If the words ‘curry pot pie by Victor Liong’ fail to make you sit up and take notice, you don’t deserve a seat at the celebrated chef’s casual city sibling to his Lee Ho Fook fine diner. The aromatic filling of chicken curry (don’t worry, chilli-fearers – it’s light on the spice,) is a joy to inhale when you peel back the flaky roti lid. Tear it into pieces, dip and repeat. Don’t forget to throw in an order of fries to cement your carbohydrate-driven happiness. And while you’re there, it would be a shame to miss out on the house dumplings. Shop 6/500 Bourke St, Melbourne; silkspoon.com.au

It takes a wonder chef to make a Wonder Pie. Chef Ray Capaldi had his moment of enlightenment in 2018, moving his talents from fine dining to pies with integrity. The shortcrust bases with glossy puff tops are engineered to perfection, while classically inclined fillings like lamb and rosemary or beef and red wine mix it up with more outré inventions, such as the chicken parma pie and ever-popular lasagne pie. Get them family-sized, bite-sized and everything in between. You’ll also find Wonder Pies playing a starring role at Capaldi’s Baketico cafes in Heidelberg, Collingwood and Brunswick. Multiple locations; wonderpies.com.au

Baker brothers Chan and Ryan Khun make pies to die for, with endless trophies and MasterChef guest appearance to show for it. The satay chicken and fish amok pie nod to their Cambodian heritage, while the beef with cheese and jalapenos is pure chunky flavour, and the lobster laksa is just pure genius. Vegan? No problem. Hit the curried cauliflower with chickpeas and lentils. Coeliac? There’s a small gluten-free range, too. Got a family to feed? The Gold Medal party pack, a selection of the brothers’ award-winning and best-selling pies, is the key to collective pastry-wrapped happiness. Multiple locations; countrycobbakery.com.au

Falco’s Rockwell cheeseburger pie has become something of a Melbourne legacy item: seasoned with history, nostalgia and serious amounts of deliciousness. Its origins stretch back to Smith Street Oz-American bar Rockwell & Sons, where Falco co-founder Casey Wall invented a double patty smash burger of the same name; now the space is an artisan bakery and the iconic cheeseburger has spun its DNA into perfect pie form. Clever, huh? You can also head in the direction of chicken and leek or steak and pepper, but the smart money is always going to be on this addictively gloopy cheesy burger mash-up. Multiple locations; falcobakery.com

These award-winning pies are still made in Wodonga, where this Covid project was born, but Melburnians can get their mitts on one of Miss Amelie’s golden-crusted beauties at the Queen Victoria and Prahran markets, where doing the weekly shop is always going to be so much more satisfying with a puff-pastry-encased filling of lamb shank, garlic and rosemary in hand. Other flavours to float your boat include Tassie scallop and king salmon chowder, Chinese BBQ pork belly, Thai red curry duck, and butter chicken. Another smart idea is to take a four-pack home for the easiest family dinner ever. Multiple locations; missameliegourmet.com.au

It’s less a shop, more a market stall – but who’s going to quibble when the pies are so good? Frankie’s Pie Shop is the work of ex-Farmer’s Daughters chef Francesca Giorgi Monfort, who’s elevating the Aussie classic to dizzying new heights. Swing by the Carlton Farmers Market on the first and third Saturday of the month to expand your pie horizons with flavours like chicken cacio e pepe, kimchi with folded eggs and bacon, or kangaroo bourguignon in an amazing pepperberry puff. Each pie is made with top-notch local ingredients and pairs perfectly with the house ketchup. Brava, Frankie. Carlton North Primary School; 6054/60 Lee St, Carlton North; frankiespieshop.com

A pie for two? Those who don’t like to share, look away now. Those happy to go ‘mano a mano’ will be rewarded with a superior pie experience. Their ‘Pie of the Day’ fillings change regularly, but the elevated English pub nature of this critically acclaimed restaurant in the Caretaker’s Cottage precinct should give you a steer to expect the likes of curried chicken with potato and celery, or ox cheek with a spear of bone marrow (it melts into the pie as it’s cooked) and bacon in the kind of golden suet-larded crust someone’s grandmother used to make. Seriously superb. 130 Lonsdale St, Melbourne; reedhousemelbourne.com

