The website's consensus reads: "A wistful ode to a bygone era, The Automat will make viewers nostalgic for America's past – and hungry for a meal at the titular diner.

"[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 79 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

[9] The Hollywood Reporter's Stephen Farber wrote, "Hurwitz supplements the talking heads with tasty archival footage and sharp graphics.

"[10] Variety's Owen Gleiberman said the film "taps into so many resonant aspects of what America used to be that to watch it is to be drawn into an enchanting and wistfully profound time-tripping reverie.

"[12] The New Yorker's Richard Brody said the best part of the film was "its blend of social and intellectual history with its anecdotal history—its evocation of the links between intention, practice, and experience; its depiction of a largely lost aesthetic of daily life.