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.