The 23 best pies in Australia

Order the: Butter chicken pie

What began as a humble pie shop in founder Hayden Bridger’s favourite family holiday spot on NSW’s South Coast has grown into a cult-favourite bakery, now selling thousands of pies daily. Each gourmet pastry is filled to the brim with local ingredients, including beef from South Ulladulla meat market and chicken from Saint Georges Basin, while the golden butter puff pastry is rolled with premium Pepe Saya butter. Hayden’s daily line-up features 16 core pies, including a crowd-favourite butter chicken number served with mint yoghurt. The meat is marinated overnight in yogurt and tomato, roasted tandoori style and tossed through a creamy butter chicken sauce. Keep an eye out for the rotating specials, with fancy fillings like Peking duck, crocodile and cheeseburger.

Where: Shop 2/166 Princes Hwy, Ulladulla, NSW

Order the: Lamb and rosemary pie

If you’ve got a hankering for a good old-fashioned Aussie pie, then plan to make a pit stop at Pie in the Sky on your next NSW road trip. These guys have been in the biz for more than 30 years, so they know what’s up. Try to get your hands on the lamb, honey, mint and rosemary number, which is packed with generous chunks of meat and tastes just like your favourite weeknight dinner in pie form.

Where: 1296 Pacific Hwy, Cowan, NSW

Order: Beef brisket, red wine and vegetable pie

The queue often stretches around the corner at Bourke Street, and there’s only room for a few gluteus maximi at the window tables, but hell, it’s worth it. Cross your fingers that they haven’t sold out of their rich and earthy beef brisket with red wine and mushrooms. You can taste each of the individual components; the pastry lid is crisp and flaky, and you can pick up a sweet treat (shout out to the chocolate ganache tart) for the way home too.

Where: Multiple locations in Sydney, NSW

Order the: Beef and Burgundy pie

The beloved Northern Beaches' little mom-and-pop pie store has a big upper hand in Sydney's pie wars: Collaroy Beach. Once you pick your pie from the small shopfront with the large line out front, cross Pittwater Road and march down Anzac Avenue and enjoy it by the seaside. The Upper Crust’s signature beef pie is grand stuff, and that thick Burgundy sauce the beef cheek is swimming in is winey perfection. Bonus points for manageability, too: the pie is small enough to hold, and the no-fuss, crisp, not-too-flaky shell makes for quick, easy, beach eating.

Where: 1003 Pittwater Rd, Collaroy, NSW

Order the: Premium minced steak

You’re bound to strike gold at Goldies Bakery (formerly Goldsteins). This award-winning, family-owned icon has grown to nine locations across the Gold Coast since its humble beginnings back in 1944. Some of their secret recipes haven’t changed since day dot, with the flaky pastry rolled from scratch, filled with real Australian meat and baked fresh daily at their Helensvale Bakehouse. Goldies’ premium minced steak pie – filled with lean beef, golden onions, their signature seasoning and a rich, velvety gravy – is the best-seller across all stores. However, purists can also branch out into traditional combos pairing steak with smoky bacon, melted cheese, umami-rich mushrooms, tender chunks of kidney or Goldies’ signature curry blend. Best of all? You can order a side of mushy peas, potato mash or gravy for the ultimate feast.

Where: Nine locations across the Gold Coast

Order the: Classic mince pie

Eyes of the pies! This beloved regional bakery on Queensland’s Bundaberg coast won the 2025 Official Great Aussie Pie Competition, snagging the top spot for its classic mince pie. But this isn’t the first time the locally-owned bakehouse – which opened its first outlet in Moore Park Beach in 2021 and now boasts locations in Innes Park and Burnett Heads – has taken out the top gong. Paradise Bakehouse claimed the title of Australia’s Best Plain Meat Pie in 2023, and its dancing scallop pie won Best Gourmet Pie in 2021. If a classic mince feels too safe, their menu also features pies with creamy scallops, curried veggies, steak and kidney, and butter chicken.

Where: Moore Park Beach, Innes Park & Burnett Heads, QLD

Order the: Bush kangaroo pie

Port Douglas’ original bakery has been cranking out steaming-hot pies for more than 50 years, with everything made from scratch daily. It’s the perfect pit stop en route to the Great Barrier Reef or Daintree Rainforest, with more than 30 different fillings to choose from. If you’re up for it, the bush kangaroo pie is a real winner, having nabbed the title of Best Game Meat Pie at the Official Great Aussie Pie Competition in 2019. Other adventurous hits include a crocodile laksa pie and the signature seafood pie, loaded with barramundi, prawns and scallops.

Where: 9/34 Grant St, Port Douglas, QLD

Order the: Tradie pie (steak, bacon, cheese, tomato, egg)

This national treasure has landmark status in the Sunshine State, having been announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland in 2009. Today, Yatala sells more than 3,500 pies a day, with each and every one baked from scratch in traditional ceramic pie ovens. It’s hard to pick a winner here, so why not just go all in with the ‘tradie pie’, featuring steak, bacon, cheese, tomato and egg? A side of mushy peas and gravy is non-negotiable.

