AUTOMATIC
Automatic
For the people.
It's a bit of a chicken and egg scenario. What came first – Perth's obsession with Italian food, or Michael de Marte's restaurant opening crusade? Over the years, he's cut the ribbon at Nolita in Claremont and La Lola in Nedlands (and closed and reopened it, see here), along with the various Atomic café locations. Rest on his laurels, Mr de Marte does not. Those who've visited either of his restaurants will know the formula well – smart, fresh, well-presented Italian delivered by well-presented Italians. It's a winning combo and he's carried it across to his new venture, Automatic, on Mends Street in South Perth.
An article from the West Australian dated February 2016, discovered online, references the potential opening of Automatic in September of that year. Well, that didn't happen, for whatever reason, but it's clear that de Marte has been sitting on this idea for quite some time. With that knowledge, you can't help but feel like it's the jewel in his crown; Automatic certainly eschews the street trattoria vibe of La Lola and the muted formality of Nolita, feeling settled somewhere in the middle, a busy yet stylish eatery that's perfectly suited to the idiosyncrasies of dining out in 2019. Although not an imprint of either of his previous Italian spots, Automatic feels like it couldn't have come into existence without them having existed earlier.
The space, which is big but doesn't feel it by virtue of being divided into three "rooms", is minimalistic. The furniture is simple; white tables, wooden chairs, red upholstery. Timber on the walls and a colour palette of black, white and earthy butterscotch (with flashes of seagrass green or grey-blue tiling) lend a warm feel. Big arched windows fronting the street are lettered in gold with the venue's name. A "well, that's cool" moment is provided courtesy of the oversized extender lamps which obtrude out across the bar, throwing their light down on rows of Italian red. It's astute, not luxurious – but that's what the people want, right?
“Why would you eat anywhere else?”
The menu, typically for a de Marte venue, is presented on an A3 card. There's a handful of share/entrée dishes, 12 pizzas, 8 pastas/risottos and 4 mains – eggplant parmigiana, schnitzel, steak and fish. Everything is sub-$30. The usual indicators of quality Italian food are present – San Marzano tomatoes for pizza bases, San Daniele prosciutto on top. Pizza dough is handmade and risen for 78 hours. Much of the pasta is made in-house. It's BYO Tuesday-Thursday, no corkage. Why would you eat anywhere else? It's easy to see why, despite the size of the room, we had a thirty-minute wait on a table for 2 at 7.45pm on a Thursday. If only we’d made the earlier ferry.
To start, zucchini fritti ($11.5) – zucchini sticks fried in an airy tempura batter, tossed with salt and mint leaves, and served with a lemon aioli. Outrageous. These would give the most die-hard potato fan a bit of an existential crisis. They were delicious; zucchini reacts surprisingly well to the fryer, retaining its sturdiness and structure whilst gaining a chewy caramelly-ness. The crisp batter was perfect; it was barely there, just providing a salty crunch. The lemon aioli could have been taken up a notch flavour-wise, but was adequate when the zucchinis were such heroes anyway. I'll be insisting on this plate when I visit next.
“…it's hard to go wrong.”
No prizes for guessing what came on the San Daniele pizza ($26.5). The base was thin and crispy, Roman-style. It had proper burst-open blistered bits on the back and left that fine coating of flour on your fingers. When you assemble quality ingredients on top of a canvas like this, it's hard to go wrong. South Perth has now thrown its hat in the Very Good Pizza ring, joining places like Wembley, with Monsterella, and Cottesloe, with Canteen Pizza. Perth is fast becoming spoilt for choice in this particular genre of food.
A bowl of rigatoni with lamb-neck braised in tomato and white wine with carrots and herbs ($25.5) was good. The lamb was rich and pull-apart soft, properly meaty. The large rigatoni, although not house-made, were cooked well. The sauce was thin but tasty, with deep flavours from the braise – even the diced carrot took on a subtle sweetness. The plate came topped with a mess of grated parmy and chopped parsley. A solid bowl of pasta, perfect on a cold Perth night.
“…the kind of place that you always come back to”
There's a small wine list, predominantly Australian with a smattering of Italians. Nothing is going to break the bank. Cocktails are more like aperitifs; think aperol spritzes, Campari and Negronis. Service was fine, if a little distracted; de Marte himself was bussing tables which is always heart-warming to see – it's a labour of love. Extremely curiously, I was asked if I was ready to order whilst my colleague was using the bathroom. I have been trying to decide all week whether this was unbelievable obliviousness or innovative efficiency – I honestly don't know. It was rather bewildering. Please write in; I'd love to hear your thoughts.
To the extent that it isn't already, Automatic seems poised to become a dead-set hit; the kind of place that you always come back to because you know it's going to be good, and it always is. There's something for everyone, and it has a foot on either side of the casual/upmarket fence. Given his track record, you'd think it was only a matter of time before de Marte decides to venture out once more; but he'll be hard pressed to improve on what he's got right here.