New bayside bakery in Sydney offers traditional British pies

Their pies are a perfect amalgam of pastry and filling, comforting but interesting, sophisticated yet hearty. Everything is house-made, including two types of pastry. The shortcrust for the base starts with boiling water, butter and vinegar, then the liquid is worked into the flour, making for a smooth, sturdy dough. The puff pastry tops are extravagantly layered and buttery rich, the pastry crisp to the bite but without shattering so dramatically that you wear more than you eat.

Beef is the bedrock, with brisket slow-braised in beef stock with 13 herbs and spices, including a secret ingredient I guessed but will refrain from sharing so I live to pie another day. The tender, lively stew is slurried with flour and tumbled into bases, ready for joy. The beefy base is also mixed with fresh jalapenos and Stilton to make a funky, spicy blue cheese and chilli pie, and a pub-style creamy green peppercorn sauce amps up another beef option. Cue pie rapture.

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.

There’s also an excellent butter chicken number, made with whole roast chickens (the bones go into the beef stock) plus a vegetarian cauliflower pie with three-cheese sauce. Sausage rolls are serious business so it’s good there are two: a pork version that leans British, and an Aussie-style beef one. Each is a terrific balance of fat and fab.

Norman took his shepherd’s pie recipe to the grave but surely he’d be proud of this one: Lamb mince is cooked for hours with mushrooms, rosemary and bay leaves, spooned into its pastry casing, and topped with a swirl of buttery mash. To be traditional, add mushy peas and gravy. The sweet range includes a rhubarb and strawberry pie, and chocolate cream pie, an English indulgence which features custard mixed with melted chocolate to form a silky filling.