Getting the basics right

Taking on this assignment was a tricky one. Where would I go, what would I write about and what if I had a terrible experience - would I feel comfortable writing about it? I love restaurants but I also know how tough it can be working in them, so I wanted to be constructive.

I decided to take the family to Automat which is somewhere between a diner and the interior of a railway carriage. We arrived at 12.45pm, but it is open for later lunches and throughout the afternoon, convenient for local shoppers.

There are three menus offered - brunch, brasserie and dinner - and as the day progresses, the menus get longer and offer more choices. We opted for the brunch menu, which is American-style diner food, with dishes such as macaroni cheese, eggs Benedict and burgers.

My daughter Jessie, 10, ordered eggs Benedict, which were perfectly cooked, with proper Hollandaise, ham and served on toasted muffins. It was the first time she'd had eggs this way, and she really enjoyed them.

Second daughter, Joy, seven, had hamburger with chips - the meat was good and came with fries which were light, skinny and had a slight crunch. I tried an omelette with wild mushrooms - slightly wet on the inside due to liquid from the mushrooms, but otherwise properly cooked.

My wife, Zanna, opted for the parfait, which was more chicken liver than foie gras. Presentation was good, coming as it did in a kilner jar accompanied by toast and chutney. A lot of pink salt had been used to stop oxidisation.

Automat's consultant chef is Richard Turner, formerly of the Hotel Tresanton in Cornwall among other London restaurants, and he is obviously pushing to get the basics right. For example, parfaits can often be grainy and oxidised, but the one I tried was spot on. You could also see his influence in a flawlessly cooked, creamy crème brûlée.

For my main, I tried rare hangar steak - a strong flavoured, tender cut of meat, like French onglet steak - with fries. Zanna had tuna Niçoise, a dish that can sometimes look too pretty. This version was gutsy, with all the right ingredients clumped together in the middle. The haricots, which can be tricky to get right, were nice and green with a little resistance and good flavour.

As we finished our main courses, the restaurant got busy. Having cleared our main course plates at 1.50pm, it took until 3.30pm to have one dessert and get the bill - as is often the case in the early days of a new opening. The staff, though, were friendly and helpful. The prices were reasonable, and the bill for four people, with one bottle of wine, was £122 including service.

Automat
Dover Street, London, W1S 4NF