A proper pub pie can be hard to find these days, but this recently glammed-up South Melbourne stayer reliably serves the goods. What you’ll find inside that flaky pastry crust depends on the season – autumn saw smoked trout, prawn and leek, served with pickled onion. Currently, it’s a winter-season filling of wild boar, sweet potato and root vegetables. There’s confit potato and pickled red cabbage riding shotgun, but no one will judge you if you add fries to the order. Make a calendar note that Mondays at O’Connell’s mean a Pie & Pinot deal, whether you swing noir or gris. 407 Coventry St, South Melbourne; oconnells.com.au

It’s a pie with a flair for the dramatic, custom-made for Instagram. A sawed-off marrow bone spearing through a golden suet crust has people making a beeline for the eye-popping braised oxtail and snail pie at Con Christopoulos’ latest venture. It’s a damned-good pie for a damned-good venue that riffs on the classic pub, minus the sticky carpet. You’ll also want to be trying the potato cakes with salt cod brandade (because: super crunchy), oysters Kilpatrick (yes, they’re back from the 1970s crypt) and the house English muffin with cotechino sausage and a fried egg. Good one, guv’nor. 380 Little Bourke St, Melbourne; instagram.com/lepubmelbourne

Baketico has several outlets across the city offering the full range of chef Raymond Capaldi’s Wonder Pies. That’s a whopping 29 flavours, including both classic and more out-there flavours (mac ‘n’ cheese or beef, pineapple, chilli) three vegan and five vegetarian fillings. Capaldi’s tried and true pastry shell recipe has resulted in a sturdy receptacle with a light shortcrust pastry bottom and a crispy puff pastry lid, both pastries using vegetable lard instead of butter. While the smoky spices and deep flavours of the tandoori chicken appeal, you can’t go past the rich and satisfying beef, cheese and pepper. 128 Langridge Street, Collingwood; baketico.com.au.

Whittlesea Bakehouse is a mini road trip from the Melbourne CBD but the one-hour drive is well worth it. If you don’t have a car, you can take the Mernda line to the end, then it’s a nine-minute bus ride to Whittlesea. The Bakehouse has classic old-school bakery vibes. There’s a Ned Kelly pie (steak, cheese, egg and bacon), but its plain meat pie was voted the best in Australia in 2022’s Great Aussie Pie Competition. Whittlesea pie maker Adrian Caporetto’s pastry is golden, flaky and robust and filled with a slightly peppered rich savoury gravy with chunks of meat. 34 Church Street, Whittlesea; facebook.com/whittlesea-bakehouse.

The French Lettuce Carlton has been around since the 1980s, with pastry chef Peter Brown and his wife Nicole taking over in 2003. A second, bigger store opened in Bulleen in 2020 and Richmond locals get their French Lettuce fix from the Saturday morning Gleadell Street Market. French Lettuce make one pie and make it well; their beef and burgundy pie is made with lean beef, slow-cooked for six hours with a roux made from the remaining liquid added back in. The pastry case is golden and buttery made from Australian and French butters. Tomato sauce is not required. 237 Nicholson St, Carlton; thefrenchlettuce.com.

The butter chicken pie at Jessi Singh’s British Indian pub is the perfect symbol of his ‘unauthentic’ approach to cross-cultural cuisine. Lamb bhuna (think of rogan josh, but less saucy) is another mash-up that might appear on the daily pie special parade, or maybe a classic fish pie, rocking a mild curry curveball. Mushy peas are a compelling add-on, and the chips are a moral imperative. Continue your exploration of subcontinental Britishness with bar snacks like the ‘royal’ pork vindaloo sausage rolls and spicy Mumbai Scotch eggs, all set to a jaunty soundtrack of Beatles tunes and jolly good cheer. 19-25 Little Bourke St, Melbourne; daughtersarms.com.au