Melbourne Skydeck, previously called Eureka Tower, makes for a great day out in the city. Here's what you need to know to make the most of your experience at Melbourne Skydeck.
Victoria
13 of the best pies in regional Victoria
Love pies and prepared to travel across Victoria to sample some of the best? These pie shops have nailed the pastry-to-filling ratio and produce some of the best pies in regional Victoria.
Hot pies and country bakeries have been inseparable since Four ’N Twenties were invented by Bendigo Bakery more than 70 years ago, because it’s not just Melbourne’s best bakeries that know how to sling a good pie.
Since then, not much has changed, and the good news is that no matter which direction you go in Victoria, it’s harder to find a bad country bakery than a good one, and these regional bakeries are worth the drive.
So, if you're planning to hit the road in search of country Victoria’s flakiest pastry and that perfect ratio of meat to gravy, here's where to get a slice of regional Victoria's best pies (and some of the flavour combinations might surprise you).
13 of the best pies in regional Victoria
1. The Store Deans Marsh
1419 Birregurra-Deans Marsh Road, Deans Marsh
The old corner shop in Deans Marsh is a hot pie beacon for motorists cutting through the Otways hinterland on the back way to the Great Ocean Road.
Local restaurateur Kara Stewart says she often drives up the road for a home-baked pie at the Deans Marsh Store: “There are some days when you really feel like a pie, like after a big day of working in the garden,” she says. “That’s when we head to Deans Marsh for an old-school pie. They make them at the store and have great flavours like beef and red wine. They’re really worth the drive.”
2. Rolling Pin
12 Park Lane, Ocean Grove and 40 Hesse Street, Queenscliff
Pies taste even better after a brisk beach walk, so take your shoes off and build up an appetite before having a crack at the Rolling Pin’s award-winning jumbo chunky pie, a scrumptious combination of slow-cooked steak and beef mince with just-right pastry.
The brekky pie is also a winner, with bacon, egg, sausage, baked beans and more. Rolling Pin has bakeries in Queenscliff and Ocean Grove, giving you plenty of pre-pastry beach walk options such as Queenscliff’s Santa Casa or Ocean Grove’s beautiful main surf beach.
3. Gladysdale Bakehouse and Tea Rooms
2568 Warburton Highway, Yarra Junction
Using grass-fed beef from just up the road and red wine from the surrounding Yarra Valley, baker Jason Rush has come up with the ultimate beef burgundy pie, rich with mushroom, bacon and onion and topped with a crispy puff pastry.
4. Apollo Bay Bakery
125 Great Ocean Rd, Apollo Bay
The birthplace of the famous scallop pie, Apollo Bay Bakery has been making these tourist-worthy creations for more years than anyone can remember.
Coming in two flavours – Curry Scallop and Scallop Mornay – each pie showcases whole Bass Straight scallops which are then loving turned into some of the Great Ocean Road’s best handmade pies, bringing in both locals and out-of-towners alike.
And if you’re coeliac, gluten intolerant, or vegan, Apollo Bay Bakery has pie options for all.
5. Johnny Ripe
284 Main Creek Road, Red Hill
Famous for their apple pies (and their apple orchard), Mornington Peninsula's Johnny Ripe also bakes famously delicious chunky beef and veggie pies with homemade chutney. The only challenge will be leaving room for the cakes and sweet treats, which should not be ignored.
Rustic flaky pastry is what you'll find on the pies at some of Victoria's best regional bakeries.
6. Country Cob
130-132 Mollison Street, Kyneton
Winner of Australia’s best pie, this unassuming bakery attracts pie aficionados from far and wide, giving it a touch of cult status. Baker Chan Khun had never eaten a pie when he emigrated from Cambodia in 2004, but his caramelised pork and pepper pie beat 1700 other pies from 345 bakeries nationwide.
Khun makes everything from scratch, including the flaky puff pastry. His curried scallop pie is also a winner (taking out the seafood pie category).
7. Parker Pies
88 Main Street, Rutherglen
In a red-wine zone like Rutherglen, beef bourguignon pie is mandatory. And Parker Pies make a ripper. Tender chunks of beef cooked low and slow with mushrooms in Rutherglen shiraz. This award-winning family business has a huge range of pie fillings, with more adventurous ingredients including venison, kangaroo, buffalo, emu and crocodile.
8. Hulm's Bakery
66 Murray Street, Colac
For many motorists, Colac is the town you drive through on the way to somewhere else in Victoria’s west, however Colac is also the home of several great pie makers including a wonderful 1950s time capsule called Hulm’s Bakery.
The flaky pastry-topped square pies are full of flavour and hold together right to the end. Don’t leave without trying a sweet treat from the cake cabinet, an ode to fresh cream and golden eggs. Grab a box of goodies and head over to the Memorial Square across the road for a picnic.
9. Lancefield Bakery
20 High Street, Lancefield
Baked in a wood-fired Scotch oven that’s more than 140 years old, the golden-topped pies at Lancefield Bakery are a perfect day-trip destination in their own right.
Head towards the Macedon Ranges, about 70km north of Melbourne and find out what all the fuss is about at this local haunt.
10. Dunkeld Old Bakery
97 Martin Street, Dunkeld
Baking with a wood-fired oven since 1887, this little back-street gem is often overlooked by visitors making a beeline to the much-lauded Royal Mail Hotel. But the Old Bakery is worth a look, particularly the super-rich beef bourguignon pies.
The making of award-winning pies at The Store Deans Marsh.
11. Tooborac Brewery
5515 Northern Highway, Tooborac
Built in 1857, this gorgeous old country pub is home to some seriously good meat pies, each weighing in at a hefty 400 grams. The bourbon-marinated rabbit pie is chock full of flavour, along with the chunky beef cooked in beer made at the pub’s own brewery.
12. Paul the Pieman
5 Abeckett St, Inverloch
If you're a fan of pastry al pollo, the chicken pie at Paul the Pieman in Inverloch is a tasty addition to the Gippsland pie scene, and being a hop skip and jump from the RACV Inverloch Resort, make a weekend trip and explore the region while you’re there.
13. Provender Country Bakehouse
56 High St, Yea
With menu consisting of fruit pies, breakfast pies and the classic steak and gravy, it’s the Thai chicken pie that has people from all over coming to Provender Country Bakehouse in Yea.
Also catering to a number of different dietary needs, those seeking gluten free pies can rejoice knowing there is plenty on offer, as well as pies suitable for diabetics.
