Chesterville Hot Bread Bakehouse

If you're after a bakery in Bentleigh East, Chesterville Hot Bread Bakehouse is a proper old-school Aussie hot bread shop, the kind where the counter is crowded with rolls and loaves, hot food and sweet treats, with the actual baking going on out the back. It does sourdough, pies, sausage rolls, salad rolls, schnitzel sandwiches and pastries, plus coffee and breakfast, and you can take away or settle in. There's dog-friendly seating outside too.

Pies turn up regularly in conversation, and opinion on them mostly runs warm. We've heard the steak and mushroom pie praised by a regular, and the chunky beef pie gets a mention as well. One local called the pies, sausage rolls and pastries outstanding, and another noted that they turn the hot food over often, so it comes out crisp and at the right temperature. One visitor found the sausage roll and the plain meat pie underwhelming, so it's worth trying a few things to find your favourite. The sweet side gets a mention too: neenish tarts, jam donuts, cannoli, vanilla slice and spinach and ricotta rolls all turn up in the stories we hear, though the odd eclair has come out less fresh than hoped.

The staff are a big part of the appeal. People describe them as friendly, chatty and up for a laugh, and one regular said it's rare to find a business that genuinely cares about its community. That neighbourhood feel shows in the repeat custom, and prices are generally seen as fair value.

They also do catering. A local football club orders from them weekly for game days and says they handle last-minute changes without fuss, and an office group was happy with the platters of sandwiches, pastries and donuts they ordered for a meeting.

Parking is easy, with free street parking nearby and an accessible entrance and car park. They take cards and tap-to-pay, and it's open early most days, so check the hours before you head in.