I’m not sure if I feel safe or in danger at Robot Bar.  If the robots on the walls, ceiling, and behind the bar are world-saving, noble robots like Optimus Prime, there’s nothing to worry about. But if they’re diabolical robots programmed with a plan to terminate the human race, I suppose it wouldn’t be safe to hang around for long. But I’m brave and I happen to like Robot Bar, so I’ll stay for several rounds.

There’s a saké menu, a cocktail menu, a bar snack menu, and a menu listing wines and beers. Saké, is a popular choice, ordered by the curious and connoisseurs alike. It’s warmed up and served in little clay pitchers that bear a Mandarin symbol meaning “alcohol.” The cocktail menu is reasonable, with a few classics and a few quirky house concoctions like Smokey Robot Oil (Ardburg 10’s Old, Kahlua, Drambuie, Amaretto, Crème de Cacao, espresso, and shaved chocolate) or the Asian Alchemist (Bombay, lychee liqueur, Suishin Shake,  apple juice, ginger beer, lime, cucumber, and coriander).  Amongst the Japanese-inspired bar snack selection are sting ray fin, wasabi cheddar, and edamame (boiled baby soybeans); the entire menu is made up of little dishes you wouldn’t find on a typical bar menu.

The décor is eclectic but not random. On the walls, robots are depicted in painted scenes of mass destruction, firing lasers from their eyes and whatnot.  Overhead, toy robots dangle from strings attached to the arms of a giant mobile (like the ones that hang over a baby’s crib and dangle teddy bears and stars just out of reach).  The cheekiest of the robots reside behind the bar. They live on the shelves with the liquor, and remain quite still to blend in with the inanimate bottles. I don’t know what they’re plotting… but I fear it involves inebriation.