Yarraman Bakery

If you're passing through Yarraman, Queensland, this is the bakery worth pulling over for. It's a small-town shop with a strong local reputation, and pies are very much the main event.

Ask about the pies and you'll hear a few names again and again: the chunky steak, the pepper steak and pepper mince, curried beef, and the jalapeño and cheese. There's a beef, bacon and cheese pie that holds together well enough to eat on the road, and a breakfast pie that comes packed with filling. Sausage rolls get a mention too. The pastry has a name for being flaky but sturdy, the pies are deep rather than skimpy, and they come out fresh from the oven. One traveller reckoned they were the size of the pies you got back in the 80s, and full of filling. Another said the mushy peas on the side are worth adding.

Value gets a nod as well. Portions are generous for the money, which is a big part of why people plan stops around the place. We've heard of drivers adding a detour on long trips just to grab a pie, and of others picking up a few cold ones to take along for the rest of the journey.

Beyond the pie warmer, there are fresh-made sandwiches and rolls, custard tarts, and coffee. They also take custom cake orders, and one local who forgot a birthday cake and rang the day before came away full of praise for how helpful and clear the bakery was. Takeaway is the way most people do it, though breakfast and coffee are on offer too.

The staff come across as friendly, and the little shop has a homely feel, the kind of place where the food tastes like someone's nan made it. There's free street parking nearby, plus a wheelchair-accessible entrance and car park. Cards and tap-to-pay are accepted. The bakery opens early and keeps going into the afternoon, but it's smart to look up the hours. Pies in the warmer are labelled, though prices aren't displayed, so ask at the counter.