On the gravy train: We name Gold Coast’s five best pie shops

One of Australia’s few food icons, the humble pie is a fast food favourite: we’ve found five of the best by local bakers.

Meat pie photo downloaded from Shutterstock for Gold Coast Bulletin's Taste

One of Australia’s few food icons, the humble pie is a fast food favourite. But steer clear of the stale servo quick fix – Rose Sadleir has found five of the best by local bakers

QUINNEYS PIES

32 Taree Street, Burleigh Heads

Pie connoisseur Tony Quinn has gone to great lengths to ensure his pies are the best in the business.

After taste-testing everything the Gold Coast had to offer in the way of pastry, Tony’s dream to run his very own store wasn’t just a pie in the sky.

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Four years ago, the chef opened gourmet pie shop Quinneys Pies, with baked goods all handmade by Tony himself.

With more than 40 awards under his belt, Tony says the standards of his pies are hard to top.

“I see every ingredient that goes in and have a lot of control with how they are produced,” he says.

“I have based (my recipe) around what I would eat and what I would expect from a meat pie.

“They are packed full of flavour and cooked to perfection. I’m a perfectionist.”

Pumping out more than 3500 pies each week, Tony says the most popular flavours are panang chicken curry and pepper steak.

“The prawn korma and the beef and red wine also go off,” he says.

“I don’t cut corners – I cut all the onions and use fresh garlic and thyme – and I’m big on consistency and quality.”

Meat pies are as Aussie as it gets.

FOSTER’S BAKERY

1/2227 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach

You aren’t a true pie lover if you’ve never sampled one of Foster’s famous lamb and rosemary pies.

All the locals agree that owner Stuart Foster, who took over the business from his father eight years ago, has the magic touch when it comes to his pastry delights.

Stuart says it comes down to using fresh ingredients and finding the right balance of flavours.

“The lamb and rosemary pie was one we made as an Australia Day special five years ago and it was so popular we kept it on,” he says.

“It’s a bit like a Sunday roast in a pie. We use fresh rosemary and the leg of lamb is cooked slowly. The flavours go so well together.”

The 30-year-old bakery is also known for its chicken and vegetable mornay pies and the Ned Kelly special – that’s steak, bacon and cheese with a whole egg inside.

“Everything is made on site – fillings, pastry and all as well as the cakes and breads,” says Stuart.

“We don’t like to skimp on anything – we do it properly and take our time.”

UKI BAKERY

1454 Kyogle Road, Uki, NSW

Nothing beats the smell of a freshly baked homemade pie. Once glance at Uki Bakery’s glorious creations and you can tell they’re homemade with love.

The old-style country bakery is in the heart of the small village Uki, in northern NSW, but the pies are solf locally at Burger Me Fresh cafe in Bilinga.

Louise Adele bought the bakery five years ago and completely shook things up.

“Before they were buying pies in and reheating them, so I started making them myself,” Louise says.

“People came from nowhere. They are still shocked to hear we make them on the premises.”

From butter chicken to beef and Guinness or curried lentil, Uki Bakery offer more than 20 types of pies.

“Most people go for the standards like pepper or chunky steak,” says Louise.

“But we also have a massive range of vegetarian and even vegan pies.”

With no baking background, Louise says she made up her recipes as she went along.

“The pies are individually handmade. There’s no production line so it’s a massive labour intensive job,” she says.

“It’s home-cooking but on a commercial premises.”

Steak and cheese pie from the Kai Kitchen.

THE KAI KITCHEN

7 Waterway Drive, Coomera

We argue about the ownership of everything from Crowded House to Russell Crowe.

But New Zealanders are adamant the best meat pies are found on their side of the Tasman.

A slice of pie from Chala Chase’s The Kai Kitchen might just convert any Aussie.

The Kiwi cook and her father Grant are known for their mouth-watering pies.

“There are a lot of people who have never tried Kiwi-style pies and they are blown away,” says Chala.

“They often say, ‘this is the best pie we have ever had in Australia’.”

The biggest difference between an Aussie and a Kiwi pie you ask?

“The pastry – it’s soft and flaky,” says Chala.

“A lot of people tell us they didn’t realise Kiwi pies were a thing. You have to taste it to realise the difference.”

Before they opened their shop in Coomera last year, Chala and her dad spent months perfecting their pastry treats.

“We experimented with different techniques – I guess we are self-taught in that regard,” says Chala.

“We use real butter and real ingredients. We don’t go short on the meat – we aren’t into lots of gravy – so we fill our pies to the brim.”

There’s nothing to match a good meat pie.

COOLANGATTA PIE SHOP

50 Griffith Street, Coolangatta

Open 24 hours on weekends, satisfying your late night hunger pains is as easy as pie at this Coolangatta bakery.

Serving up everything from classic plain meat to a steak, bacon and cheese combo, the humble pie shop celebrated its 50th birthday last year.

Having worked at Coolangatta Pie Shop for 32 years, Irene Watt says they have kept their doors open from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon for as long as she can remember.

“I think it started because someone was baking here in the morning and people would walk past knocking on the door asking for a pie,” she says.

“It’s great for people who are going home from the pub but also we get a lot of workers who start late or finish early.”

Made on site, Irene says they bake pies daily and make the pastry from scratch.

“It makes a big difference,” she says.

“The shop has been here for 51 years so I guess we’re doing something right.”