Yakitori shop Yari Club trials robotic yakitori machine

The QSR brand will open in St Martin’s Lane in Central London.

Japanese concept Yari Club is opening its first restaurant on St Martin’s Lane in Central London, debuting what it calls the UK’s first robotic yakitori machine.

According to the brand’s press release, it will be the first time such a machine has been seen outside Asia. It is launched by Jimmy Tjhie founder of Methusellah Limited, the parent company of Yari Club, who has exclusive rights to the technology in the UK and Europe.

Yakitori can be translated to ‘grilled chicken’ from the Japanese words yaki (grill) and tori (chicken). Yakitori shops are usually small shops specialising in yakitori, taking the form of a compact shop offering take-out services with some seats.

“Our aim with Yari Club is to use customer-visible robotics to add a fun and futuristic dynamic to the Central London QSR scene,” Tjhie said. “The auto-rotating yakitori grill machine will be placed at the front of our unit so customers can follow their orders and passers-by be entertained. We hope to see the same enthusiasm as in Asia, where the robots and chefs successfully work side by side.”

Upon ordering, customers place an order with the Yari Club staff, who manually load the skewers onto the machine’s grabbing arm. Diners can watch the 1.5m long robotic yakitori machine process their order via a grasp, grill, and sauce dipping mechanic, resulting in a wait time of around 5 minutes from ordering.

The menu will offer a selection of eight traditional chicken yakitori dishes; Tsukune (meatball, savoury, sweet glaze), Kawa (skin, juicy, rich taste), Mune (breast, lean, mild flavour), Momo (thigh, tender, flavourful meat), Toriniku (thigh and breast, tender, versatile, juicy), Classic Negima (thigh, spring onion, juicy, savoury) Miso Mune (breast, miso-marinated, savoury) and Teba (wings, crispy, flavourful skin). There is also a Prawn Теmpura skewer. Larger sides include Chicken Karaage, Vegetable Gyoza, Corn Tempura, Broccoli with Nori Dressing, Mixed Salad with Togarashi Dressing, Fries with Kashmiri Powder, Fries with Truffle Oil, Yuzu Pickles.

Prices start from £2.50 per skewer, three for £6.90 or five for £11.90. Rice Boxes are also available, priced at £11.90 or £16.80 for three or five skewers, respectively. They include rice, coleslaw, pickles, a Nori slice, and Yari Club’s proprietary sauce. The average spend is expected to be £12.

“Whilst adding a fun element to the consumer experience, the machine also benefits from low power consumption, takes up a small space, and has a big capacity for production. It is easy to operate and clean and has variable speeds for different types of foods,” Tjhie said.

A soft launch will offer 50% off the menu, including drinks, from 23 September to 30 September ahead of the official launch on 1 October.