I was asked recently what my absolute go-to comfort food is. The answer was a no-brainer – roast chicken.

Though it fulfils every part of the full-belly, happy-heart brief we yearn for from food, I don’t often order it out. I want to eat something I can’t do better at home, and nothing can quite replicate a roast cooked by someone you love.

Nevertheless chef RJ Lines’ (Glebe Point Diner) wood-roasted Thirlmere chicken at Summer Hill’s One Penny Red is roasted beautifully. Glistening skin, pinkish just-cooked flesh sits in a ladle of textured bread sauce with a side of brussels sprouts fried in duck fat for good measure. It would be worth breaking my rule for if only the accompanying jus wasn’t so watered down.

One Penny Red opened three years ago in a stunning heritage-listed former Summer Hill Post Office. The name is a reference to a British stamp to pay tribute to the building. The renovation took two years and the result is a homely foyer, dimly lit bar upstairs and a smart-casual downstairs dining space of warm floorboards and dark bistro furnishings.

Waitstaff are self-assured, while co-owner David Murphy’s wine expertise is on full show. His list is accessible and adventurous. You can grab a tipple and snack upstairs at Vernon’s Bar, but downstairs is where Lines opens the envelope of contemporary cuisine.

Grilled sardine fillets, tomato, parsley and garlic cream on rye crisp bread make for an ideal amuse-bouche. Jerusalem artichoke chips crown a grass-fed beef tartare given citrus finger lime exclamations with each bite, then the twang of fermented cabbage brings balance to rich, tamarind-glazed and smoked pork neck stuffed with morcilla. A slice of lemonade fruit and blueberry tart topped with vanilla bean ice cream puts a solid stamp on the evening.