Beefy's Ningi

Beefy's Ningi is the sort of pie shop where the signature steak pie draws the first-timers and the gluten free range brings them back. Locals in and around Ningi, Queensland, rate the steak pie highly: chunky beef, flaky pastry and a good balance of gravy. One family who describe themselves as keen pie judges called it the best they'd had, and the cheese and bacon pie and the steak and mushroom both get a good word too.

It's more than a pie counter, though. The menu runs to sausage rolls, spinach pasties, smoky pastry dogs and hot chips, and we hear the chips are cooked fresh and come out hot. There's coffee and breakfast for the morning crowd, plus a range of drinks and desserts. Pies come fresh from the oven, and a lunch deal of pie, chips and a drink has been described as a generous serve, enough that two could share one.

For anyone avoiding gluten, this bakery in Ningi offers a full gluten free range. One customer with a coeliac family member has called the gluten free range one of the best around, with gluten free pies that make a takeaway stop possible when options are usually thin. If coeliac safety matters to you, it's sensible to have a quick word with the staff about how they handle it.

You can dine in, take away, pick up in store or use the drive-through, which can get busy. There's plenty of seating inside, free street parking, and wheelchair-accessible parking, entrance and toilet. Card and mobile payments are accepted. Staff are often described as friendly, and there's free tomato or BBQ sauce on the side.

A couple of visitors have found the pastry underdone on a busy day, or the tables and toilets in need of a clean, so results can vary depending on when you go. Opening hours are long, starting early and running into the evening every day, but check before you head in.