Combining the words ‘robot’ and ‘restaurant’ is going to grab most people’s attention. That’s some niche, right?
I’m going to make this clear … you’re not going to this place for the Thai food! In fact, the food (considering the price) was pretty mediocre. Expect to pay waaaay more for a standard meal than you would in a normal Bangkok restaurant. We paid 2400 baht (about £48) for three of us (though in their defence, we got a fair amount for that).
Ok … I know, I’m not really selling this right now, but bare with me. Get yourself a taxi and head down to the pretty average looking Thailand shopping mall that plays host to the robots. The restaurant takes up a large part of the top floor.
On arrival, you’ll be sat down at a booth with touch screen menus that you can order quick dishes from. Wait staff are also on hand for us complicated folk (veggies and vegans). Your order goes in, THEN the fun starts…
Orders are sent to the kitchen, and when ready, are handed over to your robot ‘wait staff’. All the booths run along a track that the robots ferry the food up and down, opening little windows to pass your order through and take away your empties.
Dancing samurai robots
In between food prep, customers are entertained with high energy ditties (I remember Gangnam Style making an appearance.) Cue dancing samurai robots. Our robots came out in groups and as single ‘dancers’, swinging their arms around their heads and reenacting famous moves from the songs they are dancing to.
I’ve seen YouTube videos of places in Japan that have similar set ups, but usually the robots are static, leaving you to grab the things they bring over from their trays. These big guys have posable arms and hands, meaning they’ll pick everything up and take it away, just like a real person (with big LED eye- balls.)
Sure, its kinda expensive for what it is, but where else are you ever going to be part of your own Jetson’s food fantasy? It also makes for a really good dinner table story when you get home! Still not sold? Check out my other Bangkok suggestions: 7 secret things to do in Bangkok