Chef Clayton Wells's A1 Canteen arrives in Chippendale

Chefs routinely spend a lifetime trying to avoid breakfast service, so what's a kitchen maestro from a two-hatted Sydney gastro temple doing serving boiled and scrambled eggs?

"I love cooking breakfast, I know a lot of chefs don't want to even think about it," says Automata's Clayton Wells, who officially opens A1 Canteen on Wednesday, June 20.

And why did Wells cross Kensington Street to open a casual eatery? Because he felt the Chippendale precinct, while rich in restaurants, wasn't quite as bountiful in everyday grub.

He's also crossed the road with a few road-tested ideas.

Wells' stint operating the brunch-driven Auto.Lab pop-up 18 months ago in the Silvereye restaurant site helped fine-tune the eggs benedict with blood cake and an open omelette stuffed with shallots, confit garlic and bonito flakes.

Both dishes are on the A1 breakfast menu, along with an early-riser sweet tooth's dream: a doughnut with mandarin curd and clotted cream.

Wells says he has "simple tastes" when it comes to breakfast.

Really? Lunch lurches from cute sandwiches to hot smoked trout with green sauce and capers, while dinner jumps from spiced spatchcock with buttermilk dressing to roasted pork neck with celeriac remoulade.

Wells has reunited with Automata designer Matt Darwon on the A1 interior, and tapped his own staff for local research.

"Absolutely staff felt [there was a market for it], and also from other local businesses. I just wanted it to be a comfortable place for people to come."

Open daily breakfast and lunch; Tue-Sat dinner.

A1 Canteen, ground floor, 2-10 Kensington Street, Chippendale, a1canteen.com.au.