Yea Bakery

If you're after a bakery in Yea, Victoria, this one is particularly known for its pies. Locals and passers-through alike keep coming back for the pepper steak pie, the onion and beef, and the steak pie, and we've heard the fillings are the highlight. The pies and the cakes are made on the premises, which shows in the range on the shelves.

Beyond the pies, there's a proper country-bakery spread: pasties, sausage rolls, and a spinach and ricotta roll that one local called amazing. The sweet side is a big draw too. Vanilla slices, custard tarts, a lemon tart, the giant bee sting and the wagon wheels all get a mention, and one traveller reckoned the wagon wheel was the best of a good many tried over the years. There are also sandwiches and salad rolls made to order, milkshakes, and bread on the shelf.

The staff are a real part of the appeal. People talk about friendly, helpful service, and one visitor singled out Micky for cheerfully making up sandwiches and carefully halving cream cakes so they could be eaten mess-free. Locals tend to pick a bakery on value, service and taste, and Yea Bakery keeps them coming back.

It works for a sit-down or a quick grab. You can dine in or take away, with coffee and breakfast on offer, and there are tables on a grassy area across from the bakery, which is a pleasant spot on a fine day. Parking is free, with both a car park and street parking. The entrance and car park are wheelchair accessible, and they take cards and tap-and-go payments.

We've heard the odd comment that the coffee can be on the weak or lukewarm side, and one person found the pastry on a pie a little soft. If coffee matters to you, it's worth asking for it nice and hot. The bakery opens early and stays open through the afternoon most days, but check the hours before you head in. It's an easy stop for a pie on the road through Yea.