Our Pick of the Best Meat Pies in Australia
Whether at the footy ground, on a road trip, during smoko or just to bring a little heat to a chilly winter afternoon, meat pies are an Australian staple. Here are 14 bakeries that craft a perfectly flaky pastry and get that meat-to-gravy ratio just right.
Queensland
Maple 3 Cafe, Maleny
Mark Hutchinson judges his pies with his nose – when a sweet, buttery aroma fills the kitchen it’s time to pull them out of the oven. That kind of skill comes from 42 years spent as a chef, 22 of them running Maple 3 Cafe in Maleny with his wife, Trish. There, they serve a combination minced and diced Killarney beef pie with a demi- glaze strained from tomatoes, beef bone and vegetable stock. The Hutchinsons produce hundreds of the crisp, golden-baked pucks each week, most of them demolished by the tourists and day-trippers who float through this gorgeous Sunshine Coast hinterland town. – Matt Shea
Otto’s Fresh Food Market, Townsville
Otto’s secret? Alicia Kroner. Kroner had retired when in 2013 Don Peel (co-owner of Otto’s) approached her to join the market’s bakery, recalling the meat pies she’d once cooked at a Townsville truck stop. Now Kroner recreates the magic at Otto’s, slamming out 2000 of the pies every week. Her exact recipe is hush-hush but locally farmed produce is key, with chunks of grass-fed lean rump steak stuffed into the crisp casing. Variations include beef with chilli, tomato or mushroom but the straight steak pie is the best seller and a favourite weekend treat for locals. – Matt Shea
Victoria
Country Cob Bakery, Kyneton
Chan Khun had never eaten a pie when he emigrated from Cambodia in 2004, “but I tried one and fell in love”. He’s gone on to scoop prestigious national awards for the pies at his Country Cob Bakery in the central Victorian goldrush town of Kyneton, including for his pepper steak pie. Made from local ingredients, it’s a rich, peppery thing of beauty encased in a puff pastry Khun makes from scratch. And if you feel like straying off the beef brief, the satay seafood pie is another winner. – Larissa Dubecki
The Gladysdale Bakehouse, Yarra Junction
The grass-fed beef is from Gateway Estate,
just up the road. The red wine is sourced from the surrounding Yarra Valley, one of Victoria’s premier wine-producing regions. As for the pastry, baker Jason Rush uses a combination
of classic pie bottom (“it’s like a shortcrust but not quite”) and puff pastry for the top. Together they make a beef burgundy pie worth travelling for. Rich with mushroom, bacon and onion, it’s
a hearty warmer in cold weather – and Rush occasionally goes off-piste and puts a pork-
belly burgundy pie on the specials list. – Larissa Dubecki
Northern Territory
Ben’s Bakehouse, Darwin
This is the pie of your sepia-tinted childhood memories: golden, meaty and satisfying. Structural integrity comes via the shortcrust base which is topped with a burnished puff and houses a thick filling that knows its place – in the pie, not on your shirt front. Go elsewhere if you’re seeking highfalutin fillings; Ben’s offers the likes of steak, steak and kidney, the highly recommended steak and onion and the eye- wateringly spicy chilli beef. The pastry is made in-house as are the breads, sandwiches and sweets beckoning from within. Much like the giant help-yourself sauce bottles on the counter, service here is old-fashioned – staff dispense just as many smiles and cheery comments as they do baked goods. – Sam McCue
Tasmania
Cygnet Woodfired Bakehouse, Cygnet
Cameron McKenzie only started up his woodfired oven in 2016 but his eatery, a scenic 50-minute drive south of Hobart, already has plenty of people talking. The bakery and small café serves an impressive range of pies that include meat sourced from N.C. Griggs, a fourth-generation butcher in nearby Huonville. Try the humble beef pie, a delicious mix of slow-roasted beef, garlic, onion, thyme, tomato and red- wine vinegar – flavoursome enough to enjoy without the housemade tomato relish (but even more so if you do). Other hits include the lamb pie with minced lamb, peas and mint and, for the less conventional, a wallaby pie, the meat braised with red wine, vegetable stock and mustard. – Jo Cook
Jackman & McRoss, Hobart
