Porter Avenue Pies & Cakes

Porter Avenue Pies & Cakes is a bakery in Highton, Victoria, and customers have ordered pies there. Locals will tell you the pastry is the thing: crisp, golden and sturdy enough to hold a generous filling. The range includes chunky steak and pepper beef through to jalapeno and cheese, curry, lamb and rosemary, and a pie of the month that has its own following. The jalapeno and beef pie in particular is worth a regular visit.

Sausage rolls get just as much love, and so does the vanilla slice, which one regular said they would happily buy weekly. There are custard tarts, donuts (the vanilla slice donut comes up) and plenty of other sweets in the cabinet too. Everything is baked fresh, and pies arrive hot enough to enjoy straight from the bag.

The team is friendly and efficient even when the queue is out the door, and it often is, especially when something new has just been released. The shop itself is clean and tidy, with colourful displays that are hard to walk past without adding a few extras. A couple of locals have said the prices run a little high, but most feel the quality justifies it. One person found a vegetable pie on the mild side, though the pies and slices were praised across the board.

You can dine in or take away, and coffee is part of the draw, with the iced lattes getting a nod from a self-confessed coffee snob. Custom cakes can be ordered if you have an occasion coming up, and larger work orders are clearly something they handle. Parking can be tight at busy times, but there is free street parking and a wheelchair-accessible car park. They take cards and tap-and-pay. Opening hours vary through the week, so check them before you go.

If you are after a pie in Highton or elsewhere around Geelong, this is worth considering, and an early visit makes it easier to beat the crowd.