
Customers can dine in or out without interacting with a single human. Yes, it's a little scary.
Eatsa is backed by techie David Friedberg, who sold his big-data weather-prediction startup The Climate Corporation for about $1 billion in 2013.
For those expecting Rosie, the Jetson family's robot maid, to roll out from behind the kitchen doors and deliver a quinoa bowl to your table — prepare to be disappointed. There are some smoke and mirrors at play.
But still, Eatsa is worth a visit for the sheer awe of its automation and quality of its food.
I arrived at Eatsa, located near San Francisco's bustling Embarcadero, shortly before noon, and there was already a line out the door.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
Almost immediately, the illusion was shattered. A very human employee greeted me and my coworker Jillian to introduce us to the restaurant's app.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
It was very intuitive. The menu is split into quinoa bowls, sides, and beverages. There's a build-your-own bowl option for folks with specific tastes.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
Easta has zero lines (except the one to get in). Inside, about a dozen iPads sit on display.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
I swiped my credit card to get started, and the app prompted me to add items to "Melia's" basket. It knew my name!
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
There are about eight Chef's Bowls to choose from, like the classic Burrito Bowl, the Mediterranean, or the Harvest Bowl. Each uses quinoa as its base.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
I clicked Balsamic Beet to learn more. A preview image of the meal, description of its ingredients, and nutritional information came on display. Looked good!
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
After placing my order, I scooted over to the order-fill station. It reminded me of being in a pet store and admiring the dogs in the windows when I was a kid, except here everybody was on their phone.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
Each delivery cubby has a transparent LCD screen as its lid, so animation flashes at random across the wall.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
A screen overhead broadcast whose orders have arrived. The number next to your name corresponds with the cubby where your food is.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
In roughly eight minutes, my name flashed green on screen. I zipped to my cubby and found that the lid had gone black, indicating that a cook — or post-apocalyptic android, who knows — was delivering my order.
Jillian D'Onfro/Business Insider
Poof! The box lit up and my quinoa bowl appeared. I double-tapped the upper-right corner of the cubby to release the goods.
Jillian D'Onfro/Business Insider
The spaceship doors opened! The slick animation of the cubbies' doors clearly excited me.
Jillian D'Onfro/Business Insider
Having already paid the $11.45 bill, I left the store with my Balsamic Beet bowl, side of brussel sprouts, and sparkling cucumber-melon soda in hand. The "good kind" of sticker shock set in.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
Back at the office, we shook our quinoa bowls, as the animated LCD screens instructed us to do.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
Her Burrito Bowl appeared to be a way healthier alternative to one from Chipotle. In fact, it weighed in at fewer than 650 calories.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
The combination of guacamole, portobello mushrooms, grilled corn, pinto beans, and queso on a warm bed of lemon-herb toasted quinoa provided 25 grams of protein.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
My Balsamic Beets bowl was a perfect storm of toasted red quinoa, mixed greens, goat cheese, roasted beets, croutons, pickled onions, and cole slaw, plus balsamic dressing on the side.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
Offering 18 grams of protein at just 537 calories, the bowl tasted both hearty and refreshing. I'm not a diehard quinoa fan, but this meal incorporated enough tasty, familiar ingredients that I would definitely order it again.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
Before arriving at Eatsa, I had hoped telepresence robots or the lifelike animatronics at Disney World would serve me. You will not be "served by robots" at Eatsa; don't let Twitter tell you otherwise.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
Instead, the dining experience is an extremely self-sufficient one. So, if you're in a rush and crave wholesome food at an affordable price more than human contact, Eatsa is the place for you.
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
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Melia Robinson is a reporter at Business Insider covering how lawyers are changing how they work and bill in the age of artificial intelligence — and about the tech companies racing to serve them.Melia first joined Business Insider in 2013. She lives in New York City.
