eatsa is the Futcha (ahem, Future) and Quinoa is King at the Mainly Vegetarian, Automat-Style Restaurant. Hal, is My Order Ready Yet? Woodland Hills, CA.

eatsa entrance.

eatsa restaurant may spell its name à la e. e. cummings with lower case letters but eatsa's concept is definitely an all caps situation. Fundamentally, the idea behind eatsa is to have guests interface with employees as little as possible, preferably never. Streamlining the fast-casual dining process by eliminating the cashier/order taker to make the experience more efficient is the goal.


welcome to the future!

But don't be alarmed, eatsa is a user-friendly and even friendly interaction with or without humans. The space is bright and nicely lit. The video screen menu is simple to follow. Ordering on the tablet is very intuitive and should be a familiar format for most customers by now.


eatsa menu monitor.

The menu offers basic bowls all starting at $6.95 with options to build upon them for extra. Bowls like Chili con Quinoa, Bento Bowl, Burrito Bowl, No Worry Curry, and Perfect Pearing Salad are some of the picks. Every bowl at eatsa features quinoa as the base. eatsa is big on quinoa for nutritional, health, and environmental reasons—eatsa's love for quinoa is even in their story statement.


eatsa order pads.

A row of tablets stands ready to receive orders from famished fingertips. At the end of the ordering process, the customer inputs her full name so as not to confuse the order with someone else's. Although if it came down to a couple of Jane Does squabbling over the same Burrito Bowl, there is a human manager on the premises to sort things out. Also, this is a no cash establishment—remember, eatsa is the future! Bank cards are a must. No bitcoins accepted...yet.


eatsa wall of food doors.

A handsome wall of glass doors (sort of like a bank of microwave ovens but not really) separate the kitchen from the customers. Guests never see the magical little elves who prepare the various bowls. And contrary to some diner's wild imagination, there are no robots behind the wall constructing the dish, although that'd be amazing. Nope, there are just people like you and me behind the glass who cook and build the bowls.


eatsa coming!

Keep your eyes on the screens so you don't miss your eatsa order. The status of the order pops up to update hungry guests.


peek-a-eatsa.

Those coders at eatsa made sure their screens were cheeky as well as informative, playing peek-a-boo with customer orders. Oh, wanna play fun, little games, eatsa screen?


eatsa ready!

When the screen is green, that means your eatsa order is ready to grab, so go grab it!


Gregory B's order.

Not so fast! Make sure it's your order? Don't go jumping at every door that lights green. It has to have your name on it. Seriously, it could be Gregory B's bowl, and you would've taken his. He worked so hard creating it. You wouldn't want to do that to Gregory B. now, would you? He seems like a nice dude.


tap twice!

Okay, so now that you established that the bowl is, in fact, yours, tap the screen twice to make the door flip open. Tap it twice, so nice.


grab it!

Grab your bowl, drink, dessert, and whatever else you ordered. Just no trying to peek behind the curtain like I did. You can yell a "thank you" to the door but don't expect a "you're welcome."


yer welcome!

However, you can expect a "thank you" on the screen. Those coders are so polite.


eatsa with utensils.

Utensils are represented by symbols. Take what you need, and recycle in the bins after you're done.


my bowl.

I know my eatsa bowl was mine because my name Eddie L. was right there on the label. Such a smooth operation.


no worry curry bowl.

My bowl was the No Worry Curry. The hefty bowl included: Stir Fry Quinoa with Egg, Arugula, Roasted Potatoes, Spaghetti Squash, Curried Parsnip Strips, Pickled Onions, Red Thai Curry, Apple-Cabbage Slaw. That's a lot of grub.


dat egg!

But, me being me, I had to add on even more goodness like that incredible truffle egg and some "meaty" portobello mushrooms. Yep, that's my Eddie L. bowl. I had enough left over for a second meal. That's how I roll. Roll out the door, that is.

Oh, yeah, eatsa is vegetarian mostly. There are egg options, but mainly it's vegetarian with vegan bowl variations as well. I didn't know this going in, but didn't mind since I'm cutting back on eating flesh anyway. Usually I cut back on Fridays. Flesh-free Friday is the new Meatless Monday. You can do both, I don't care.

eatsa is the future, or is it the futcha? (Miranda Sings knows how to say it. LOL!) The futchaaaa awaits at eatsa!

Also, watch the YouTube video (below) I made of the entire eatsa experience!

eatsa
6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd.
in the Village at Westfield Topanga
Woodland Hills, CA

and

121 Spear St.
San Francisco, CA