Beijing's robot-themed restaurant wows visitors

A primary school student visiting Beijing's latest attraction — a robot-themed restaurant in the capital's E-Town technology hub — was amazed to see a humanoid robot slice a cake with perfect precision, leaving not a single crumb behind.

"It's incredible to watch them perform such delicate tasks with such smooth operation," said Ma Yuqian, who eagerly visited the new venue on Friday.

The robot-themed restaurant, alongside the world's first humanoid smart robot 4S store, officially opened on Friday in Beijing E-Town, an economic and technological development zone in the southeast of the capital. Since opening, it has attracted thousands of visitors.

A 4S store is a retail concept that originated in China and is a one-stop shop for a particular product. The "4S" stands for sales, service, spare parts and customer surveys.

Billed as a "fantasy experience", the restaurant offers visitors the chance to dine and shop in a fully automated, AI-driven environment.

Upon entering, guests are greeted by humanoid robot bartenders, entertained by a robot band and treated to stand-up comedy performed by robots styled after the classic Chinese poets Li Bai and Su Shi.

The restaurant serves Western-style dishes, including hamburgers and spaghetti. During meals, diners can interact with dinosaur robots, while delivery and recycling robots move efficiently throughout the space. Robots also prepare pancakes, coffee and milk tea on demand.

Reservations are available on the Dianping and Meituan apps, with many people waiting outside to try the latest dining experience.

"Interacting with a robot dinosaur while eating is both novel and a little creepy. Maybe as we get used to these embodied robots around us, it will feel more natural," said a diner who declined to give her name.

"As a cutting-edge, robot-themed restaurant, we aim to create an immersive dining experience blending taste, culture and technology," said Sun Ling, deputy general manager of Beijing E-Town Robot Technology Industry Development and head of the restaurant. "We are collaborating with our 4S store to expedite the commercial release of advanced robot products."

The same day the stores opened, the 2025 World Robot Conference was launched in E-Town. As part of the event, a robot control competition for lower primary school students took place, which Ma and her mother attended.

Wu Jie, Ma's mother, praised the event. "The exceptional skills demonstrated by these young contestants in robot creation and operation are truly remarkable. These technological advances are opening up a whole new world for the younger generation."

Along with the restaurant and 4S shop, Beijing plans to enhance the robotic experience by establishing the world's premier robot-themed theater during the conference in E-Town.

Further competitive events are planned to showcase and advance humanoid robots. The 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games will be held from Aug 14 to 17 at the National Speed Skating Oval in Chaoyang district.

Around 280 teams from 16 countries across five continents, featuring more than 500 humanoid robots, will compete in 26 events and 538 matches, according to Jiang Guangzhi, head of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, at a press conference on Friday.

Among these, the groundbreaking 5-on-5 formation football match — entirely controlled by AI algorithms without human intervention — will make its debut at the World Humanoid Robot Games.

Cao Ruoyan contributed to this story.

yangcheng@chinadaily.com.cn