Best Bakeries in Queensland & Brisbane
Stretching from Brisbane up to Cairns and across to popular beach towns like Noosa, the diverse state of Queensland offers fantastic bakeries to explore.
Using the abundance of fresh local produce year-round, Queensland’s top bakeries attract food lovers with their bread, pastries, pies and cakes honouring both enduring regional classics and global fusion trends.
In this article, we will highlight just five of the Sunshine State’s must-visit bakeries worth adding to your Queensland foodie bucket list. We dive into their stories, specialty items and most popular menu creations to showcase all that makes them baking destinations. You really do need to visit all of these bakeries.. twice.. The food is just incredible. Their toasties made with their commercial high speed ovens are ready in minutes and taste incredible!
Don’t forget savoury favourites either – we’ve spotlighted the best Queensland spots for Aussie-style meat pies and vanilla slices too. Time to satisfy those bakery cravings!
Laneway Specialty Coffee, Brisbane
In downtown Brisbane, Laneway Specialty Coffee excels at pairing its roasted coffee blends with fresh baked goods daily. Husband-wife owners Louise and Sal handcraft exceptional bread and pastries using quality ingredients like Belgian chocolate and seasonal fruit.
Beyond expertly dialled coffees, locals love Laneway’s bakery treats like custard-filled croissants, fruited sourdough loaves or their popular tropical pineapple danishes encasing sweet Queensland pineapple.
Generously stuffed sandwiches starring fresh bread also earn equal lunch fanfare. With welcoming hospitality and vibrant space, Laneway is a neighbourhood Brisbane gem through and through for brekky or baking supplies.
Most Popular Item: Laneway’s pineapple custard Danish represents sunny Queensland so perfectly in each sweet, satisfying bite.
Best Meat Pie: A nod to Aussie tradition, Laneway’s signature chunky wagyu beef pie baked in their exceptional butter pastry wins loyal fans weekly.
Best Vanilla Slice: Flaky chocolate pastry replaces traditional puff for more decadence when sandwiching silky vanilla custard cream.
Specialty: Fresh, seasonal bakery treats and artisan sourdough breads enjoyed alongside carefully sourced and roasted specialty coffee.
Pretty Royale, Sunshine Coast
This laidback hinterland bakery café in Eumundi on the Sunshine Coast brings creative energy and skill to its artisan baked goods starring local produce. Owner Anya sources exceptional raw ingredients from neighbouring farms to handcraft Pretty Royale’s signature sourdough loaves, pastries, nut butter and jams weekly.
Their toasted barley malt and macadamia sourdough make the perfect platform for displaying ethical food systems through flavour.
The charming farmhouse space encourages lingering solo or in groups either indoors or along the sidelines of Eumundi’s famous street markets just steps away.
Most Popular Item: Pretty Royale’s signature lavender and honey macadamia Crodney, a loaded scone-donut hybrid satisfaction bomb with local nuts and nectar, is the ideal market grazing snack.
Best Meat Pie: Smoky barbecue jackfruit stars in Pretty Royale’s inventive plant-powered take with house-fermented hot sauce for an added kick.
Best Vanilla Slice: Wholesome layers of coconut chia pudding and coconut caramel cream between shredded coconut “pastry” make their dairy and gluten-free vanilla slice a showstopper.
Specialty: Committed use of local hinterland farms’ seasonal ingredients to create imaginative baked goods and other sweets.
Much Ado, about bread, South Bank
Tucked near popular riverside walking paths in South Bank, this artisan bakery café sources exceptional flour from local mills to shape sourdough loaves, bagels and sweets.
Their recent expansion to wholesale accounts plus in-house sit-down brunches signals growing adoration for owners Sam and Rob’s handcrafted pieces of bread and dedication towards sustainable agriculture support.
With direct trade coffee and sunny sidewalk seating, much ado makes the perfect post-parklands pitstop.
Most Popular Item: Pillowy woodfired garlic scrolls warm from the custom oven find their way into countless weekend picnic baskets from South Bank families and couples.
Best Meat Pie: A veggie star take features local sweet potatoes, carrots and mushrooms in perfect balance within much ado’s signature wholemeal pastry.
Best Vanilla Slice: Their version contains layers of silky housemade lemon curd and subtly sweet whipped coconut cream enclosed by all butter puff pastry…a gluten and dairy-free showstopper.