Co-owner and baker Justin McRoss uses butter puff pastry made with Tasmanian milled flour for the base and top of his premium pies. The slow-cooked King Island beef version starts with a classic mirepoix of onion, carrot and celery sweated in olive oil before beef shin, thyme and red wine are added. The King Island lamb, rosemary and potato offering is rich and satisfying with the juicy meat gravy contrasting with the leaf-like layers of the pastry. While you’ll find this outlet in historic Battery Point, they also have cafés in the CBD and just north of the city in New Town. – Jo Cook
SEE ALSO: Our Pick of the Best Chicken Schnitzels in Australia
NSW
Hominy Bakery, Katoomba
Hominy Bakery is one of the busiest shops on the busiest street in Katoomba, their pies a hit with both locals and travellers who make the spot their detour destination of choice. Kids will love the traditional minced beef pie (Hominy’s most popular) but connoisseurs may like to change it up with a brown rice, vegetable, ginger and soy pie – a killer combination of textures and tastes not usually found in pie form. Just make sure you save room for a few chocolate-chunk cookies afterwards (and an apple and rhubarb turnover, which is kind of a pie, right?). – Andrew Levins
Heritage Bakery, Milton
Almost every pie joint on the South Coast of NSW reckons they sell the best in the state but Heritage Bakery goes one step further, claiming to be Australia’s greatest bakery. After smashing one of their chunky steak pies, you may be inclined to agree with them. The pastry is satisfyingly buttery while the contents are slow-cooked to tender perfection. Go beyond the pie menu to be wowed even further: the roast pork and apple pastie is as good as it gets. – Andrew Levins
ACT
The Baker at Sutton and Crust
Nick and Louise Smith are synonymous with baking in the nation’s capital and fans throng to both Crust, their eatery at food hub Fyshwick Markets, or its country cousin, The Baker at Sutton, a 20-minute drive away and technically across the border in NSW. Quality meat and superb pastry have universal appeal – the latter is a modern take on a version Nick learned as an apprentice and what’s inside is never too peppery, salty or spicy. Gourmet palates are spoilt for choice with standouts such as lamb, rosemary and shiraz or steak, mushroom and Guinness, while vegans are also treated to two tasty options. – Diana Streak
WA
Mount Barker Country Bakery, Mount Barker
The baked goods at this Great Southern favourite are as beloved by regulars as they
are by road-trippers making the drive south.
In the morning, the committed start the day right with the Ned Kelly – a combination of mince, bacon, egg and cheese – while the daytime trade revolves around both classic (pepper steak) and cosmopolitan (Thai green chicken curry) pies. – Max Veenhuyzen
Bakers Food & Fuel, King River
No, that’s not a misprint: a fuel station 15 minutes inland from the regional centre of Albany bakes some of the West’s best pies. The reason? The owners also run Doctor Goodness Open Range Pork, with their chemical-free pork and nitrite-free bacon baked in pies along with rich gravy, apple and sage. – Max Veenhuyzen
South Australia
Clare Rise Bakery 1895, Clare
Don’t let the name fool you: the original stone cottage may date to 1895 but the current business has only been operational since 2013. Still, what Clare Rise Bakery lacks in tradition it makes up for in quality. Everything is baked daily using as much local produce as possible, right down to the stone-milled flour. The menu changes with the seasons but always includes a classic meat and potato pie. Filled with chunky steak, mince and gravy and topped with creamy swirls of mash and a golden crust of melted parmesan, it’s best enjoyed on the deck overlooking the vineyards. – Alexis Buxton-Collins
Stone Hut Bakery, Stone Hut
The tiny hamlet of Stone Hut, 40 minutes west of Port Pirie, is a favourite stop for hungry travellers, who put on the brakes to test whether this bakery lives up to the sign claiming the “best pies in the universe”. They’re not disappointed by the chunky, fortifying, deep-dish pies on offer here. Along with the standard options there’s a gourmet menu featuring some unexpected flavours (think crocodile and lemon pepper) but you’ll have to drive a long way before you find anything to rival the rich gaminess of the venison and Guinness pie. – Alexis Buxton-Collins
