Autograph Brasserie — Restaurant in Radnor Township

Autograph is a place one should definitely keep on the radar for those seeking a date night or higher class experience than your typical chain setting.

My significant other and I took a trip here early on a Monday evening for a early dinner, and arrived on a cold, pale sunned day into a warm and classy atmosphere. The foyer is very attractive, with level play and thoughtful lighting. Staff were friendly, and sharply dressed but not so much to feel overly luxurious.

We were led to a private booth in a corridor lined with several others. I quite enjoyed this layout, as it offered privacy, but without disconnecting those seated to the atmosphere of the restaurant. Seats were comfortable, and our server quickly arrived with water and menus in hand.

First order was drinks and the dinner rolls. Which both arrived faster than expected. A good note, as the bar here is very fast with drink arrivals. This may vary based on staff and level of patrons in the restaurant, but I was impressed non the less. The dinner rolls were hot from the oven, and came with a very fine whipped and salted butter, easily spreadable on the hot rolls. The rolls were very good, a balanced flavor for a dinner roll, not too yeasty, not too doughy, just right.

Main courses came next, with a second round of drinks, and that's when the real show began.

Autographs plating is quite remarkable for those used to your standard restaurant in a strip mall. One eats with eyes first, and they did not disappoint. My partner had ordered the short rib, and myself the strip steak, with added sauce trio.

The short rib was remarkable, tender and not dry, with a lovely array of fingerling potatoes roasted just right, and kale. This particular dish I found to be salt to taste for my own preference, my partner stated the salt level was ok. All in all, a very good choice, and with looks to boot.

The strip steak came out smothered in a mushroom and onion ragu. Smothered as a word seems to take away the very elegant presentation, but they were very generous with it's sauce. I had ordered mine medium rare. And that's what I was given. The flavor was worth the higher price tag. The ragu was noted to be mushroomy, but very well balanced. Steak texture was noted to be uniform, and seemed almost sous vide like. The sauce trio was a very fine addition, with the steak sauce and horseradish sauce standing tall. The chimichurri was good, but not wholly traditional as one might seek. Not a knock, just an observation.

Overall. I recommend this restaurant. Staff were friendly and quick. Food was pretty. Consistent. And full of flavor. And drinks were fast, well made, and decently priced for the style of restaurant. Keep this one on your list for a nicer night.

ALLERGEN NOTE*

My partner has a deadly peanut allergy. Staff were above and beyond in making sure we felt safe...

We couldn't wait to get back for another wonderful date night, despite the tiny rodent relation who graced us with his presence during dinner. Big mistake! The service was awful. We were early and sat at the bar while we waited for our table. Beautiful atmosphere. The service was terrible. We were ignored for about 15 minutes. By the time the bartender acknowledged us, the host came to show us to our table. Again, fabulous ambiance but service continued to lack in every area. We waited for 20 minutes to be acknowledged by our server. He was extremely busy flirty with the ladies several tables away. This continued throughout the evening. We had to ask three times for drinks. The menus weren't changed, unbeknownst to us, so when we were finally asked for our orders, I requested a soup that was no longer available. No apologies but an attitude as to why I'd have the nerve to order butternut squash soup. It appeared that the server was annoyed at my lack of clairvoyant abilities and not knowing the alternatives. I then asked since he just stared at us angrily, not providing the proper menus. I had to ask for alternatives which was only lobster bisque, of which I am quite the connesoir. Another mistake. It came out with two tiny pieces of SHRIMP, not LOBSTER. It was watery and stank of rotten fish. The taste was awful and it was as if they flavored it with pond scum from out back. To be fair, they took it off the bill. In between each course, we waited for an unrealistic amount of time. But the other ladies' table got continuous service. No one checked on us. No one asked how the night was going or how the food was. We came back for the experience and this was not a favorable one. We didn't get the sides with our entrees despite the server writing them down in front of us. Again, I had to ask several times for additional drinks. The server didn't get my steak temperature written down properly. There's a big difference between medium and coming out still mooing. Why complain at this point. The dessert had a stunning presentation but the flavor just wasn't there. Very generic taste. No flair! The only time throughout the meal our waiter was half way nice and smiled was when dropping off the bill, I suppose to increase his tip?! Unbelievable. On the way out, we took the time to explain the experience to whom we thought was the manager. What a joke. He didn't care. He did not accept the criticism and I'm sure from his 'just leave, you're done' attitude, not much will...

The ambiance here is great. It’s a beautiful establishment with different types of rooms. However our visit was less than ideal. We had a surprise family dinner here for our parents anniversary. There was 8 of us and it was a reservation made a few weeks in advance with a note that it was a celebration dinner. We were seated in the bar area which is very pretty and unique but was a little louder than we would have liked for the occasion. The next issue was the service. Although our waitress was very nice, it took about 30 minutes to receive our first round of drinks and to place our food order. The apps (salads, soups, bresd, and steak tartar) came quickly within about 10 mins but the entrees then took an additional 45 or so minutes to come out. A table that came well after us had their entrees out significantly faster than we did. The next big issue was special of the night. One of our guests ordered the 48oz Australian wagyu tomahawk which is by no means cheap. He asked for it to be medium rare but it came out blue rare so barely cooked. At first he wasn’t sure but after we all saw his steak we agreed it was very undercooked so he had to tell to the waiter who took it back to be brought to the correct temp. By the time it came back, the rest of the table had finished so he didn’t really want to sit and eat at that point with everyone done. In addition, the chef started to send out multiple dishes (soup, tuna tartar, brocolli and mac n cheese) on the house but by that point, everyone was full and no one wanted to eat any of it. Our reservation was at 7, we didn’t get drinks till about 730, apps until about 745, and entrees until about 830. And by the time the tomahawk was fixed and brought back out, it was about 9. We had also brought a cake but by the time all the food was boxed and it was brought out, it was 930 and we were ready to leave so we didn’t eat it. We were quite disappointed with everything, especially since this was a supposed to be a special evening for...