The Well Bakery Cafe

If you're after a proper pie in Jacobs Well, Queensland, this is the bakery cafe people point you towards. It's a small, friendly spot where you can eat in or grab something to go, and the pies are the main event.

Steak and cheese gets the most love. One visitor from New Zealand was won over after coming to the area for fish and chips and talked about generous chunks of beef, cheese through the middle and a decent pastry. Mince and cheese has its fans too, including a Kiwi who'd been hunting for a good one across Australia for years. Another local rates the potato pies as reason enough to make the drive up from Southport. A couple of folks have had an off day with a soggy base or a pie that was heavy on gravy, so it pays to go in with realistic expectations. Still, the overall mood around town is that the pies are worth the trip.

It's not only pies. Sausage rolls, sandwiches and salad rolls are on the menu, and the toasted chicken and avocado has a following. On the sweet side, people talk about the vanilla slice, bee sting, custard tarts and hedgehog slice, with one local calling the hedgehog slice and custard tarts the best on the Gold Coast. Coffee, breakfast and lunch are all on offer, and kids are welcome.

Friendly service comes up often. Locals describe old fashioned, smiling counter service, with the early crowd getting a warm hello at the counter. Prices are described as fair, and several visitors call it good value for what you get.

If you're planning ahead, there's a wheelchair-accessible entrance, seating and car park, free street parking nearby, and cards and mobile payments are accepted. The bakery keeps early hours, but it's closed some days, so check the hours before you head in. Some visitors have found the shelves thin later in the morning, so earlier in the day is the safer bet if you have your heart set on something specific.