The humble meat pie is not only an Australian staple, but an Australian icon. From major cities to Outback country towns, local bakeries can be found in almost every neighbourhood across Australia. Start with the classic beef pie and work your way to more modern varieties. The creamy scallop pie, the innovative eggs Benedict pie and even tasty morsels that include emu and kangaroo.
From bakers to butchers, there are so many friendly locals ready to welcome visitors into Australia’s most beautiful destinations. Whether it’s a day trip or a long weekend away, these are some of the best gourmet meat pies in each state worth stopping in to sample. Or, in our opinion, worth planning a whole trip around!
With three Elaines Gourmet Pie Cafe’s across Canberra, located in Fyshwick, Dickson, and Phillip it’s easy for visitors to Australia’s capital to find one during a visit. What sets Elaine’s pies apart from others is their range and use of tender, slow cooked pieces of meat. Try the traditional favourites like chunky steak and pepper steak. With a pie for everyone, Elaine’s offers unique iterations including a tuna mornay and a macaroni, bacon and shallot pie. Due to their size, they are best eaten with a knife and fork!
Nick and Louise Smith started Crust Bakery and Café at the Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets in 2010, with over 50 years of experience between them. There are 12 different pies to choose from each day with pastry cooked to perfection. Sample Chickpea & Curry, Spinach & Feta, or Lamb, Rosemary & Shiraz.
The Gumnut Patisserie with operations in Mittagong, Bowral and Berrima, is unlike any other in the area with owners Tracy and Vicki Nickl combining tradition and pride to serve the perfect pie every time. It’s recommended visitors arrive early. Even the locals get up early on weekends to avoid missing out, with their shelves regularly empty by early afternoon. The menu winner is their ‘Eden Pie’. It’s made with beef braised overnight in a specialty beer from the local EDEN brewery, mixed with Smokey BBQ sauce. And some veg, scoop into a savoury short pastry, and top off with real butter puff pastry. This pie has won countless awards.
At the intersection of the Illawarra Highway and Jamberoo Mountain Road is the famous Robertson Pie Shop, a family run business since 1961. Grab a chicken, camembert and leek or shepherd’s pie. Follow your main course with an apple turnover for dessert and have no regrets about your culinary adventures.
A NSW road trip staple is a stop at Heatherbrae’s Pies. Heatherbrae’s Pies have taken the humble Aussie meat pie and sausage roll and launched them into the modern era of convenience food. The chefs take pride in producing premium quality foods, using the freshest and best quality produce for each pie.
Glenorie Bakery Café, just 45 minutes from Sydney’s CBD, is identifiable by the big old truck parked out front with a giant pie on the back of it. The family-run business churns out over 300 freshly baked goods every morning! It is known by locals and out-of-towners for its extensive range of meat pies and decadent eclairs. Worth a trip for the interiors alone, the vibe inside is old school industrial meets Country Western.
You can’t travel to the heart of Australia without visiting ‘The Bakery’ in Alice Springs. Everything is baked from scratch and they pride themselves on making quality products using quality ingredients. The pastry is made from real butter. The pies are made fresh from top quality, locally sourced meats and vegetables – exactly how a good pie should be! They like to keep things fresh, and a little different from the normal bakery fare, so depending on the day travellers might even see a camel or kangaroo pie on the menu!
The team at Tommo’s Pies, Darwin, know that a true blue Aussie understands the majesties of the humble pie – it’s heaven in every bite! Tommo’s began making pies back in the seventies and are still going strong today. They keep it simple with the classics and a few gourmet varieties. There’s Thai chicken curry and a vegan Mexican chilli bean pie, and a regular ‘pie of the month’ special flavour. Situated perfectly just off the Stuart Highway, it’s the perfect spot to either start or end your Top End adventures!
Yatala Pies has been a Queensland landmark for more than 130 years! No drive past Yatala (a 30 minute drive out of Brisbane) can be done without stopping in for one of these famous pies. Selling a whopping 3,500 pies a day, they do a range of fantastic savoury and sweet pies. Despite the line up that’s usually out the door, people come from everywhere just to get a taste of one of these bad boys!
