A batch of hot custard tarts comes out of the oven
No-one loves a pie like an Australian. Yet, when it comes to a ripper pie, there are few that stand out from the merely good or mediocre to fit the description of exceptional, magnificent or mouth-watering. The pies at Mountain High Pies have that claim to fame. Yes, tucked away in the Blue Mountains is the mountains version of the Northern Beaches 'Upper Crust Pie Shop' and Wooloomooloo's 'Harry's Cafe de Wheels'. Might I offer my humble opinion that Mountain High Pies is actually better than these legends of the pie world.
Of course, being the mountains, you don't have to wolf your pie down outside in the cold. There are clean and comfortable quarters dedicated for this purpose, replete with wall art - also very mountains.
This little cafe cum truck-stop and take-away, located on the Highway at Wentworth Falls, ticks a multitude of boxes. At this humble highway-side eatery you will find service with a smile, a vast range of tantalising pies including an extensive vegetarian selection and vegan options, exceptionally clean premises and toilets, off-street parking and awesome freshly ground coffee. As a result you will also find a hungry queue. Hey, I didn't promise everything would be perfect. It's exactly the kind of business that one would want to franchise.
Quick breakfast - the Breakfast Pie at Mountain High Pies
More about the pies... For this is the main attraction.
There are at least 36 different types of pies on offer ranging from the Breakfast pie (bacon, mushrooms & onion in a tomato sauce with mashed potato & a whole egg on top) to the magnificent vegan Tomato, Coriander & Lentil pie. There are sweet pies including my daughter's personal fave - the apple and custard pie. Yes, there are many meat, chicken and seafood pie choices, but as a committed vegetarian I'm not going to tell you about them - you'll just have to find out yourself. Let's just say, this is the largest choice of pies I've seen in any cafe dedicated to this pastry art form. So, beware, you may have difficulty choosing.
In addition to this you can purchase tarts, biscuits and a variety of teas, coffee's and hot chocolate or score a seasonal soup or salad. For a few bucks extra, you can add to any pie a side serving of 3 coloured mashes (potato, pea and pumpkin) plus gravy. This turns your pie into a tantalising full size meal.
Mountain High Pies - get the thumbs up from my daughter
This is an eatery that truly caters to the needs of its' customer's. Service is of the old-fashioned efficient and polite type that looks like the staff might have undergone a hospitality induction in the 1940's.
There are choices (marked clearly) for vegans and the odd gluten free offering such as the gluten free Pear & Almond Pie and the Roast Vegetable Quichette. It's certainly refreshing to see any establishment moving forward with the dietary times in an era when so many still live in the dark ages in this respect.
Massive range of pies at Mountain High Pies, but don't come too late - they can get wiped out by the masses that pass through here.
Vegetarians will find pie nirvana here. These much neglected customers can choose from any of the following pies:
- Chickpea & Curried Vegetables with Eggplant & Coconut milk sauce
Dhansak & Curried Vegetables
Pumpkin, Cashew & Leek
- Roasted Vegetable Quichette
- Roasted Vegetables
- Spinach & Feta
- Tomato, Coriander & Lentil
- Vegetable Sausage Roll
The clean and new looking premises of Mountain High Pies
Mountain High Pies is an excellent option for a quick and cheap lunch for kids or for a well-priced take-away lunch to be had in a park. But, you may as well sit in.
I have witnessed Mountain High Pies progression from a new and fairly quiet establishment to the thriving and busy hive that it is today. Quality has a way of becoming known in time. Which means Mountain High Pies is hopefully here to stay.
Mountain High Pies has very amenable hours starting from the ungodly hour of 6am and closing at 4pm. It's open a glorious 7 days a week and is located at 293 Great Western Highway Wentworth Falls. If you are coming from Sydney it's on your right about 1km after you pass the turn-off to the Wentworth Village shops. If coming from Katoomba, it's on your left as you pass the Mitchell Street Traffic lights and about 1km before the Wentworth Falls Village shops turn-off.
To look at the full menu or read more about
Mountain High Pies click on the link. Mountain High Pies also has it's own
Facebook Page.
The queue says it all.