Specialty: From-scratch artisan sourdough pieces of bread and New York-style bagels crafted solely using ethically sourced and milled local grains.
Baskin-Robbins, Gold Coast
With Australian headquarters overlooking the bustling Broadbeach food precinct, this iconic ice cream shop and cake maker brings sweet magic to locals and tourists daily.
Favourites like their cult classic cappuccino blast ice cream or Oreo-packed Cookie Monster cones are only enhanced by the old Coast views through Baskin-Robbins’ floor-to-ceiling windows.
Their ice cream cake creations also impress for special occasions with cute designs and 31 secret flavours to match every preference.
Most Popular Item: A scoop of their premium Aussie Honeycomb explosion ice cream layered generously with chunks of crunchy golden honeycomb candy, chocolate fudge and sweet ribbons of toffee.
Best Meat Pie: A nod to quintessential Aussie tastes, Baskin-Robbins offers their signature waffle cone crust baked around silky chocolate and caramel or cookies and cream-flavoured ice cream pie filling.
Best Vanilla Slice: Baskin Robbins nails this classic with layers of crisp chocolate cookie crust and their famous Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream flecked with chocolate fudge for next-level vanilla flavour.
Specialty: Innovative modern twists on comforting sweet classics like ice cream, milkshakes, cones and character cakes.
Ormae, Cairns
Bringing Parisian bakery inspiration to tropical northern Queensland, the elegant Ormae bakehouse crafts artisan breads, Viennoiserie pastries, custom celebration cakes and more baked fineries within a restored historic Cairns City space.
Owners Amy and Owen champion ethical ingredients from regional cane sugar to FNQ-farmed cacao to shape Ormae’s exceptional croissants, sourdough batards, macarons and beyond in creative seasonal rotations.
Their Inner City farm supplying eggs and microgreens connects even closer to Ormae’s local roots and flavours.
Most Popular Item: Ormae’s Valrhona chocolate and seasonal fruit French-style tarts encased in silky pastry are worth every last crumb, especially paired with their single-origin specialty coffee.
Best Meat Pie: Lean Aussie beef simmered in red wine and garlic butter gets wrapped in crisp French pastry pockets for Ormae’s steak Diane pies adored at weekend markets.
Best Vanilla Slice: To honour Australian baking tradition, Ormae sandwiches Queensland vanilla bean crème patisserie between sleek place slices painted with 23k edible gold lustre.
Specialty: Elegant French and modern Australian-inspired cakes, tarts, breads and brunch classics celebrating Far North Queensland offerings and ethical supply chains.
Fine Fettle Cafe, Toowoomba
In the charming rural city of Toowoomba, the plant-based Fine Fettle Cafe bakery prepares fantastic vegan and gluten-free baked goods daily. All menu items, from their artisan sourdoughs to raw desserts, are 100% plant-powered using local produce.
Their cereal milk cronut doughnuts, zesty beetroot friands and vibrant smoothie bowls attract legions of fans from the Darling Downs region. The bright, modern interior filled with living walls creates a welcoming restaurant feel enhancing the menu’s wholesome innovations even more.
Most Popular Item: Fine Fettle’s signature cereal milk cronuts – flaky croissant-donuts glazed with an oat milk icing and crunchy toasted oat crumble never last long after weekend baking shifts.
Best Meat Pie: A plant-based pulled jackfruit rendang pie spiked with lime and chilli baked within a golden chickpea pastry shell makes mouths water.
Best Vanilla Slice: Layers of coconut vanilla cream and fresh Queensland strawberry compote between a crunchy base of puffed quinoa oh-so-lightly sweetened bring their dairy and gluten-free vanilla slice abundant fanfare.
Specialty: Playful modern plant-powered takes on traditional baked goods and breakfast favourites.
Conclusion
From the Sunshine Coast hinterlands to Far North Queensland tablelands, renowned Queensland bakeries continue sharing their exceptional baked goods, spanning signatures like artisan sourdough loaves and regionally inspired ice creams and sweets showcasing local seasonal produce.
Visiting any Queensland destination guarantees fantastic bakery options to satisfy quick grab-and-go or sit-down café cravings. Just don’t blame us for the likely queues! When bites taste this outstanding from Brisbane to Cairns, however, every last moment is worth the wait.
