Roughly 18 months after opening the first Hero Sandwich in Auckland, Huri Neill and Jackson O’Regan landed in the backstreets of Cremorne, in October 2018.

The shop is in a small unit tucked between two car garages on Green Street. It’s a simple space, with little more than a service counter and a handful of potted plants.

Illustrations of sandwiches by Melbourne artist Hugo Mathias decorate the ceiling, and white subway tiles line the walls.

The sandwiches are made with a light, soft, and slightly sweet bespoke buttermilk bread from local bakers Dench. There’s also coffee from Coffee Supreme , slices and pastries from Dench, and juices from Almighty.

Each sandwich is brimming with high-quality ingredients and packed with flavour. And unlike some other sandwiches served this big, you get the sense they’re relatively nutritious, too.

The standout sandwiches are The Ralph, a gochujang (fermented Korean chilli paste) chicken sub with cucumber, pickled ginger, cucumber raita and red cabbage; the Philly Cheesesteak, served with butter onions, jalapeno and cheddar; and The Dick, a gong bao (AKA kung pao) pork sub with plenty of crunch and spice thanks to a generous serving of pickled cabbage, peanuts, sprouts and Sriracha mayo.

For the gluten intolerant, there’s also a selection of salads and chia puddings, but the offering is pretty tight.