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London’s First Robot Yakitori: Inside Yari Club’s Mechanical Feast
Robot-Grilled Yakitori Takes London by Storm — Plus Art, Air, and Swiss Secrets.
Shakira Taylor
July 24, 2025
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Hey Culture Clubbies!
In this edition, we’re digging into Japanese robotics, avant-garde art, cutting-edge wearables, and hidden European gems.
In under 10 minutes, we’ll cover:
Yari Club: London’s first robot-grilled yakitori experience
Leigh Bowery’s dazzling retrospective at Tate Modern
Dyson Zone: wear-your-air purifier headphones
Spotlight on Bern, Switzerland
Let’s dive in.
London’s First Robot Yakitori: Inside Yari Club’s Mechanical Feast
In Covent Garden, London’s glossy first “robot yakitori” restaurant, Yari Club, opened late 2024 on St Martin’s Lane—promising a futuristic take on Japanese skewers. Despite the hype, reality is more nuanced: it’s not automated chef-wizardry, but an assisted grill that precisely cooks chicken via a stainless-steel mechanical arm. Humans still play key roles in order-taking, skewering, saucing, and serving—making the robot less overlord and more efficient kitchen aide.
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A glimpse of the future?
The robot, positioned in full view of passersby, operates by rotating skewers through a glowing 600 °C electric grill, dipping them in a sweet soy glaze—a process that captures interest even if it leaves some expecting sci-fi theatrics rather disappointed.
Interior of Yari Club
The Indoors is a minimalist, modern café-style room with around 20 counter seats. The vibe leans functional—scrubbed wood and black exposed walls—unapologetically practical.
Store front view of Yari Club
Critic Grace Dent wandered in expecting “mechanical overlords,” but found instead a “no‑frills kitchen gadget” backed by a sympathetic front-of-house team who guided her through the menu. Despite belonging to the robot-café trend, Yari Club drew fewer crowds than nearby food trucks at Berwick Street Market.
The infamous yakitori ‘robot’
In Japan, yakitori—literally "grilled chicken"—refers to bite-sized pieces of chicken (and sometimes vegetables or offal) skewered on bamboo sticks and charcoal-grilled, typically over binchotan, impelling a crisp exterior and deep, smoky aroma.
Traditionally, each skewer is seasoned simply with salt (shio) or repeatedly basted with a soy‑sake‑mirin glaze (tare), then served at intimate counter seats in izakayas or street stalls, often accompanied by beer or sake after a long day at work
‘Yakitori’ skewers
Taste Test
Yakitori skewers (~£1.50 each): a range including momo (thigh), negima (thigh and scallion), teba (wings), tsukune (meatballs), chicken hearts, gizzards, and crispy kawa (skin). Reviews highlight juicy, smoky, well-textured results from the robot grill.
Yakitori skewers
The skewers deliver: chicken thigh comes out juicy and charred; negima balances meat and scallion perfectly; wings are crisp and tender; tsukune meatballs hit the sweet-savory spot. All are brushed in a glossy, soy-based sauce that nails umami without overpowering the meat. Skewer-by-skewering, Yari Club offers solid yakitori at great value.
Yakitori Bento Box
Other options: Bento box (£13.80): includes six skewers, rice or salad, coleslaw, pickles, nori, and a house umami sauce. Corn balls (£3.50): deep-fried sweetcorn clusters—claimed to be “irresistible”.
Drinks: mulled sake (bold, almost overwhelming in a takeaway cup), Coedo black lager, canned oolong tea.
The Verdict
Yari Club’s robot is efficient and precise, but it doesn’t replace the sprinters of flavour: human chefs still load skewers, monitor seasoning levels, and finish items over charcoal for texture.
With average spend around £15 per head for skewers and drink, Yari Club is competitive and affordable. It offers enjoyable yakitori in a unique setting: worth the visit if promises of robot dining intrigue you. But it falls short of being essential: the robot steals the limelight, while the food still depends on human skill.
