best pies in the west side babbbyyyy, people there are pretty cool too! Steak and cheese never…read moremisses it's always a hit but the mince cheese is also banging

The Westside Bakery is not a place were you are accosted by staff throwing down obscure,…read moregang-related hand gestures. It's not where rappers stock up on muffins before "doing a drive-by" (although presumably they must get muffins somewhere). No, Westside Bakery is just a bakery on the west side and self-proclaimed "Lunche Bar" run by a polite Asian couple. The food is catered to truck drivers and road workers and manly men made of steel and brawn. Fried things and pastried things and really good pies and humble filled rolls that are being phased out of Auckland by a fancy Panini Revolution. A fine place to pick up a cheap lunch on the go.

The first time I went to top well was on the back of a motorbike driven by a guy so hungover, I…read morethink he was still drunk. But these kind of guys know the best places to go for a alcohol soaking feed, so I fearlessly jumped on. That's a lie, I was scared and hung on to him like we were going on a hot date. When we got to top well I was impressed. quite a large selection, nice looking pies, friendly employees. The food I got lived up to both the praise heaped on it by my friend and the initial impression it made on me, with the pie I got full of meat and cheese, instead of a terrible lumpy gravy. Unfortunately I dropped my pizza bread right in the dirt so never got a chance to sample it, but it looked pretty good.

There are two favourite bakeries I have in Glen Eden, this is probably the number two on the list…read morebut that is no reflection of how good it is because they are a actually both deserving of the stars. We love fresh bread rolls for lunches and Top Well Bakery have a good range, of course there is always a French stick thrown into the order. Meat pies are second on the list for the ravenous teenagers after school and never are they disappointed here. Their pizza bread isn't something we like to buy because, as I mentioned there is the opposition across they way, well they have the best pizza bread. However this one redeems itself on the sweet side as their cakes and pastries are second to none, yummy. Saturday morning when we are out and about after sports or dancing, a trip to the bread shop completes our lunch.

This Bakery proudly displays their capital 'A' Food Hygiene sign on the shop front, and for good…read morereason, or perhaps it is paranoia seeping in from my husband's horror story regarding a local bakery in Henderson, a pie, that, well, I dare not write what was in it... but it wasn't from these guys! This bakery looked clean, fresh and the sweets looked good. I refreshed myself with a drink only, but I did take note of their delicious looking studels for $1.70 and their $2.20 gourmet cakes that had me drooling over the counter. The two cheapest things in Auckland compared to Aussie, according to my husband and I, is bakeries and hairdressers. Enjoy both why we can, preferably not at the same time, but you could try and know that you have got two bargains in one day! The service here was also very nice, friendly and efficient, (worthy of more stars in that department) but there are so many of these generic bakeries that something that little bit extra needed to stand out for a higher rating from me.

Sandwiches and pies, sweets and soft drinks- all the things a Kiwi wants from a bakery. These…read morebakehouses are our one stop shop for morning tea or lunch while working or on the road. Great North Bakehouse has all of these items on sale, plus a few loaves of bread. On the other hand, by 9 am, half the shop was in direct sunlight, including the chocolate slices and freshly made sandwiches. By 1 pm would do you want to buy a boiled egg that may have been in the sun all morning? The sandwiches look lackluster and boring, many of the cabinet items yesterdays stale and unsold goods. Dry looking fried eggs and browning shoulder bacon (fake-on) and everything generally looking like it was made on the cheap. No cheery or helpful chatting with the staff. Basically a last-resort, early morning nibbles shop.

Eve's Pantry is a bakery-style cafe. The Henderson branch is a lot bigger than the one in Takapuna…read moreso there's plenty of seating available. As for the menu, the cakes and pastries would have to be the highlight but there's plenty of other cabinet foods to choose from too. The service is fine but the place lacks any sort of ambiance or style. That being said, their vanilla squares are legendary!

I'm a loyal person. For me the Westside Bakehouse has been an example of what a bakery should…read morebe...but was sold, years ago. I used to just love their steak 'n' cheese pies of old, but thought I'd try one today for old times sake. All in all, it was a good pie. I don't like flaky pastry in a pie...I'm more of a short crust fan. It doesn't fall apart when being gobbled at speed nor does it make a huge mess while driving. The pie I got was piping hot. There was a couple of steak which had been seasoned well. The rest of the filling was gravy and melted cheese. Very tasty but could have don with more steak. I mean, I paid for a steak 'n' cheese, not gravy 'n' cheese. I bought an afghan because they looked scrumptious. Unfortunately, it was not as good as it looked. Lastly, I happened to buy a banana and caramel tart. I'm more of a custard pie fan. This was no tart, it was too big. Plus it had no hallmarks of a tart. What it was though, was a banoffee pie. A miniature one. If you love banoffee, then this is the treat for you. Hell, I don't even like banoffee pie. I love this one from the Westside Bakehouse. And I'll make sure I pop in to buy the "BANANA CARAMEL TART."

