At the sushi restaurant, you'll find Miao Miao, the robot waiter who serves tables: "It costs €8,000 and is very cute."

Forlì, August 8, 2025 - He looks at you with those big cat- like eyes , approaches the table, and stops with the steaming dishes on the trays. Customers at a sushi restaurant in Forlì find themselves dealing with a very special waiter . They've been common in Japan for years, but in our parts they're still a rarity: we're talking about robot waiters. One is on duty at Sushiko , the Japanese restaurant chain, located in Formì , near the Forlì highway toll booth.

It would be nice to interview the robot waiter, but he comes to the table, leaves the food, says hello, blinks, and leaves , with a digital smile plastered on his display. “ Hi, the food is ready ,” he tells us, “enjoy your meal.” It’s much easier to ask a few questions to the owner and partner of the restaurant, 34-year-old Sonia Qiu from Forlì of Chinese origin. “Why this choice? It’s an innovation that customers really like,” she explains, “ the little robot attracts people who make videos and post them on social media. Children, in particular, are very surprised and ask to come back to see Miao Miao again.” Yes, that’s exactly what the robot waiter is called. “ He looks like a cat ,” the owner continues, “if you touch his ears, he meows and even purrs.”

He doesn't escort customers to their tables, but serves food like an expert waiter. Equipped with cameras and sensors , he moves from table to table with ease, can detect obstacles , glides on wheels, and navigates straight to the designated table without missing a beat. On his trays, stacked on multiple levels, he simultaneously carries a large quantity of uramaki, nigiri, noodles, steamed dumplings, and other delicacies.

“Hello, collect your dishes,” says the robot in a kind voice, “and remember to press the 'end' button to send them back.” And so it is, a customer presses the wrong button , presses 'end' before collecting her dishes, and the robot leaves, taking the steaming dishes with it. An inconvenience that a real waiter wouldn't have had . But there are also many advantages, especially for employers. If you think about it, the robot waiter never gets sick , doesn't ask for raises, doesn't take cigarette breaks, and, above all, doesn't take holidays or demand weekends off .

The restaurant also attracts curious onlookers. " In Forlì, we're in the future ," comments one customer, "and I admit I had fun making videos of the robot and sending them to friends." And the costs? "This is one of the latest robot models from China," explains Sonia Qiu. "Miao Miao started working with us when we opened, ten months ago. It cost 8,000 euros, plus a thousand for shipping."

But will a robot ever replace a human waiter, one with courtesy and a smile? A customer who isn't yet ready for these 'breaks' from tradition asks this question. "We deal less and less with human beings. Nowadays, for everything," she comments, "you always have to deal with a monitor, even to place an order at a restaurant . At the moment, they've replaced a few people with robots, but if we continue to fuel this thing, where will we end up?" Criticisms aside, albeit isolated ones, it must be admitted that there's obviously no ' humanity ' to be found in a robot waiter, who, for his part, excels in hygiene, punctuality, and precision. Qualities he dispenses for free , because he certainly wouldn't know what to do with a tip. And besides, at least now that he's still a novelty, he's endearing.

The Da Scarpina restaurant in Forlì has also been using the help of 'Bob,' a robot waiter, for some time. "For us, it's an added value ," says owner Giampaolo Radice, "a way to help the dining room staff."