Automat

Oh where do I start… YUM, yes that’ll sum it up. Automat is simply an American Diner and done well in London. I find it odd they call it a Brasserie as we don’t really have brasseries in America and if we do they’re French. :)
There are SO many great things on the menu to enjoy so I recommend returning until you’ve tried them all. Burgers, pancakes and milkshakes… all with fries… it doesn’t get much more American. I’m still waiting for a Southern American breakfast of biscuits and gravy (that’s bread biscuits not cookies to you Brits and no, scones are quite different). :-)
My fellow Americans (in London and visiting) if you’re looking for a taste of home hit Automat and for those looking for the American diner experience this is the place. It’s good, it’s lively and this American Southerner just might bump into you there y’all. Enjoy!

Yum, yum, yum… truffle mac and cheese. That is all.

This has become a recent favorite delivery option when I’m stuck at work late (have always ordered on the company’s dime!). I work in the area and the delivery (through
) is always very quick. Definitely good to have in your back pocket if you want a convenient delivery option.
I typically order the truffle mac and cheese (truly delicious!), mashed potatoes (also a hit!), brussels sprouts with chestnuts (not sure if these are seasonal but I hope not!), and sometimes the chicken paillard (when I attempt to be healthier). All around the food is excellent, and I’m itching to try the burgers I’ve heard so much about.

This place was Okay. Three and a half stars seems fair. Came for the brunch and not the burger, so I can’t comment on that. Nice atmosphere. Felt like I was in the West Village in NYC (although it’s a European spot).

I had a business lunch here today with a colleague who is a regular. He comes specifically for the USDA approved meat.
I had the burger, medium rare with cheese and no bacon. (he had the same but with bacon). The food came quick and with American style condiments — ketchup, mustard, and mayo (not always the case in London). The burger was cooked just right and the fries were just like the US. My only issue is the bun. It is too big and fluffy so that it takes away from the meat and toppings. This seems to be an English thing so I won’t complain too much.
The atmosphere was congenial and we enjoyed a table by the window, small yet larger enough for plates and my paperwork.
I didn’t have dessert simply because I was quite full from the burger and fries. I will next time.

I’ve been here many times and the meals were always good. Today was an exception.
I ordered a steak, cooked rare. It arrives medium; barely pink, completely warm. I bring this to the attention of the server who goes all deer-​in-​the-​headlights on me, but takes it back. The manager comes over and says it won’t be long for a bleu steak.
«I don’t want bleu, I want rare.»
«That’s the same thing.»
Uh, no. Bleu is flash grilled and completely raw and cold inside. Rare should have a thin band of cooked meat all around and have a cool, red center.
Received it and it was stone cold in the middle, and just not appetizing. It’s almost like they wanted to punish me for complaining about their cooking mistake.
For £33 for a piece of meat, I expect it to be cooked properly. I’m not sure I’ll be rushing back anytime soon, and we are fairly regular customers. Shame.

My hotel wasn’t ready after a transcontinental and transatlantic flight. I stumbled around the neighborhood and thought this menu looked the best from the window. Sadly, they were advertising risotto that was no longer on the menu, but in it’s stead, I found the best mac and cheese I’ve had in my life.
Salad. Wine.
Checked in. Passed out fat and happy.
[end scene]

If all I do in London is eat burgers (and then try and sweat them off at the gym) to bring you lovely people the delight of finding the perfect burger, then so be it!
With so many specialist gourmet burger joints opening up, surely I can be forgiven for eating at one every week. There are just so many now. Madness.
Anyway, this is one of these places that isn’t a specialist burger restaurant, but it is damn good — and they make very good burgers!
The ambience is lovely, the service is good and the prices aren’t too bad. I’d go as far as saying I’d come here than some of the specialist joints. Maybe.
Give it a go — enjoy the American Diner styling and have a good meal :)

It seems like there are quite a few bad reviews on this place. Well, I have been to this place a couple of times and only for brunch so I can’t comment on their non-​brunch food items. The brunch food were good though. I still have to find another place for better pancakes and waffles and the price was not unreasonable given the location. My boyfriend had the soft shell crab sandwich and it was not bad. Coffee was alright but it’s a cozy place to sit for a couple of hours while enjoying a conversation with friends. There is an area in the back with a glass roof so you can enjoy good lighting if the weather holds up. Granted, it was nothing experimental or innovative but I don’t think you should be looking for that here. The other thing is I can always just get a table for weekend by just booking a day or two ahead, which is quite nearly impossible for the other more popular brunch places in town. For that reason, it has become my last resort for group brunches — just not that good at planning ahead.

