Waterview Bakery

Pies are the first thing anyone mentions about this bakery in Paynesville, Victoria, and the scallop pie gets talked about most. Curry scallop and scallop morney both come up, along with beef, bacon and cheese, chicken, bacon and mustard, and a spinach and feta pastie for something meat-free. The pastry is made in house, and one local described it as light and perfectly cooked. Everything is baked fresh daily, and the sausage rolls have their fans too, though one person found the mini ones a touch salty.

It's a bakery and café in one, so it works for breakfast or lunch as well as a quick pie. Salad rolls get plenty of praise, there's a decent run of hot food, and the coffee is well liked. The display cabinet is a draw for anyone with a sweet tooth, with a vanilla slice with passionfruit icing and a Black Forest cake that one family stretched across five days of birthday celebrations. Tastes vary, and one person found a double choc cookie on the dry side, but the overall picture is a bakery people keep coming back to.

The setting helps. There are bench seats out the front with a water view, some of them under cover, and it's about a minute's walk from the Raymond Island ferry. Early mornings are busy with locals, which tells you something. Staff are consistently described as friendly and quick even when it's flat out, and the owner, Jo, gets a warm mention. Prices are seen as fair, and a country bakery that doesn't charge for tomato sauce earns its own bit of goodwill.

If you're planning ahead, they take custom cake orders and do catering for events and gatherings. Takeaway, delivery and in-store pick-up are all available, and there's free parking with a wheelchair-accessible entrance. Hours are generally early starts, but it's worth checking before you head in, particularly if you've got your heart set on a scallop pie, as they sell out some days.