Automata

I’m sorry but anything less than a 5-​star review doesn’t even do Automata justice.
I would bother describing the menu but if you are picky about your food or conservative in your feeding habits, it probably wouldn’t convince you.
Chef Clayton Wells mixes a traditional approach to fine dining with the countries and cuisine that have made him, one sense at a time.
Australia is there in front of you, with a relaxed atmosphere, a casual setting of the dining room and an out-​of-​nowhere decoration based on purely mechanical industrial items.
Asia and Japan in particular meet your taste with a beautiful modern European cuisine, which benefits from his past experience. Five courses that change regularly walk you into a world of simple yet subtly and masterfully combined ingredients.
You can smell France on many an occasion as it is one of the wine lists contributing country.
Europe is during your experience one arm length away with a warm, moist yet crunchy bread, the kind you enjoy softly tearing and buttering to transition from one course to the next.
Automata is a raw experience of senses, the art of taming complex ideas and fine dining into their simplest and most enjoyable forms for all to share.

The hype had been big for us and so were our expectations, and as it turned out this was an extraordinary experience. It had a real wow factor dare I say it was a (wow) to the power of 2!
So what did we enjoy?
cherries, fermented juice & capers
steamed hapuka, cured roe emulsions & seaweed
smoked lamb heart, barley koji & daikon
wagu intercostal, dill pickle & turnip
peach, sunflower seed & sherry vinegar caramel
Every dish had a distinctive flavour and a most delightful taste… my words frankly cannot do justice to the outcomes of the chef’s great creations.
The menu is fixed and was $ 88 for each… add the optional pairing and it is another $ 55. On this occasion we shared a fine French Riesling between the four of us.
Tucked into the reasonably newly developed precinct in Chippendale everything about this restaurant has a style and feeling of uniqueness. The fit out is minimalist, a lovely dominant blend of steel, wood and concrete, the dining layout provides generous space and the service is at the highest end of professionalism.
The best lunch experience I have ever had the pleasure of… an utterly extraordinary experience of the highest quality.

Poor judgement in flavor combinations. Highlights:
— Deep fried salmon skin. Picture a fishy tasting, chewy version of a pork rind.
— Cherry preparation with onion. I struggle to remember the exact dish although these two flavors did not combine well at all.
— ‘Main’ was lamb heart, primary seasoning being cumin and some other flavors. Overall, the meat was bland and the seasoning did not make up for it.
— Dessert was some sort of tahini ice cream (or sorbet). Didn’t taste good and I struggle to think when tahini as a primary frozen dessert flavour would make sense.
The food was $ 88 which was a surprise because the menu on the website said $ 65.
For either price, it was not worth it. The preparation (flavors aside) was OK but without the right flavor combinations you might as well not bother.
Amendment: To be clear how poor the flavors were, my travel companion who selected the restaurant (a foodie) apologised for having taken me to Automata and insisted he pay for my meal.

Trying to sum up this place in a single word is pretty hard… But I’m going to give it a crack and label Automata as intriguing. First of all the service here is exceptional, I’m not just talking about one good staff member I’m talking about the entire waitstaff, they have a very high attention to detail that makes your experience special and to top this off the kitchen was very accommodating of food allergies and intolerances.
The menu left me feeling conflicted. It was complex and at times uncomfortable. Duck hearts, beef tongue, and lamb neck were all part of the offering. But at the end of the night I didn’t sit back and feel nourished or really have a dish I would talk about to friends. For me it was more about the conversation triggered by the dishes on the night and not their deliciousness that I’ll take with me and remember.
The cost of the degustation was very reasonable at $ 88, especially when you’re able to experience the level of skill required to execute these dishes.

Automata by Clayton Well’s, formerly of Momofuku Seibo has just opened. It’s a beautiful space by the Old Clare Hotel in the revitalised Chippendale, aka Hippendale.
The menu will change depending on local ingredients available, but as it is it’s a 5 course menu for $ 88, and $ 55 more if you want wine/​sake pairings.
The whole place oozes cool with an accompanying soundtrack to boot.
They serve you housemade bread with this divine butter… seriously it’s divine, ask for seconds.
The current menu is up on the website, but I’ll go through them one by one.
–Entrée
red witlof, violet mustard
storm clam, rosemary dashi, cream
**The witlof was nicely done, but I enjoyed the storm clam more. The dashi and cream went very well.
–Mains
asparagus, sesame leaf, umeboshi & dulse
**weakest dish of the night, had a very interesting taste but in the end was kind of apathetic about it.
steamed hapuka, cured roe emulsion & seaweed
**fantastic dish, the hapuka was awesome and the emulsion gave a great balance
slow roasted quail, burnt eggplant, cape & blackberry
**was a very good dish, but I liked the hapuka more, the eggplant was pretty good
inside skirt, walnut, shiitake, tamari & brown butter
**the star of the show, I would come back just to have this skirt and brown butter again
–Dessert
pumpkin seed sorbet, bitters meringue & mandarin
**I don’t know how they made this dessert but it was awesome.
All in all a great experience, can’t wait to see what’s on tap when the menu changes. Really enjoyed every dish while one or two were just OK to decent for me.

An amazing meal. Wonderful food, the hapuka tonight was a particular standout. The wine selection is extensive and complements the food wonderfully, a true credit to the sommelier. The service was outstanding and there was a cracking soundtrack to go with the meal (the volume was still perfect for conversation).