Martin's Bakery Ballina

Anyone chasing a proper meat pie in Ballina, New South Wales, tends to end up at Martin's Bakery. It's a bakery with a reputation built mostly on its pies, and people who've stopped in on a road trip often say they went back in for more before leaving town.

The pies are the main event. The steak and jalapeño gets talked about a lot, and we've heard the steak, bacon and cheese and the pepper steak are well liked too. There's also a breakfast-style pie that one visitor reckoned was worth the drive on its own. Beyond pies, you'll find sausage rolls, mini pies and quiche, and everything is described as fresh from the oven.

Sandwiches and rolls are the other draw. They're made to order, so you're not picking something that's been sitting in a cabinet, and ham and salad or corned beef and salad rolls get a mention from people passing through. On the sweeter side, a cherry danish has its fans, and the cakes are called lovely.

You can sit in or take away, and there's coffee and breakfast on offer, plus milkshakes. It's dog friendly for well-behaved dogs, with free street parking and a free car park nearby. The entrance and car park are wheelchair accessible, and they take cards and mobile payments. It also identifies as women-owned.

Staff come up again and again, and in a good way. Friendly, quick and happy to listen to what you'd like is how people describe the counter, and some regulars drop in a couple of times a week.

To be fair, opinion isn't unanimous. We've heard from one local who feels prices have crept up and thinks the pies were better in the past, and another had a bad run with an order getting mixed up. That's the minority view, though, and most people leave happy.

They're open weekdays from early and for part of the weekend, but check the hours before you head in.