Hector’s Deli

A cult Richmond sandwich shop's second outpost, turning out five hot and five cold sangas plus rotating roast specials from a converted Victorian-era bakery on Coventry Street.

Sandwiches are treated like serious business at this South Melbourne branch of a Richmond original. The team gutted an old heritage bakery on Coventry Street, keeping the textured glass windows out front and adding concrete, steel and blonde timber inside. Five fresh and five hot sangas anchor the menu, alongside weekly specials that might mean porchetta, roast beef or meatballs, plus Axil coffee and Yarra Valley sodas to wash it down.

This is the second Melbourne outpost for a sandwich shop that built a following in Richmond, and South Melbourne locals have taken to it just as fast. The building itself has history — once a working bakery, its Victorian frontage and original textured glass remain intact, while the inside has been stripped back to a minimalist, open-plan space with a long service counter, a handful of seats, and street-side spots for eating al fresco. At the rear, an open kitchen turns out the specials, where chefs with backgrounds at Embla and Etta spend their mornings curing and pickling for the following week's roasts. The core menu sticks to five cold and five hot sandwiches, including the HCT (mortadella, mozzarella, provolone and tomato chutney), a molten mushroom melt, and a chicken schnitzel sanga stacked with tarragon butter and house pickle mayo on a steamed potato bun. Rotating specials might bring porchetta, roast beef or meatballs into the mix, while fresh options lean on Turkish sourdough baked in collaboration with Flywheel Bakery. Drinks are kept simple too — Axil Coffee Roasters handles the espresso, and a few Yarra Valley sodas from Yumbo Soda Co round out the fridge. There's no table service and no bookings; you queue, order at the counter, and either grab a stool inside or head out to eat on Coventry Street. Weekend mornings draw a proper line, so aim for a weekday lunch if you'd rather skip the wait.

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