I ate here for brunch with a friend on a Saturday morning. Good service, good food, good range of brunch items. I would DEFINITELY recommend others coming here, especially for brunch.
Mild criticism: I always notice when I think there are too many staff and I would say there were 10+ waiters there, which seemed a lot, even when really busy. Also, I couldn’t see bloody marys or mimosas on the menu, a brunch must-​have!

Automat was the next stop on the quest for the best burger in London but what a disappointing time. One of my friends had told me about this place reputed to have a juicy burger and some excellent truffle mac’n’cheese. They will also adapt your burger however you want it, regardless of what is specified on the menu. It sounded interesting so we gave it a go.
The entry was fine with a gracious doorman and very friendly (and attractive) hostesses. Actually, the staff were the highlight with a very friendly and welcoming manner.
However, it all went down hill from there. To start off, our table for two was barely bigger than a pizza and placed in the most awkward position (quite literally in the doorway) despite having booked ahead of time. I know tables for two tend to get short shrift, but that’s a bit far.
The burger arrived and visually it looked pretty damn good. However, like most things, it started to fall apart (quite literally). The key attributes of a good burger are the patty, the toppings, and of course the bun. The patty was alright, nothing special but slightly overcooked. The toppings of cheese, bacon, tomato, and lettuce was absolutely perfectly balanced with enough salt to keep it tasty but not too much grease to make it oily. The bun is where is all collapsed with each bite sending the top bun crumbling away. It was as if they had stored it in an airing cupboard then toasted what little life remained away. By the time I was halfway through, the top bun was nothing more than dust. Epic burger fail!
The truffle mac and cheese was well truffled. However, be warned, it’s so rich that each bite gives you a heart attack. Still, it’s worth the years off the life for a taste of this truffle-​based goodness. Oh, I will admit the fries (skinny fries) with the burger were top notch and I could easily have made a meal of them.
Cocktails however, for a NYC bistro, are pitiful. The Manhattan is made with Canadian Club (when did that become an acceptable Scoth whiskey?) and over diluted. You can request a better quality alcohol but it won’t make much difference sadly.
All in all, one cocktail, two burgers, and a large order of truffle mac’n’cheese came to just over 70 squids. It’s quite hefty price to pay for a mediocre burger and a watery cocktail. Automat, I hope your other food is better but when it comes to burgers it’s time to get your act together!

I used to come here almost every Saturday for brunch, as it was very convenient to both my home and office…
The place is nice, the middle corridor reminds me of the interior of a boat, while at the back there is a window with little a garden, but I am not sure London allows to sit outside… There is also a big tall table in front of the kitchen for groups, it is coll but then you end up smelling like a burger…
The menu presents American dining classics, burgers, steaks, salads and for brunch there are also eggs, puncakes and waffles. I used to take the Automat burger with cheese, the meat is very good and it comes with delicious french fries. My flatmate used to take the eggs benedict and she found them really good. I have tried other stuff but the burger is the best, the pancakes are also really nice but I couldn’t finish them as they were a bit too sweet and I felt full after half of them.
Sometimes it is a bit crowded, but I have never waited to long to be seated and only once while seating at the back I had the impression that the place was too noisy, but that was probably due to the group behind me.

