Robot waiters take over the room in Barcelona

The robot waiter of the Set Portes restaurant in Barcelona.Albert Garcia

Seven already knows the different rooms of the 7 Portes restaurant in Barcelona.

For the past three months, he has made a few runs from the kitchen to the tables carrying up to 14 plates at a time, without hurting his back or wobbling his knees.

Also, she hasn't bumped into anyone or broken any plates.

When she meets a client, she stops, apologizes and even smiles.

What he knows how to do -which isn't much more- he does perfectly, because Seven is a waiter robot programmed to haul dishes from one place to another.

No longer a rare or unique species, robot waiters are beginning to take over restaurants in the Catalan capital.

The Sichuan Pot also has its own, Meow, just like the Japanese cuisine restaurants Hanaki or Sushi He VI, all with the appearance of a cat,

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My waiter is a robot

Paco Soler, owner of 7 Portes, one of the oldest restaurants in Barcelona, ​​says that the robot "does not replace anyone, but rather facilitates the work of the waiters" because its task is to save these employees careers so that they can serve better to the diners.

For now, the robots are not capable of taking notes or putting the dishes on the table, so the workers are still essential, and the robot is used as a complement.

"He is the delivery boy," jokes Soler, who has always ensured that his establishment does not miss the modernization train.

“It was the first restaurant in Spain to have an illuminated sign, around 1870;

the place where the first photograph was taken in 1839 and also the first Spanish restaurant to have a website”, he recalls.

For him, the incorporation of Seven has meant showing staff and customers that they are a restaurant that is up to date and "is willing to improve the service and working conditions of its employees".

At 7 Portes, which is open every day of the year, 110 people work and feed an average of 500 diners a day.

"We haven't fired any waiters for having this robot," he says clearly.

“There is always fear that artificial intelligence will kill jobs but it has not happened and did not happen with the industrial revolution.

Instead, production and wealth have increased,” he argues.

The proof that "deep down is a bit silly", as he says, is that they are already in talks with the company that produces it, Keenon, to improve its features.

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A post shared by RESTAURANT 7 PORTES (@7portes)

Who is very satisfied with her robot is Li Wan Li, owner of La Olla de Sichuan, which opened more than ten years ago as the first

in Barcelona - a type of food that is based on a broth that is placed in the center from the table and the meat and vegetables are cooked there - and now it is everywhere.

"In restaurants in Asia it is very common to see robots, here we are always late," says this technology enthusiast.

At her place, Meow is what they call the robot -a Bellabot model from the Pudu company-, which has been running around the long dining room for almost a year.

“He only acts as a

, it can carry up to 40 kilos of weight”, he says, while clarifying that “he does not replace any waiter because he needs a person to give him orders”.

In this restaurant, the pots and trays are very heavy and

the robot has taken a great weight off the

"He's very kind, he always smiles, he's funny, you can program him in several languages, he doesn't get sick and he even sings you happy birthday," adds Wan, smiling.

A devotee of artificial intelligence, the owner of La Olla de Sichuan, who arrived in Barcelona at the age of five, marvels every time she travels to cities like Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong.

“You see the future, there are robots and technology everywhere,” she says admiringly.

"There everyone applauds new inventions, while here they are scared," he laments, and remembers the day that a client, who told him he was from a union, raised many questions about incorporating the robot, all referring to whether I would lay off staff.

Something that ensures that it has not happened.

"It will be generalized for sure in large restaurants, it is progress," she concludes about the room robots, which cost between 8,000 and 12,000 euros.

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A post shared by La Olla de Sichuan (@laolladesichuan)

Well, it seems that his predictions are true.

It is common now to see robot waiters in restaurants in Barcelona, ​​especially Asian food and in large establishments.

In Hanaki they have two.

Da Wang, the manager, says that they were incorporated as a result of the pandemic, in order to reduce the risks of contagion.

The robots brought the dishes to the tables and it was the diners themselves who took them.

Now this is not always the case, he explains, but the waiters also serve them, although many customers have already gotten used to doing it themselves.

The owners of this place have three more, in Salou, Torrevieja and Vila-seca, and all of them already have robots.

There are others in the Catalan capital, like Sushi He VI, that also have one.

From their experience,

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