A robot that cooks four hot dishes at once is now serving meals at Paragon Mall in Abu Dhabi. According to The National, Circus Group is testing CA-1 at First Clique with catering company Royal Prestige, and each meal is ready in about four minutes. The German company says it’s its first installation in the UAE.
What the CA-1 does
The machine features 36 silos for solid and liquid ingredients, four induction plates, and two robotic arms: one that cooks and one that serves. The current menu has 10 dishes, including chicken fajita, chicken biryani, lentil soup, chicken curry and pasta. Depending on the menu, it can make up to 50 hot meals or 100 cold meals an hour, and a single load of ingredients covers up to 200 dishes. The silos are temperature-controlled, and they usually replace ingredients within 48 hours.
Meals start at AED 40 (USD 10.90), with the chicken curry at about AED 48. Michael Bassler, a Circus Group shareholder, told The National the machine itself costs about AED 1 million (USD 272,000), so the company’s pitch depends on where it’s placed. “The big goal is to find the best locations where the clients can make the money back,” he said.
Where it’s headed
The Paragon Mall unit works as a showroom, and Bassler said customers have been eating there for about two months. The company’s real targets are places where fresh food is scarce: hospitals, universities, shopping malls, petrol stations and airports. It’s looking at 24-hour sites in particular, and Bassler said the VIP terminal at Abu Dhabi Airport would suit it. He argues that the CA-1 doesn’t compete with a restaurant that’s already there. “The best locations we focus on are places where you have no food or really bad food,” he said.
The UAE unit is still being tuned. Circus Group is updating the CA-1’s software and visual recognition system to improve cooking and detect when food may be burning. Customers in Germany can order via touchscreen or by speaking to the machine for recommendations based on dietary needs, but those options still need to be tested in Abu Dhabi.
Circus Group has about 10 machines running in Germany, including at Mercedes-Benz and Meta sites and at a supermarket chain. Notebookcheck reported that the CA-1 debuted at a Rewe supermarket in Düsseldorf on 29 October 2025 as part of a six-month pilot. The company also makes a smaller machine, the CA-A, for smoothies and protein shakes, and is developing a larger version for military use.
People still in the loop
The robot doesn’t remove the human work around it. Staff still load ingredients, handle orders, and serve meals, and Circus Group’s culinary research and development chef, Dylan Frayne, develops and tests each recipe before programming it in. Asked whether the machine threatens his job, Frayne said it had given him another one. Bassler framed the CA-1 as an extra option rather than a replacement: “You will always have restaurants,” he said.
Can I try the CA-1 in Abu Dhabi now?
Yes. The National reports that the machine is running at First Clique in Paragon Mall as a showroom, and that customers have been eating there for about two months. Meals start at AED 40 (USD 10.90).
Where else in the UAE will the CA-1 appear?
Nothing is confirmed. Circus Group says it hopes to expand to hospitals, universities, shopping malls, petrol stations, and airports, and Bassler named Abu Dhabi Airport’s VIP terminal a good fit, but it hasn’t announced any other sites or dates.
Will the CA-1 replace restaurant kitchens?
Circus Group says no. Bassler says the machine targets locations with little or poor food, and people are still needed to load ingredients, manage orders and serve meals.