C’est bien la première fois que je n’arrive pas a finir des oeufs benedicts un 13h un samedi.
Tres bons, 11£ (un chouia plus cher de ce que je suis habituée dans mon East London) mais grosse portion donc
J’ai gouté un morceau de la montagne de pancake aux fruits rouge et sirop d’erable d’un ami, c’était excellent. Moelleux et un délicieux gout de pâté a pancake (cette phrase fait sens quand on a le pancake en bouche, oui)
On était 9, les plats sont arrivés 5 minutes après la commande — POW!
La déco est très classe et gros point positif pour la luminosité du lieu (on était a coté de la grande baie vitrée)

turns out, didn’t realize this before, but I apparently hate freedom.
Why? Because Automat was the worst dining experience I had in the 5 months I spent in London. So that sucks.
I really hate writing bad reviews. My experience was basically the same as every other bad review you have ever read.
The food was bland. We only managed to eat a few bites of each of dish before giving up and pushing them to the side. The service ignored us the entire meal… until we asked for the check and they suddenly tried to act attentive. The food took nearly an hour to come out. The restaurant was nearly empty but they seated each party next to us so that we could all be mushed in a corner and ignored together. Whatever, you get the idea. I didn’t like it, my coworkers referenced it as the epitome of bad London restaurants from that point on and we never gave it another chance.
Other people seem to like it though, so maybe it was an off night?

An American diner in the heart of Mayfair, but with more of a European twist than you’d expect.
Go for the blueberry pancakes or the strawberry waffles — I have yet to find better ones in London. And I didn’t find them overpriced at all.
Make sure you book in advance, though — on a Saturday around lunchtime, walk-​ins are usually told to wait at least 45 minutes.

Automat is like a stock with an artificially bloated P/​E ratio. This restaurant makes small tweaks to what is sometimes just highway rest-​stop diner food, serves it on a nice clean plate, and charges you a fortune for it. A place like this serves a good quality meal, but in no way blows your taste buds away (and definitely is not worth the price). My rack of lamb, while cooked decently enough to not disappoint me, was in no way memorable (except for the price, 26 pounds).
Similar to many other restaurants situated in hedge fund/​i-​banking neighbourhoods, Automat can afford not to invest in culinary creativity simply because it caters to a clientèle with enough money to throw at its business. This place was filled with hedge-​fund analysts and their groupies, and as much as many finance people like to tell themselves that they understand good food, well… they don’t (ok, not to generalize to all those in finance-​related occupations of course since I myself fall into that category). Some finance-​types are just as much scene-​sters as some hipsters, they just follow a different scene. Thus, I will summarize and say that Automat is more about the scene than the food.
There was, however, one thing that did put a smile on my face at the end of the evening: pecan pie.
If Automat lowered its price to about ½−2/3 of what it is currently charging, I would consider coming back. But I just don’t see the point of overpaying for something I could make at home…

Are you looking for a bit of 1930s NYC dining in London? Look no further than Automat, an art-​deco style diner that might as well be the bloody Chrysler Building.
The dark woods, the stylish clinicalism, the ‘bathrooms’… Automat’s aesthetic will certainly wow you if you’re as interested in historical American diner culture as I am.
But — if not — you won’t be disappointed by the food; I promise you.
That is, unless you HATE FREEDOM.
It was pretty excellent stuff, all things considered: good quality, big portions, appropriate price tag. And, most importantly, American through-​and-​through. You want a big, juicy hamburger at 10am with your filter coffee? Maybe with some hollandaise on the side? You got it, my friend. Welcome to the land of opportunity.
Live the fucking American Dream.

Disappointing. I was so looking forward to liking this place, really.
Burger was just OK, a bit dry, nothing special.
Chopped salad was made with iceberg lettuce that had seen better days — like one of those 2 week old remnants you find at the back of the fridge. The salad dressing had separated into little oily globs.
My partner’s penne arrabiata was fairly tasty but sitting in a pool of oil.
Beer overpriced. Cocktails nothing special.
Service oddly formal but not very good. No ketchup offered for the fries, no return to the table to ask if we wanted more drinks or anything.
On the plus side, the spacious, surprisingly deep interior was good with white tiles /​banquettes and a sort of retro New York vibe, like Schiller’s Liquor lounge (also a new but retro place in NYC), but no buzz here. The location, in Mayfair, is probably wrong for that sort of feel.
Good air conditioning also.
I’ve learnt my lesson. Don’t try to get good American food in London. It always disappoints… but I will keep looking.