Where: 48 Old Pacific Hwy, Yatala, QLD

Order the: Curried camel pie

No trip to Outback Queensland is complete without demolishing one of Birdsville Bakery’s legendary curried camel pies. This square-shaped pastry has become an icon of the tiny, remote town ever since it was created by local legend, the late Robert ‘Dusty’ Miller, who founded the bakery around 20 years ago. At its peak, the bakery dished out a whopping 12,000 pies over one weekend during the annual Birdsville Races. If camel is a little too adventurous, Birdsville Bakery also makes a ripper steak and pepper pie, plus a tasty spinach and feta roll for the vegos.

Where: 25 Billabong Blvd, Birdsville, QLD

Order the: Big Mac and cheese pie

It’s hard to wrap your mouth around the loaded pies at Blackbutt. They don’t take things too seriously here, but they also don’t do things half-heartedly. Expect to see the likes of a Big Mac, nachos or lasagne stuffed reimagined in pie form, with each achieving a near-perfect ratio of meat, gravy and crust.

Where: 34 Coulson St, Blackbutt, QLD

Order the: Pie floater

By looks alone, the pie floater isn’t exactly appealing. But don't let appearances fool you: this iconic South Australian delicacy – consisting of a meat pie, typically beef, submerged upside-down in a bowl of thick, mushy green pea soup – is a culinary rite of passage. For those keen to try one, our top recommendation is Adelaide’s 24-hour Bakery on O’Connell. Here, the pie’s umami-rich meat filling is brightened by subtle pops of sweetness from the peas and tomato sauce, with a tangy hit of vinegar. It’s pure comfort food in a bowl.

Where: 128-130 O'Connell St, North Adelaide, SA

Order the: Plain mince pie

Boogie on down to this bright yellow bakery that claims bragging rights to the ‘best plain meat pie’ in Australia’s 2023 Best Pie and Pastie Competition. It’s a tasty number filled with a combo of mince and slow-cooked beef chunks, but be warned, these pies fly out the door, so get there early.

Where: Belair & North Plympton, SA

Order the: Slow-cooked BBQ pork and jalapeños pie

It’s worth trekking to Mt Barker Country Bakery for a bite of their legendary, crisp-crusted pies. These guys are no strangers to a trophy or two, having taken out first place for their slow-cooked barbecue pie in the Official Great Aussie Meat Pie Competition in 2022 and for their beef bourguignon pie in 2025. If you can stomach a second pie, it’s worth also trying the truffle, chicken and mushroom; kangaroo and chorizo; or chicken, cranberry and camembert.

Where: 18 Mondurup St, Mount Barker, WA

Order the: Chunky steak pie

With four locations across Western Australia, Pinjarra Bakery might just be the state’s best pie pit stop (wow, that has a nice ring to it). This family-run business has been baking up award-winning pies for almost 30 years, racking up more than 700 state and national awards in its time. Pinjarra’s proudest claim to fame is winning the Best Meat Pie category at the Official Great Aussie Pie Competition in 2019 and 2021. We recommend trying the award-winning ‘Bob’s Your Uncle – Chunky Pepper Steak’ pie, which is packed with tender chunks of prime steak, ground beef and a bold, peppery flavour.

Where: Pinjara, Maddington, Port Kennedy & Waroona, WA

Order the: Stirling Ranges Angus steak pie

This is easily one of Australia’s most prized bakeries, having racked up more than 1,000 awards over the last 20 years. Their prize-winning parcels are baked from scratch every morning using local WA flour and meats. Follow the crowds and order the Stirling Ranges Angus steak pie, which won the title of ‘Best of the West’ in the 2023 WA Baking Industry Awards.

Where: Myalup, Gilberts, Falcon, West Pinjarra Northbound & West Pinjarra Southbound, WA

Order the: Scallop and wakame pie

Scallop pies might as well be Tasmania’s unofficial national dish, and the one from Jackman & McRoss is as good as it gets in Australia. The pastry is light and crisp, and encases five or six juicy scallops bathed in a creamy curried wakame sauce. A side of homemade ketchup seals the deal. The beloved bakery also makes a wild wallaby, native pepper and blackberry pie, which is just as popular as its comforting lamb, potato and rosemary counterpart.

Where: Battery Point & New Town, TAS

Order the: Palak paneer pie

Vegos, this one’s for you. Head to Canberra’s homegrown Three Mills Bakery (with four stores across the capital) for a taste of their ripper palak paneer pie, featuring a flaky pie shell filled with earthy spinach, chunky potatoes, sweet paneer and slow-cooked lentils. You can also get their pies in family-sized form to take home and reheat – the kids will thank you later.

Where: Fyshwick, Belconnen, Woden & Majura Park, ACT