What to queue for at these six new Melbourne bakeries (including this chunky pie)

Melbourne sets a high bar for baked goods, and that’s even before MasterChef baker Jessica Liemantara’s much-anticipated bakery opens later this month. A swathe of recent openings venture beyond French pastry-making, bringing the city a salt bread inspired by Vietnam’s pho; fruit danishes designed for Chinese and Japanese tea pairings; and native Aussie ingredients on Lebanese manoush dough. Plus, a fine-dining chef returns to the kitchen with a killer line-up of bakes.

Vandels

Take an acclaimed chef, lots of cultured Victorian butter, a can-do partner and a bakery-hungry town and you’ve got the smash-hit that is Vandels. Former Lume chef Shaun Quade and his partner Veronica Fil opened their homey, timber-trimmed bakery last month and fans have been snapping up every last pastry and loaf well before closing time. The kitchen’s doubling production every few days but you’ll still want to be organised.

Pies crowned with soaring lids of puff pastry (made with Lard Ass butter) are bestsellers. They might be filled with grilled lamb shank, confit garlic and potato, or chicken in a mustard-cream sauce. Quade’s finely trained palate amps up flavour in everything from a simple pork and fennel sausage roll to a salted chocolate cookie made with nutty buckwheat and malted barley flour.

Worth queuing for: Bee sting croissant. Looks like your standard almond croissant but this one ferries leatherwood honey, almond and lemon frangipane, and crema Catalana perfumed with cinnamon. Buckle up.

446 Sydney Road, Brunswick, vandelsbakery.com

Gordon Street Bakery

After six years on its namesake street, this Footscray bakery has added a second outpost in nearby Ascot Vale. The location is about the only change: the same line-up of evergreen, French-style pastries stars at both shops and owner Wilhem Isaac still “doesn’t do specials”. Regulars swear by the almond croissant piled high with almond cream and flaked nuts, while Isaac reckons the cheddar cheese sticks are a crowd favourite because “Australians love their savoury”. There’s no coffee in the new space, but the Parisian baker rates Bravo Coffee next door.

Worth the queue: Friand. A new addition, it’s a classic recipe baked with almond meal and egg whites left over from other recipes.

175 Union Road, Ascot Vale, gordonstbakery.com

May Bakes

Melbourne’s latest bread obsession is undoubtedly shio pan, translating to salt bread in Japanese. The typically soft and fluffy rolls – perfect for one – get a Vietnamese twist at May Bakes, mimicking the texture of a crusty banh mi baguette. It’s a hybrid developed by co-owner Cassidy Tran, who operated a shio pan bakery in Hanoi in 2022.

Everything about this split-level space reflects the North Vietnamese heritage of Tran and her husband, Van Son Nguyen. One shio pan features com, Vietnam’s young green rice, and pistachio paste, while bigger dishes include a deconstructed banh mi breakfast plate and traditional banh goi (similar to a hand pie) stuffed with wood ear fungus, minced pork and boiled eggs. Iced egg coffee, brewed from robusta beans grown on Tran’s family’s coffee farm in Da Lat, comes with a crunchy bruleed top. It’s non-negotiable.

Worth the queue: Pho-wich. Red wine-braised beef sandwiched in shio pan, served with a pho broth dipper that’s simmered for six-plus hours.

24/2-6 New Street, Richmond, instagram.com/maybakes.melb

Interlude

The team behind jazzy Cafe Tomi and sake-focused Bar Kaeru have debuted another eclectic venue: a tea house pairing refined teas from China and Japan with sweet and savoury pastries baked in-house. Hot single-origin brews and inventive tea-based coolers take centre stage, with each drink served with tasting notes. Co-founder Sean Then recommends the fruit danishes, which effortlessly match most drinks. Fig and raspberry are currently on rotation, both piped with almond cream and yoghurt custard. Savoury options include corn and cheese, plus there are financiers, an oolong-infused castella cake and matcha pudding.

Worth the queue: Cherry tomato and brie danish. Lifted by a touch of honey, it’s best enjoyed with an earthier green tea.

64 Little La Trobe Street, Melbourne, instagram.com/interlude.melbourne

Rana’s Bakery

This halal bakery on the edge of the city is all about “uniting cultures through dough”, says owner Rana Elsayed. The Egyptian baker gets creative with manoush, the Lebanese flatbread which she learnt to make at the age of 11 from her nanny in Kuwait.

The dough shows up in gooey halloumi and mozzarella melts, a foldover pie inspired by Arabian Gulf-style creamy chicken casserole and a spin on a classic Aussie meat pie. More creative offerings are on the cards including a breakfast dish starring potato cakes stuffed with creamy scrambled eggs and beef bacon, and a Kuwaiti-style risotto topped with vine leaves and pomegranates – a variation of Greek and Arabic dolma.

Worth the queue: Pepperberry and truffle melt. Stuffed with halloumi, mozzarella, a rich blend of truffle paste and native pepperberries, it’s Elsayed’s way of “including the people of the land” where she works.

B11A/768 Bourke Street, Docklands, instagram.com/ranasbakeryau

Bakestand

Nostalgia and comfort inspire these “Melbourne-style” cookies, covering flavours such as banana bread, caffe mocha and campfire s’more. Seven chunky creations line the cabinets at a trio of playful shops around the CBD, all founded by Steven He (executive pastry chef at the equally playful patisserie Le Yeahllow) and Vi Thao Tran. The most out-there Bakestand cookie might be the Vegemite cheese, a medley of Vegemite-flavoured caramel with gruyere, mozzarella and dark chocolate chips.

Worth the queue: Caffe mocha. Made with Toby Estate coffee bean specks, espresso and Valrhona dark chocolate, it’s a nod to Melbourne’s coffee culture.

1/130 Russell Street, Melbourne (and two other locations), bakestand.com.au

With Emma Breheny