One of the best bakeries out West. Everything from the cream donuts, sandwiches, pies and fresh…read morebread. Highly recommended & a must try.

I travel all the way from Greenhight every weekend just because they are so good. Crafty knows…read moretheir craft and serve it with love. Top notch service with friendly staff.

Ok, so the word got out faster than you can say speedy gonzalas about how good this place is, I had…read morethree people recommend it to me in a manner of two weeks. These guys MAKE their own butter, use organic meat in their super divine artisan pies and have croissants and bread (I recommend the sourdough seeded) that are fresh and delicious! Park behind the back of the building, queues are to be expected, and I feel slightly sorry for the cheap and nasty bakery two doors up - hows business guys? Go check them out and support this alternative to soooooo many other bakeries around the neighbourhood that may be cheap, but not necessarily so good for our health or environment.

A big birthday party demands a beautiful big birthday cake. We picked the new cupcake store in…read moreHenderson to do the honours, and were not disappointed. The large double decker chocolate cake with cream frosting icing was decadent and delicious. We were pleased as punch to receive a small box of complimentary mini cupcakes, which the kids devoured. Nessies Cupcakes is a gourmet specialty cupcake store first and foremost. They have a scrummy range of treats in store which includes a selection of cookies, slices and beautifully gift wrapped chocolates, brittle, toffee and lollies. Nessie will cater to your special occasion.

This is a conveniently placed bakery to run and get the $4.20 2L Dairy Dale milk for work, however…read moreit is not a place I would like to buy my bread. If you like the standard white and white only type of bread then it may be just up your alley, Totara Avenue Alley that is. I have been in a few times and they are quite content with sticking to their white and white only standard bread, I personally think it is discrimination, bring on the wholemeal! give the mutli-grain a go! It doesn't need to be anything fancy, no spelt or other ancient grain requested, just a bit of variety? Occasionally? Please?... They have a tasty selection of sugary sweet baked treats too, white flour only of course.

This is one of those bakeries that you only stop into if you are super hungry, or passing by and…read morehaving a sweet tooth moment. The items there are not exactly good for you, sugary and starchy, but they fill you up quick. They offer up the usual bakery items like pies, pastries and baked breads, but all the items are white flour and sugar combinations. No wonder this place is popular with the young ones. I personally don't like going here because it has given me a tummy ache before and I have not returned since then.

Pies: excellent. Slices: excellent. Quiches: sub-par, I'm afraid. Something in the texture just…read moredidn't sit right with me. Those are all the things I've tried from here, but we can extrapolate from this data and assume that most of the food here is pretty good. Oh, also I've had the bread, and it was good. So yeah, not a bad average, I think. This place does a good trade over the weekend and after school (try and avoid this period as the tiny place fills up with hulking, shouty teenagers all clamouring for pies), but if you go mid-morning or around lunchtime it's usually not too busy. The staff are friendly, the food is good, it's worth going if you like bakery food. Highlight: steak curry pie. Lowlight: still the quiche, I'm afraid.

OK now I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is one of the best mom & pop bakeries…read morethis side of Auckland. The Boston Bakery (for which I have no idea why it is named after a city in the States!), is quite unassuming and from the outside isn't very distinguishable from any other old school bakery. Except that first of all the family that run it are the loveliest people and if you're lucky their little super adorable daughter will run the EFTPOS machine for your purchase. They also cherish their regulars; for example my partner used to be a regular and then moved overseas for 3 years and they still remembered her after all that time! And then there's the pies, oh sweet sweet delicious heaven-sent morsels of delight! They have the standard fare which drive a hard bargain at $3.60, but then they also have 'fancy' pies for $4.20 which include rockstar gems like Steak, Mushroom, Bacon and Cheese, or Chicken, Camembert and Cranberry, or Steak and Kumara, or Butter Chicken and Broccoli. My personal favs are the first 2 aforementioned pies and I really have to discipline myself as I have to walk past the Boston Bakery twice a day, 5 days a week. If you are in Mt Albert and need to fill the gap, swoop up one of these hand-made with love treats.