Your favorite new late-night spot arrived yesterday, courtesy of dream team Chris Schlesinger and Dave Cagle. The Automatic, located in the former Atasca space at 50 Hampshire St. in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, is open to the public again tonight (Saturday, November 19) for drinks from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. On Monday, dinner launches. Lunch will follow soon.
As previously reported, this project — meant to be a “fun neighborhood place” — is the convergence of some beloved bits of Cambridge cocktail and food history. Schlesinger is, among other things, the founder of now-defunct-but-soon-to-reopen-under-new-ownership East Coast Grill, while Cagle’s background includes the storied B-Side Lounge, which was located right down the street and closed at the end of 2008. (Lord Hobo is now open in its space.) You’ve also seen Cagle at Green Street, Trina’s Starlite Lounge, Deep Ellum, and beyond.
Back in the day, Schlesinger would hang around B-Side Lounge (he owned the building) and Cagle would hang around East Coast Grill (he met his wife there.) The two have been musing about opening a place together for years, Cagle previously told Eater. Now it’s finally a reality — “the kind of spot we want to hang out at on our days off,” Cagle said. That means classic cocktails, turntables, an all-star staff, and a booze-friendly food menu packed with dishes such as the Frito pie from hell (with Inner Beauty hot sauce, of course), a variety of grilled things on skewers, sandwiches, wings, and more.
Cocktails include the aforementioned mudslide, described simply as “frozen awesomeness”; a raspberry cosmo (“nothing but class”); sex on the beach (“vodka, juices and dreams”); and other fun classics and more.
Currently, The Automatic is open from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. six days a week (closed Sundays), with dinner served until 10:30 p.m. and late-night bites available until 11:30 p.m. on weekdays and 12:30 a.m. on weekends.
- The Automatic Coverage [EBOS]
- The Automatic [Official Site]
