AUTOMAT Mayfair

Automat American Brasserie
33 Dover Street
Mayfair W1S 4 NF  020 7499 3033

So my best friends and I hit mayfair on Sunday for my pre birthday celebrations

and where better then to dine at AUTOMAT, my favourite american brasserie in the heart of Mayfair.

Being a sunday I was keen to gather the girls for a 'Special' Brunch. Somewhere that not only serves the kind of dishes that dreams are made of (on the 'sod the diet' days) but in the style of my favourite Sex and the City gals  that  have no problem serving a Cosmopolitan alongside a latte.

Brunch is served from 7am until 4:30pm every sunday.

Shut your eyes, sip your Cosmo and with take in the scent of the chicken noodle soup and you could well be in the heart of Manhatten.

I could not wait to get here and indulge in my favourite treats. We kicked off with a round of Automat signature shots that were curiously names Liquid Cocaine's. A combination of blue caracao and rum, and yes they gave us the buzz we needed to take in the super duper extensive menu .

The brunch menu here is endless and serves everything from a variety of egg dishes down to a soft shell crab 'Po Boy' sandwich. But what makes this place special and I mean SPECIAL are the Waffles!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh .... the strawberry waffles!!!... Ohhh the blueberry pancakes!!

(A sex and the city brunch with the girls)

I booked the chefs table giving us plenty of room to spread our wings and laugh out loud without being under any of the other diners feet, which is also a prime spot to watch the chefs in action too. Between the 6 of us our order ranged from the AUTOMAT BRUNCH BURGER ( a prime steak burger served with egg over easy, crispy bacon and home fries) PENNE ARRABIATA, SMOKED SALMON WITH SCRAMBLED EGG and of course ample plates of waffles and buttermilk pancakes, which were demolished in seconds!!!!

'

http://www.hbo.com/sex-and-the-city/index.html

I can't imagine Carrie Bradshaw balancing on her Manolo's after the amount we got through but we would have done her proud on the cocktail front. The cocktail menu is just as scrummy. I had a cheeky Bloody Mary alongside my brunch which was delicious as it had just the right amount of celery salt and worcester sauce for me ! ( I don't like tabasco !!) And one of my best friends Izzy hit the Strawberry milkshakes with a vengence.

Having been here before and having a variety of diffent dishes that the menu offers, I can honestly say this is a diner I can't ever see myself tiring of. Eggs Benedict and a latte with a sunday newspaper as my company would be just as suited here as are the ladys who have cocktails with their waffles. Great for a variety of occasions that offers a cool relaxed atmosphore in a place that makes you feel a bit special even in your ugg boots!

Book early for group bookings as Sundays get packed out, or stroll up on your own on a lazy sunday afternoon.

We loved AUTOMAT and our bill at the end was substantilly less then a trip to New York but equally as brilliant.

FAVOURITE DISH

                                   EGGS BENEDICT& STRAWBERRY WAFFLES

TRY

AUTOMAT PASSION MARTINI

www.automat-london.com

L'ANIMA The City

L'ANIMA
1 Snowden Street
LONDON
EC2A 2DQ    0207 422 7000

To celebrate my 30 (something) birthday, my boyfriend Joe chose to take me back to my roots and treat me to supper at one of Londons most fabulous Italian restaurants L'ANIMA. Its been on our short list for so long but we were waiting an occasion to make us venture into the centre of London's financial district and I love the fact that we used my birthday, as I had no guilt what so ever in my over indulgence. Let me tell you it was worth those extra few stops on the tube and did not fail to to live up to my expectations. L'anima directly translate as 'Soul' And this is definatly the place that makes the soul feel good.

A regular on BBC's  Masterchef, head chef and proprietor Francesco Mazzei has divised a menu that brings the unique taste of each region in Italy together. Eating the Octopus A La Plancha which is featured as part of the tasting menu took me right back to the days of eating at my Nonna Maria's in San Savero.

The Rabbit Siciliana was another of the little plates of heaven that can be found on the tasting menu, and Joe's comment after this course was ' I definatly can say that Rabbit is one of my favourite meat dishes of all time!' This dish was so unbelieveable that I could have eaten it five times over as well as the Ricotta Tortelli with black truffle shavings. MMmmmmmmmmmm!!!!

The tasting menu features five key dishes from the a la carte menu and is more then reasonable at £50 per head. So no need to bother deliberating on how you are going to order off such an sublime menu. Now I am supposed to be a bit more grown up as i'm in my 'thirties', I asked the restaurants Sommelier Alessandro Bianchini for some gentle advise on which wine would best accompany our dishes. His recommendation was a corker as was the class he displayed overlooking my giggling at still feeling like a kid acting beyond my years!

The main gist of this establishment is that despite being a vast, clean cut space that caters for a lot of the citys fine diners, it has the ability to make you feel relaxed and unstuffy whatever the occasion.
You feel at ease with cool live music being gently played as a welcome backdrop. A romantic meal here is just as welcome as a business lunch and the staff have the abilty to make you feel special and well attended to. Well, what else would you expect from the Italians??? ( Do I sound patriotic ?? )

 If you fancy splashing the cash, you can hire the Private dining room that is situated in the restaurants award winning wine celler (above)

A definate must for the city, and even if you only fancy a nibble. L'anima also welcomes you to their in house bar for a selection of bar snacks and a cocktail or two .

 Try the Espresso Martini.... THE BEST I'VE EVER HAD.... I PROMISE!!! 

FAVORITE DISH

             

STRACCIATELLA &RICOTTA TORTELLI, BROWN BUTTER & NORCIA BLACK TRUFFLE

TRY

THE ESPRESSO MARTINI

www.lanima.co.uk