Leigh Bowery’s Electric Dreams Hit Tate Modern
The Tate Modern’s latest exhibition immerses you in the kaleidoscopic world of Leigh Bowery (1961–1994): larger-than-life performance artist, fashion innovator, and 80s underground legend. Open through August 31, ‘Leigh Bowery!’ traverses his evolution: from East London club kid to international art provocateur.
Leigh Bowery
Born in Melbourne in 1961, Bowery moved to London in 1980 and became central to its radical underground scene. He founded the Taboo club alongside Tony Gordon in 1985, birthing the rehearsal space for queer creativity and drag. His creed—"If you label me, you negate me"—drives both the narrative of the exhibition and the boundary-shattering art on display.
Displays include his outrageous sequined gimp masks and the fizzy photographic diaramas capturing wild nights at Taboo. Pop postcards he once mailed, and music videos starring his glittering personas, reveal a man who built identity by dazzling the senses. Subculture meets runway meets rebellion.
The galleries are immersive: one room mimics Bowery’s studio, strewn with collages and sketches; another pulses with club lighting to echo performance nights.
Critics from Wallpaper call it “a brazen, glittering odyssey through self‑expression and liberation”. It's not just fashion—it’s storytelling, where gender, spectacle, and defiance fuse.
The pool outside
Bowery’s legacy resonates now as artists challenge norms. His fearless displays invite visitors to consider: what does it mean to be visible? Can art reshape identity? The exhibit is a carnival of daring, beautifully curated with both fun and gravity. You don’t just view Leigh Bowery - you feel him.
Critics call the exhibition “a 12-out-of-10 spectacle,” a thrilling tribute to an original definition of performance art.
Bowery’s work invites reflection on today’s selfie culture, identity politics, and performative excess. His refusal to conform—his art as activism—resonates now as much as it did in 1980s London.
See more information here about tickets: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/leigh-bowery
Breathable Beats? Dyson Zone’s Futuristic Headset
Dyson has ventured beyond vacuums with the Dyson Zone, a pair of noise-cancelling headphones equipped with detachable visor that purifies the air around your face. Launched in early 2023 after six years of research, these futuristic headphones retail at £820–£900, crossing the line between audio tech and personal wellness
The Dyson Zone
What is the Dyson Zone?
Design: Over-ear headphones with swivel-mounted visor and dual earcup filters resembling small turbines
Air Tech: Two-tier filters capture up to 99% of PM2.5 particles; purified air is funneled via the visor directly to the nose and mouth.
Audio: Features Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), Bluetooth controls, and transparency modes that let in select ambient sounds.
Real-world performance
In a week-long trial in NYC, The Verge’s Victoria Song described the Zone as “absurd” yet surprisingly functional. A passerby even mistook it for Batman gear! The unit tips the scales at roughly 650g without visor, 670g with it = a full pound heavier than AirPods Max and noticeably burdensome with visor attached.
ANC performance is solid, though the purifier’s fan motor introduces a subtle hum. Many users find this acceptable for short bursts, but not ideal for long commutes
Real World Usage
The Dyson Link app displays real-time air quality metrics, showing PM2.5, VOC levels, and noise. A useful feature if you’re concerned about pollution exposure during city travel - though some testers note the visor shields only a small air zone.
90% of the world’s children are breathing in toxic air
If you’re often in polluted environments and want immersive sound in one device, the Dyson Zone is innovative—though still niche. It balances clean air, noise cancellation, and tech flair, but feels like an early prototype more than a polished mass offering.
Would you wear the Dyson Zone?Click and vote below: |
Travel spotlight: 3 Under the Radar tips for Bern, Switzerland
Gurten Funicular
Venture beyond the Old Town via the Gurten funicular, where the summit offers panoramic views over the Alps and scenic trails for walkers and cyclists
Bear Park Bern
Bear Park
Visit the BärenPark, the river-adjacent home of Bern’s symbolic bears..
Zentrum Paul Klee Museum
Zentrum Paul Klee
Art lovers should bypass the center to visit Zentrum Paul Klee, nestled on Bern’s outskirts, boasting a landscape-integrated museum
Thank you for reading! Ciao.
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