South Australians have a love affair with pies and they take their pies seriously. It is hard to find crappy pies here.  How do we know this ? Well, Sam is South Australian while Ida spent 9 years of her life in Adelaide. We , collectively and individually have eaten lots, and lots of pies here. We also have been a part of many Pie debates. Sauce or no sauce ? Doughey or Cripsy pie ? WTF is up with gourmet pies ? Ahhhhhh those were the days.

It is quite hard to find another place in Australia with the kind of passion South Australians have for pies. Heck, even the awesome-sad-to-see-its-no-longer-around Pie Floater was invented in South Australia. Being true to our South Australian root, we absolutely love our pies. We would like to share with you,  a list of bakeries in Adelaide which offers great pies,  we personally have tried and tested over the years.

Our list may not reflect the award winners or the trending places. It is based on pie places we have tried so far and we picked the ones which tastes the best to our taste buds. It is only about the pies.

Before we go on further with our list of Adelaide best pies, we thought we would describe our thoughts on what makes a great pie. Bear in mind, this is only our personal thoughts as a couple of pie fans and we apologise in advance if somehow our opinion does not match yours.

Smithsology on What Makes a Great Pie

As we both don’t share the same idea on what makes a great pie, we will start with Sam’s personal thought.

Sam : My definition of a great pie is easy; anything and everything that taste the same as or close to Balfour’s Beef Pie. Balfour’s pie is the crème de la crème of all pies. In fact, all pies should aspire to be like Balfours pie. I love the softness and the saltiness of the pie and especially how bloody awesome it tastes when washed down with Farmers Union Iced Coffee. I don’t like sauce on my pie. A great pie should have it’s own personality instead of relying on sauces to make it taste better.

Ida :  I am fussier than that! I love my pie golden, crispy and chunky. A great pie must have crispy crust with great filling. The filling must be identifiable, i.e you can see chunks of meat/mince and vegetables. The sauce should be thick but would slightly ooze out when you bite into it, to create a bit of a mess around the mouth. I like my pies with tomato sauce. I have only eaten a handful of pies without sauce in my lifetime, because they are seriously that good they don’t need it. I am open to trying different flavour’s of pies, especially of the chicken variety.

Otto’s Bakery

Otto’s Bakery pies are what a great pie dreams are made of. A personal favourite of ours, their Steak Pies are to die for. The pie is thick and huge with tender chunky beef with perfect gravy. The crust is half way between crispy and doughy. You simply cannot find anything like this anywhere else. Every time we go back to Adelaide, a trip all the way to Hanhndorf is a must, just to eat Otto’s Pies!

Try Their : Beef Pie & Chicken Pie

Otto’s Bakery – 9 Main St, Hahndorf SA 5245

O’Connell Bakery

This is a place we would go to, for a great tasting pie at any time of the day.  The O’Connell Bakery is open 24 hours and are always super busy. But thankfully, this does not affect the quality and the taste of their pies. It taste pretty much the same over the years.

Try Their : Chicken & Musroom Pie, Chunky Steak & Pepper Pie

O’Connell Bakery Pie – 128-130 O’Connell St, North Adelaide SA 5006

Becks Bake House

Apart from Port Noarlunga beach, the Becks Bake House pie is another great reason to head down south. Upon entering the bakery, you will feel like you are in bread and pastry heaven. They have a huge selections of goodies.  Especially their freshly baked, great tasting pies. With mouthwatering golden buttery crust, their Steak pies are oh-so-good!

Try Their : Steak & Cheese Pie, Butter Chicken Pie

Becks Bake House – 25 Clarke Street , Port Noarlunga, SA 5167

Pat-A-Cake- Bakery

When Ida was a student in Adelaide, she would have Pat-A-Cake amazing pies a few times a week!. They make sensational pies. With generous filling and great tasting crust, a pie from Pat-A-Cake on a nippy afternoon would certainly bring comfort to your tummy and your soul.

Try Their : Beef & Mushroom Pie

Pat-A-Cake Bakery – 50-52 Duthy Street , Malvern, SA 5061

Villi’s Pie

The Villi’s pie is proudly South Australian, in fact, Villi’s pie will almost always occurs in any ‘pie discussions’. Actually, there is nothing better than having discussions about pies, whilst enjoying Villi’s pie at their 24 hours bakery at Mile End. At Villi’s bakery, you will find interesting choices of pies such as Kangaroo Bushman Pie and Turkey Pie, perfect for ones with adventurous tasting palate. On top of that, the bakery is probably one of the best places in Adelaide to people watch. The later you go, the busier they get.

Try Their : Steak & Green Peppercorn Pie, Beef & Mushy Pea Pie

Villi’s Pie – 2-14 Manchester St, Mile End South SA 5031

Duffy’s Bakery

This bakery have been around for ages and and is still going. For a small bakery, they sure do have a huge selections of Pies. What we love about their pies is the filling, all the pies we have tried so far from Duffy’s  are loaded with seriously yummy, high quality ingredients. Their pies are so good that they usually run out of the popular flavours after lunch. So come in early if you want to try your favourites.

Try Their : Chunky Chicken & Vegetable Pie and Chunky Beef & Potato Pie

Duffy’s Bakery – Norwood Mall, 168 The Parade, Norwood SA 5067

Balfours

You cannot miss the Balfour’s iconic square pie. It’s the pie you eat while watching footy match , during your lunch hour or when you have a hankering for pie but cannot be arsed to leave the house. Sam absolutely love Balfour’s Beef Pie, eating them would remind him of his childhood. The good thing about Balfours pie is, like Villi’s pie, you can get them from the super market frozen. But to those who prefers it unfrozen, there are plenty of cafe’s , lunch bars, deli’s and bakery around South Australia offering a piece of this South Australian Icon

Try Their : Beef Pie

Balfours Cafe – City Cross Shopping Centre K01, 32 Grenfell St, Adelaide SA 5000

Okay, so we may have missed out on some other great pies in Adelaide, or you seriously disagree with our list. Either way, let us know in the comment. We would love to hear from you!

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