Beaut Bakery — Restaurant in North Island

We stopped here for an early breakfast when heading out of town to continue our NZ road trip. They were one of the few places open before 7. However, our entire group was absolutely delighted by the flavorful food they had available. Every one of our group are still talking about their egg and bacon breakfast pies as the breakfast highlight of the trip. The apple crumble was also delicious. Wish we would have discovered this place earlier in the trip so we could have eaten there more often. ...

Great selection of prize-winning pies (about 20 different) and cakes. I bought a steak and cheese pie which was delicious and had big chunks of meat in it. Also bought a custard square cake which was made to perfection (I'm a bit of a connoisseur of custard squares, just saying) - easily matching the best custard square I've tried. Next time I'm in Taupo I'll definitely be revisiting Beaut Bakery to indulge my tastebuds again with possibly the best pies and custard...

One version of the NZ Lonley Planet guide nominated this as the best pie in NZ. Was it? Certainly not. The pie was above average, but the lack of vegetarian options in both hot and cold food was rather embarrassing to them. I suspect ownership has changed recently. The pastry was very good, but the filling didn't live up to the hype. I wouldn't go back. A microwaved...