Jochheims Pies have even caught the attention of Aussie celeb Hugh Jackman while he was filming the movie Australia in Bowen! Jochheims is a Bowen institution, known for its quality ingredients and perfect crusts. People can order a Jackman Hunky Beef Pie. Or, try the creamy prawn pie, made with locally-caught seafood.
The legendary Old Fernvale Bakery is an award winning bakery and cafe, established for more than three decades. Their baking team are the winners of hundreds of national pie and baking awards. With over 100 different flavours of pies including emu, crocodile, camel and kangaroo – pies can’t get more Aussie than that!
A visit to Stanthorpe isn’t complete without grabbing a slice of Sutton’s mouth-watering apple pie. Each pie is handmade with no processed products. They use apples grown on the property during the months of February to May. Outside of this season they use freshly stored apples from local orchards located within 10kms of the café.
Port Elliot Bakery is located on the coastline between the towns of Victor Harbour and Middleton, approximately a 1 hour drive from Adelaide. The seaside shop has been a staple since 1860’s, and is known among locals as the best pies in South Australia. In summer there is usually a 25m queue to get in. Port Elliot’s also has ‘Pies of the Month’ which have recently featured Hawaiian Steak and Red Wine Mushroom pies.
Apex Bakery Barossa is an artisan bakery based in Tanunda of the Barossa Valley, and known state-wide as the Barossa’s original wood oven bake house. While visiting family-friendly Tanunda, guests can dabble in the small town culture with numerous parks and playgrounds. There are also picnic spots to explore with one of their Venison Ragù pies in hand.
Tasmania is famous for its Scallop pies, so if you are looking for the best head to Blue Edge Bakery, a family owned bakery in Bicheno, offering freshly baked delights daily and the winners of Tasmania’s ‘Best Scallop Pie’ award 2019. Visit for a range of delicious baked goods and great coffee. It provides a perfect environment for families, locals and travellers alike.
At the centre of the newly proclaimed Heritage Highway between Launceston and Hobart, Ross is one of Tasmanian’s early garrison towns. The Ross village Bakery is Ross’ original bakery and has been operating on the site for over 100 years. The wood-fired oven is a unique piece of colonial history, a traditional semi-scotch brick “3 bag oven,” with the capacity to bake 300 loaves at a time. For a modern twist and in interest of keen anime fans, the bakery resembles the iconic bakery from the anime Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989).
Bridport, a north eastern seaside town, in Tasmania has a Scallop Fiesta every year in August. The festival has a number of stallholders ready to take a crack at Tasmania’s iconic Scallop pie.
In 2019 Kyneton’s Country Cob Bakery took The Baking Association of Australia’s prize for best pie for their Caramelised Pork and Pepper Pie. Co-owner and head baker Ryan Khuan champions flavours from his home country Cambodia. He regularly spends months tweaking the flavours to suit Australians taste buds.
For most Colac is a town you pass by on a longer journey, however for those in the know it’s the home of a 1950’s time capsule called Hulm’s Bakery. The square pies are full of flavour, and despite the flaky pastry, hold their shape right until the end.
At Gladysdale Bakehouse and Tea Rooms baker Jason Rush uses grass-fed beef from farms up the road, and red wines from the surrounding Yarra Valley, to create the ultimate Beef Burgundy Pie. They even have frozen family-sized pies available to go.
Family-owned Pinjarra Bakery won best mince pie at last year’s national Great Aussie Pie Comp, where they walked away with fourteen gold, three silver and one bronze for their range of crowd-pleasing pies – what are you waiting for, try it yourself!
A favourite of Prince Harry’s is Bindoon Bakery, and although he went to try one of their famous banoffee eclair’s their pies are worth a royal visit too. From the classic pepper steak to their famous Moo and Blue (steak with a blue cheese centre) there is something for everyone.
In the town of Wyndham, surrounded by some of the Kimberley’s most spectacular landforms, brave visitors can try crocodile and barramundi pies at Croc Cafe Bakery.
Find places to camp during your meat pies road trip on our website.
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