Wooft, the range and spectrum of reviews for Automat would give Jennifer Aniston’s ever rotating 90s hairstyles a run for their money — some sublime, some downright tragic. (And all worthy of copying in my book, you talented Unilocalers, you.)
Here’s the real slice of the apple pie that is Automat:
Automat does «American» in gentle subdued ways that make me (as a passport carrying American) feel very comfortable. It does not do «American» in that AMERICAN-​AMERICA-​AMERICAHHHhhhh way that is shoved down your throat at other unmentionable establishments. For example, the bathrooms were called bathrooms and the french fries were called french fries — both things that someone else had to point out to me.
Not only did I love the upscale city dinner atmosphere (’cause I did), but the food was lovely. Simple, delicious and very well priced considering the location. I will certainly be back again and I’ll even go out of my way to get here considering I was able to walk-​in for brunch at 10:30 on a Sunday morning.
In fact, one of the only reasons I’m withholding that elusive 5^th star is because the coffee was meh at best. I ordered, you guessed it, an Americano.
Now that’s just funny.

here: Automat, Dover Street, Mayfair
With whom: Batman and his much more
How much?: £16 for their brunch burger
Friday night turned into Saturday morning and Batman and I were determined to carry on going… We weren’t in the best state to enjoy a gourmet meal but had decided that the obvious thing to do in the situation would be to head to the Wolesley for a restorative brunch. Batman is a few months away from impending fatherhood and so these days (and nights) are soon to be replaced with the screaming and squalling of a newborn. That’s his excuse. I have none…
Sadly our ‘Withnail and I’ esque plans were scuppered by the classily suited Maitre ‘D who disabused us of our hopes of a table (and with it one of the finest bacon sandwiches I’ve ever had). We left the beautiful former car showroom and walked up Dover Street to a longtime favourite of mine, Automat.
It’s been with us since 2005, and while there aren’t the queues that there were on launch, it’s still popular. Too popular — full of the expat families who somehow manage to live in Mayfair and their raucous offspring. Batman was getting an early, hungover, flavour of what his Saturdays would like like in years to come. In a bizarre tunnel like main room with the acoustics of your local council swimming baths, their screams echoed. The restaurant, with an authentically upper class diner mix of clean white lozenged tiles and wood panelling, looks a little run down these days.
Enough of that. We were here for life giving sustenance. And to me, that was always going to be their ‘famous’ brunch burger. For £16 I was expecting great things. It was good, better than I could cope with, though they, like many others, still haven’t found a decent bun. This one was dry and had more sesame than Ali Baba. There was a thick, too meaty sausage unceremoniously plonked on the upper half of the bun, a squat porky rocket definitely intended for another meal. Bacon was cooked perfectly, and I’ve got to say that the burger itself was excellent with a decent amount of char and well seasoned, moist meat cooked exactly as requested. If I had a quibble with it, it would only be that it was a little too dense, but that would be a minor quibble. The ‘homestyle’ potatoes served unannounced on the side were a little oily, but a good partner to the sausage as a second part to the meal.
Worth £16? I’d say probably so, considering the location (and the locals)… it’s two meals in one and if they sort the bun out, it’s an excellent burger, served in a nice space. I’d avoid children’s hour though.

+ I had cancelled our reservation and then tried to recoup it and someone had already grabbed it, but they called me back within 5 minutes and found another table.
— Server was slow to come to our table.
— The first two bottles of wine I tried to order were both out of stock.
+ The French Fries (note, not CHIPS!) were delicious.
+ Burger was tasty
+ Mac and cheese was tasty too.
+ Mud pie (which was kind of like a mocha flourless cake) with pistachio ice cream was yum.
— Service was eh.
— Place is kind of a scene.
For a scene, NY-​style high-​end diner, and a decent burger – head there!