One Trick Pony captures Melbourne's palomino glow

There's something about the building at the corner of Newry Street and Saint George's Road South – its wedge shape, the cerulean blue of its outer tiling, the roundabout it overlooks – that encapsulates the charm of Fitzroy North.

Once a neighbourhood pub, it was turned into townhouses in 2017, a common fate for inner-city hotels, which are often worth more as residential real estate than communal gathering spots. But a small corner of the building, the tip of the triangle, has now been reclaimed for our drinking and dining pleasure.

One Trick Pony is an odd name for a restaurant, given the negative connotations of the phrase, but I'm glad to say that this filly has quite a few tricks in her repertoire, and all of them are pretty impressive.

Downstairs is a wine bar and shop, overseen by Ben Skipper, with a wine cellar underneath it and bench seating outside.

Up a narrow staircase is a small but light-filled dining room and adjoining kitchen helmed by chef Chris Terlikar, who is best known for his Texas-style barbecue at Bluebonnet in Brunswick East. (Bluebonnet took up residence in this same building for a spell back in 2016, when its original location in Collingwood was ravaged by fire.)

The white-walled room is framed by windows on two of its three sides, creating a bright and airy feel despite its small size. The walls are punctuated with colourful paintings by Joe Terlikar, the chef's brother, of people and landmarks around Fitzroy North.

When the sun goes down – an event that bathes the room in that magical, golden Melbourne light – the restaurant becomes immediately intimate, a little glowing box of a space.

One Trick Pony is Terlikar's return to non-barbecue cookery, the chef having worked in high-end kitchens in London, Vancouver and New York prior to getting the brisket bug.

The only nod to the American South on the menu here is an entree of buttermilk skillet biscuits served with stracciatella and herb oil ($15), which are a tad too salty but otherwise fantastic. (Honestly, let this be the next great American food trend in Melbourne. My life has way too few flaky, layered Southern biscuits in it and, until now, I've had to rely on bribing my sister to make them for me to scratch the itch.)

Terlikar's cooking here is deceptively simple, the kind of food that feels effortless precisely because of the thought and effort that have gone into it.

Already a customer favourite is the cured trout, mixed with creme fraiche and piped into a crispy roll of kataifi pastry ($12), then daubed at both ends with trout roe – like a tiny, creamy, fishy cannoli.

There's a plate of extremely well-crafted house-made salami and cured wild boar ($26) and a steaky beef heart ($12) that's skewered and grilled and served with a bright salsa verde.

Spring vegetables seem to be a beloved muse for Terlikar: the most memorable dishes I had were a celebration of the season. Asparagus with smoked tomato hollandaise ($22) was classic and lovely, while a Murray cod over broad beans with beurre blanc ($42) was a study in lightness and balance, the fish cooked to a gorgeous crisp.

For dessert, cheese is your only choice: either you opt for a cheese plate ($14 for one cheese or $45 for three) or you indulge in a slice of Basque cheesecake ($16), all creamy and burnt and wonderful.

On the nights I've dined here, service has been provided almost exclusively by manager Simon George-Gamlyn, despite the dining room being full; he acts as maitre d', server to every table, and bartender by way of a bar cart he rolls around the room to mix drinks table-side.

It's a lot for one person to manage, even though George-Gamlyn is a charming and theatrical presence. The one thing he's not managing solo is wine and beer service, which is almost a self-service endeavour: you must head back down the stairs, choose a bottle from the wine shop – with Skipper's expert guidance – and bring it back up to drink (you pay retail cost, plus $25 corkage).

One Trick Pony is a neighbourhood restaurant that nonetheless feels special enough for a celebration or date night, a place where you can taste the energy of the chef coming back in the guise of fine dining that stops just short of pretension or preciousness. If that's the only charm Terlikar is trying to conjure with this project, well, it's a pretty good trick.

Vibe: A sunny nook of a restaurant, like being in a friend's vintage loft

Go-to dish: Murray cod with broad beans (pictured, though the fish dish changes daily)

Drinks: 150-bottle wine shop downstairs; classic cocktails are mixed table-side

Cost: About $120 for two, excluding drinks

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine