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Family Restaurants in Japan: Call Buttons, Drink Bars, Tablets and Robot Servers

Japan's family restaurants, called famiresu, are casual chains with big menus, low prices and long opening hours, and they are a lifesaver for travelers with kids, picky eaters or late arrivals. They also have a few systems that surprise first-time visitors: a call button on the table, a self-service drink bar, ordering on a tablet or your own phone, and in some chains, a robot that brings your food. This guide explains how they work, using the chains' official pages.

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  • How a visit works, from the door to the register
  • The drink bar: what it is and how it's priced
  • Call buttons, tablets and QR-code ordering
  • Late-night surcharges and kids' menus

A visit, step by step

How a family restaurant visit works Steps at a Japanese family restaurant 1. Get seated by staff or a reception machine. 2. Order on the table tablet, by scanning a QR code with your phone, or press the call button and order by speaking. 3. Drink bar: if you ordered it, help yourself as many times as you like. Water is often self-service too. 4. Food arrives, sometimes on a serving robot; take your plates from the tray. 5. Pay at the register, a self-checkout or, in some chains, at the table. 1Get seatedStaff or a reception machine 2Order your wayTable tablet, or your phone (QR),or press the call button andorder by speaking 3Drink bar (if you ordered it)Refill as often as you likeWater is often self-service 4Food arrivesSometimes on a serving robot:take your plates from the tray 5PayRegister, self-checkout, or at thetable in some chains
Based on the official pages of Saizeriya and Skylark (Gusto and others) (checked October 2026). Systems differ by chain and by restaurant.

Ordering: tablets, QR codes and the call button

Saizeriya's official guide says you can scan a QR code on the table with your own smartphone to open an ordering screen, or order by speaking: press the bell on the table to call a staff member. Skylark, which runs Gusto, Bamiyan, Jonathan's and other chains, began full use of table QR payment through its ordering tablets at about 2,400 restaurants in 2023, alongside self-checkouts. Gusto's English site offers menus in English, simplified Chinese and Korean.

The drink bar

The drink bar (dorinku ba) is a self-service counter where you refill as often as you like. Saizeriya's guide lists soft drinks, hot and iced coffee and tea bags, and its official menu prices it at 200 yen (tax included) with a meal or dessert, 300 yen on its own, and 100 yen for children of elementary school age and younger, with children up to 3 free. Prices differ between chains; check the menu. At Saizeriya, water is self-service: take a glass at the drink counter and press the lever with it.

Serving robots

Skylark says it completed the introduction of 3,000 floor service robots at about 2,100 restaurants, including Gusto, Shabu-yo and Bamiyan, by December 27, 2022. When a robot stops at your table, take your plates from its tray.

Late nights and kids

Paying by card or phone? Methods differ between chains; most also accept cash. Japan has no tipping custom, so just pay the bill.

My visit

Coming soon: notes from our editor's own meals in Japan.

What's on the table, and what it's for Things you may find on a family restaurant table Call button or bell: press to call staff. Tablet: order and sometimes pay. QR code: scan to order on your phone. Drink bar ticket or receipt: keep it with your bill. Call buttonPress to calla staff member TabletOrder, and insome chains pay QR codeScan to orderon your phone Your billTake it to theregister to pay
Simplified icons drawn for this guide, not the chains' own designs (checked October 2026).

Last reviewed: October 4, 2026. Prices and systems change; please check each chain's official page.

References

Related guides

More nationwide: Food & dining

Photo credits

  1. A bowl of creamy pork-bone ramen with sliced pork, egg and greens. Photo: Alasdair at en.wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  2. Plates of sushi in different colors moving along a conveyor belt. Photo: JIP, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  3. A restaurant window display of plastic food samples with price labels. Photo: Lombroso, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  4. An empty wooden sushi counter with seats close together. Photo: Bobby.Creations, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  5. A takoyaki food stall with a bright octopus banner. Photo: whalt, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)
  6. The lit entrance of a small izakaya with a white sign. Photo: Japanexperterna.se, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (title text added)

Card images combine these photos with the page title. Photos are used under their licenses (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); adapted images are shared under the same license as the original.