The masterful take on the humble tuna melt at Shooter McGavin’s – a casual foray by Paul Butera, Liam Lowther and Josh McAsey – sees fluffy tuna and yellow American cheddar get heated under a veil of electric tartare and toasted rye. While the Nashville fried chicken between a biscuit bun (a sweet hybrid between scone and bap roll) is a hole-in-one. 117 Grattan St, Carlton; shootermcgavins.com.au.

Italian Maccas wannabe. Late night boozer. Chef Emma Dawson’s restaurant is many things to the Gertrude St clique. There’s something for pasta twirlers and sanger lovers alike. The Originario take on the fast food fave summons nostalgia. Fried Bologna, stretchy mozzarella, pickles and olives in a squishy potato bun – a grownup cheeseburger in all its glory. 15 Gertrude St, Fitzroy; roccosbologna.com.

Torquay immortalised the deli meat of the moment in shopform in 2021. While there’s welcome fuss over the newly opened pasta bar, let’s hear it for the sandwich classic. Sheets of wispy fine meat, folded onto a crusty white roll with fluffy stracciatella and a smattering of pistachios. Or try all the flavours of the deli counter rainbow with the Continental. Shop 8/4–6 Gilbert St, Torquay; mortadeli.com.au.

One does not stumble into Hector’s at lunch. You join the queue. Maybe go at 11.30am to be safe – so you don’t miss the HCT; a hot mess of provolone, mortadella and salami. Or the gooey tuna melt deserving of its own subscription service. Or the crumbed chicken fillet so fat those cushy potato buns don’t offer enough coverage. Various locations; hectorsdeli.com.au.

You can thank two homesick chefs for this Indonesian themed sandwich play. Ex-Navi chef Barry Susanto and mate Erwin Chandra have been whacking the archipelago’s fierce and fragrant flavours between sliced bread since 2021. Jakarta’s famed street food chicken taliwang is a must: spice marinated, pressure cooked then thrown over the grill for a barbecued char. 13 Little Collins Street, Melbourne CBD 12 Risley Street, Richmond; warkop.com.au.