Back in 2022, at a dumpling restaurant in Brooklyn, CNN Travel hosted a contest worth revisiting. The challenge? A three-part showdown to know who\u2019s better at waiting tables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On one side, you have a seasoned human <\/em>waiter with eight years of experience. On the other, a robo-cat waiter with two years on the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back then, the idea of robots replacing humans felt almost laughable\u2014a fun gimmick, not a genuine threat. But fast-forward to today, and the question feels sharper: Is this robo-cat actually a sneak peek into the future of dining? And if so\u2026 are we ready?<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n When we think of robots in restaurants, we imagine robots taking orders and making small talk, but the real shift is quieter. In restaurant kitchens, machines are already handling the heavy lifting. While robotic waiters grab headlines, automation is reshaping the industry where it matters most\u2014behind the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For cafes<\/a>, expecting the morning rush of orders is almost a given. But the growing labor shortage and rising food prices add up to contribute to employee burnout making it even more difficult for cafes to retain enough staff to field morning operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s where Artly\u2019s Barista Bot<\/a> comes in. This robotic arm, programmed to follow a precise set of instructions, offers the much-needed support. While it currently operates at the same speed as a human barista, it provides an extra hand to fulfill more orders and get customers ready for the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Operating the fry station can be dangerous due to the increased risk of burns from hot oil and high propensity for grease fires. This is the reason why manning the fry station is often the hardest position to fill and retain in QSRs<\/a>. Enter Miso Robotics\u2019 Flippy 2<\/a> \u2014 which closely resembles machines typically seen in manufacturing. Although its first iteration was tasked with flipping burgers, Flippy 2 promises to deliver faster, more accurately cooked fries as soon as the order comes in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The restaurant sector isn\u2019t the only industry bearing the weight of the growing labor shortage. Industries like manufacturing have already begun the shift towards automation and AI in response. That said, since restaurants rely heavily on customer satisfaction, the impact can be quite different. Let\u2019s consider the pros and cons of robots in front- and back-of-house operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Service without the soul<\/strong> Costs and glitches<\/strong> Creativity<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Upselling with AI-Powered Kiosks<\/strong>: Next-gen kiosks<\/a> will use facial recognition, past order data, and real-time mood analysis to tailor recommendations. Craving a burger? The kiosk \u201cnotices\u201d you\u2019re eyeing the vegan menu and suggests a plant-based patty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Robot Cleanup Crew<\/strong> Closing time won\u2019t mean mopping floors or scrubbing grills. Autonomous bots will handle the drudgery, using UV-C light for sanitization. Some might even be programmed to crawl into fryers to scrape buildup. Perhaps with robotic cleanup crews we can expect 24\/7 spotless kitchens\u2014and humans finally clocking out on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hyper-Personalized Food Delivery<\/strong>. In the future, instead of waiting for a human courier to navigate through traffic, we just might see drones zipping meals<\/a> to your door in under 15 minutes. Meanwhile, \u201cghost kitchens\u201d staffed entirely by bots will pump out delivery-only menus optimized by AI (think: trending TikTok foods, localized flavor twists). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dimmer and Summer \u2014 the dumpling restaurant mentioned in the beginning of this piece \u2014 had already closed, but the reviews which you can still read online provide us insight to how people would react if we bring in robots as waitstaff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While there were numerous mentions of the gliding cat robot, the glowing reviews have more to do with the quality of the food and friendliness of the staff. The robo-cat was a great addition to the novelty of the restaurant, but it was the food and the actual service that took the cake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bottomline?<\/strong> The future likely hinges on collaboration: Let bots handle the grind, while humans focus on creativity, problem-solving, and turning each meal into a memory. And if you\u2019re really curious as to who won the contest<\/a>, it was Leo the Human Waiter with a 2-1 score.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Will robots take over restaurants? Discover how automation is changing dining, improving efficiency, and shaping the future of the food industry!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":122730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2243,2251],"tags":[26,33],"class_list":["post-130077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-technology","tag-highlights-ar","tag-sapaad-pos"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www-review-dr.sapaad.com\/ae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www-review-dr.sapaad.com\/ae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www-review-dr.sapaad.com\/ae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www-review-dr.sapaad.com\/ae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www-review-dr.sapaad.com\/ae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130077"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www-review-dr.sapaad.com\/ae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130084,"href":"https:\/\/www-review-dr.sapaad.com\/ae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130077\/revisions\/130084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www-review-dr.sapaad.com\/ae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www-review-dr.sapaad.com\/ae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www-review-dr.sapaad.com\/ae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www-review-dr.sapaad.com\/ae\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Coffee, Fries, and Robot Surprises: The 2025 Kitchen Crew<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Having Robots in Restaurants: The Good, the Glitchy, and the Greasy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Upside<\/strong> of Robots in Restaurants<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Robots don\u2019t just handle grueling tasks<\/a>\u2014they thrive in environments humans find unsustainable. In a fast-paced kitchen, tensions can run high among employees, potentially impacting service hours. With robots, as long as they’re fueled and maintained, they\u2019ll keep working without disruption.
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Since each robot is pre-programmed to follow a set of instructions, every output they create will be identical to the last one every single time. In a world where consumers prioritize consistency when dining out, robots become silent ambassadors of quality.
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Robots don\u2019t solve the crisis, but they plug critical gaps. The upfront cost can be quite high, but the long-term cost benefits might just outweigh the capital.
<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nThe Downside<\/strong> of Robots in Restaurant<\/strong>s<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
While robots excel at transactional tasks, hospitality\u2019s heart\u2014empathy, adaptability, charm\u2014remains irreplaceably human. Restaurants aren\u2019t factories. Sure, KPIs and profit margins matter, but the industry\u2019s magic lies in human connection \u2014 something no algorithm can replicate. So while robots optimize efficiency, they risk reducing dining to a sterile exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Automation and AI come with a high up front price tag. Add to that the cost of maintenance to avoid an even costly scenario: machine downtime during service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While robots excel at consistency, they falter at flexibility. Not every service is perfect. Sometimes a customer gets upset, sometimes ingredients have to be swapped last minute. These scenarios require a bit of empathy and problem-solving\u2014traits that AI and robotics don\u2019t yet possess.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat the Future Might Hold<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
So Who Won? The Human Waiter or the Robo-cat Waiter? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n