We visited a restaurant that's powered by machines instead of people - here's what it's like

As automation sweeps the restaurant industry, fast food execs may look for inspiration from Eatsa - a small chain that is powered by machines instead of people.

Eatsa, which opened its first location in San Francisco in 2015, functions essentially like a vending machine or a high-tech automat that spits out freshly-prepared bowls of quinoa. There are real people behind the scenes preparing the food, but instead of cashiers there are kiosks.

In the past year, Eatsa has expanded from a single location in San Francisco to five restaurants in California, New York, and Washington, DC.

After its first location in New York opened in December, we were eager to see for ourselves what it's like to eat at a restaurant with no employees in sight.