Uncle Bobs Bakery Belmont

If you're after a bakery in Belmont, Queensland, Uncle Bobs is a place to find handcrafted breads, pastries, pies and cakes. Locals talk about a buttery, crisp pastry and generous fillings, and the chunky steak pie and the pie with mushy peas get a particular mention. The sausage rolls have their own following too.

Beyond pies, the counter also stocks sourdoughs, ciabatta, croissants, Danish pastries and café cakes. Sourdough and other breads are baked here, along with pastries, sandwiches and cream donuts, and the pear almond tart gets a good word. Custom cake orders are a real strength. One local had a birthday cake made here and came away delighted with the fresh cream and jam sponge, noting it looked great and came in at a fair price. Another picks up a sponge or two for family occasions and rates them as better than the other cake shops around.

Coffee and breakfast are part of the picture, and you can eat in, sit at the outdoor tables within the shopping centre, or take your order to go, with kerbside pickup also on offer. There's free parking, with a wheelchair-accessible car park and entrance, and they take cards and tap payments. One regular comes in for a morning coffee and says the team greet them by name and often have the order ready by the time they reach the counter. Friendly, welcoming staff come up again and again, and so does good value.

The odd local has grumbled about the pastry or filling on a particular pie, and the afternoon can bring thinner stock on the shelves. A few have been turned away from ordering a made-to-order salad roll later in the day, even before closing time. If you're set on something specific, it pays to come earlier or call ahead. Hours run long, from early morning through to late afternoon most days, but check them before you head in.

The bakery says it has been baking since 1994 and runs a second shop in Thornlands. Locals call it dependable, and for a pie and a coffee in Belmont it's an easy pick.