This Monday, Aug. 31, San Francisco was introduced to a novel restaurant concept: Eatsa, a vegetarian café serving quinoa bowls in a nearly entirely automated setting. Patrons use a touchscreen interface to order custom vegetarian quinoa bowls, which are delivered via a cubby system. Theoretically, there's no human interaction involved at any point in the process — though friendly staffers are on hand to help if a customer runs into an issue. We checked it out to see what all the hype is about.
The Line
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Nicole Perry
Despite opening only two days prior in San Francisco's Financial District, there was a line wrapping around the building at 12:30. Signs at various points in the line advertise eight- and five-minute waits from that point on, though the wait was easily double that (and that's just to reach the front of the café). Once inside, a staff member ushered me to my kiosk. Gripes aside, the line moves pretty fast — the automation definitely speeds up the process — and it's not really Eatsa's fault that it's ridiculously popular.
1 / 5
Touchscreen Ordering Interface
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Nicole Perry
To order, I swiped my credit card and then navigated through an easy-to-use touchscreen interface. (My receipt was emailed to me.) The menu offers eight different vegetarian "chefs bowls," for about $7 each, including a burrito bowl topped with asada mushrooms, pinto beans, and guac; a fully loaded chopped salad; and a Mediterranean bowl. Once you click into a bowl, the nutritional info is listed, including calorie counts (the bowls range from 478 to 646 calories) and allergen warnings. The bowls are customizable — Don't want corn on your burrito bowl? No problem! — and there's also an option to design a bowl from a mix-and-match menu of quinoa bases, sauces, and toppings. I chose the Bento Bowl and The Mediterranean.
2 / 5
Digital Queue
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Nicole Perry
Once my order was placed, my name appeared on a screen displaying all of the orders currently in progress. Finished orders are highlighted green — a cubby number pops up next to the order name so it's easy to find your meal.
3 / 5
The Cubbies
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Nicole Perry
Once an order is prepared, the corresponding cubby briefly goes black as the cubby is filled. It then lights up with the order name and is accessed by double-tapping on the glass door.
4 / 5
The Bowls
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Nicole Perry
For the price point — most to-go lunches in downtown San Francisco run $10 to $15 — the bowls are pretty hard to beat. Hearty and fresh, they don't skimp on the toppings. I preferred the Bento Bowl to The Mediterranean; both were pretty good. The Bento Bowl's stir-fried quinoa was particularly tasty, though I had a few relatively minor issues with the rest of the bowl. While everything else in the bowl was bite-size and easily eaten without a knife, the mushrooms were in big, unwieldy chunks. It's also worth noting that the stir-fried quinoa includes egg (similar to fried rice), though the bowl's description fails to point that out. This seems odd, since bowls with dairy or gluten are labeled as such. Worst of all, there was a small piece of plastic in my bowl. Accidents happen, but yikes!
Would I go back? While it was a fun, novel experience, I don't think I'll become a repeat customer unless the hype and line die down considerably. The quality for price point is pretty great, but I'm not keen on waiting 30 minutes, all told, for a to-go lunch in the middle of a busy workday. Personally, I didn't find the minimal amount of human interaction off-putting; that said, I regularly use apps like Washio, Instacart, and Postmates, so take that assessment with a grain of salt.
