A chicken, lettuce and mayonnaise sandwich is one of my favourite things and the same goes for Clayton Wells, the chef behind A1 Canteen. I once asked him if he were a dish what would he be (yep, A-grade journalism, folks). Chicken sandwich was his reply. So when I spot it on the menu at the free and easy sibling to his fine-diner, Automata, I just have to order it.

Lightly toasted bread, tender fowl, shredded gem lettuce, Espelette pepper and preserved lemon mayo make for a brilliant chook sanga. But it won’t be the hit sandwich on the menu. That honour goes to the monumental muffuletta. It’s  got Sydney’s food groupies in a flap and rightly so. Like antipasti in a roll, the pressed sanga is crammed with olive salad, provolone, mortadella, salami and artichoke and sliced so you can marvel at the cross-section of layered ingredients.

A1 is more than a sandwich shop, though. It’s an all-day eatery that’s all about great food and some cracking drinks, too. On the ground floor of the 19th-century Old Rum Store opposite Automata, the spacious room where diners sit at banks of banquettes is flooded in natural light via floor-to ceiling windows. Front-of-house whiz Rachael Trewin keeps things fun and efficient, while Scott Eddington and Wells deliver food that puts many a finer-dining restaurant on notice.

Curried scrambled eggs with sausages from LP’s Quality Meats are a highlight at breakfast. At lunch the sandwich offering is bolstered by the likes of kingfish with green sauce and baked celeriac with mushroom caramel purée. Top produce continues to shine at dinner in dishes such as burrata with ginger-fermented cabbage and clams with anchovy butter, while berry cheesecake makes a memorable finish.

Wells has a knack of delivering what the city needs. He did it with Automata, and now A1 Canteen is giving us a home away from home, too. Bravo.