Gislers Roadside Pie Cafe
When I woke up this morning i soon realized today wasn’t going to be a normal 🥧 review. This was going to be EPIC !!! I was on my way to visit one of QLD’s most iconic landmarks and no I wasn’t going to the BIG PINEAPPLE !!!! I was visiting QLD’s longest running 🥧 carts. Situated on Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Rd is the famous Gisler’s Roadside Pie Cafe. Now the Gisler’s have been serving 🥧’s in the same spot since 1976 !! Yep that’s right the same bit of dirt for 44 years.
Upon arrival I was greeted by the 🥧 Man himself Jon Gisler who quickly informed me I was about to embark on a 🥧 crawl. Now I’ve done hundreds of pub crawls in my 44 years but never a 🥧 crawl so this was going to be interesting.
The first leg began with a chat with a few locals including fellow pie enthusiast Dirk Knijff who has been coming to the cart for over 25 years. then the 🥧 man handed me my first challenge a Chunky Steak 🥧. This was the 🥧 i reviewed and man it was good. This 🥧 cart is a factory on steroids it has everything you need and much more. After smashing the Chunky Steak it was time to hit the road to make our way to the second leg of the crawl.
About 10/15 mins down the road we lobbed at Cleveland and in the Main Street you will find Gisler’s Pies Bakery. This is where I met Jon’s parents Ian & Sherrill. These guys are bloody amazing and what a story they have. Ian started baking at the age of 14 and by the time he was 21 him and Sherrill opened their first bakery. With no money and taking a huge risk they virtually lived at the bakery while selling 🥧’s for 25cents each, WTF !!!!25cents !!!! Fast forward a few years and Sherrill began working for large hotel groups around the world, working in over 15 counties, while Ian was pumping out thousands and thousands of 🥧’s. Actually Ian is adamant he has baked over 25 million 🥧’s during his career. Sadly It was time to head off to our third and final leg not before I was handed another 🥧 this time a bacon quiche !!!
The final leg saw us stop at the The Nook. Situated on boundary Rd Thornlands this place has everything and I mean everything !!!! From fruit to firewood, coffee to cakes and meat to meat 🥧’s. This place goes off and is bloody busy !!!!!
This time I was greeted by Jon’s wife Jamey Gisler and her mother Tammy who immediately handed me yet another 🥧 this time a lamb & rosemary !!!! After 3 🥧’s I felt like a drunken sailor and decided to pull up stumps and concentrate on my review so here it is.
🥧🥧🥧🥧 THE REVIEW 🥧🥧🥧🥧
1. Value for Money – $6 is exceptional value for a 🥧 of this size. It was bloody huge and heavy. This is your classic traditional meat 🥧 !!!!! round and big !!!!! 9.5/10
2. Meat Ratio – Absolutely bursting at the seams and zero room left. Couldn’t ask for any more meat in this thing. 10/10
3. Meat Flavour – With huge chunks of meat, blended with premium top grade mince this 🥧 was terrific. The gravy sauce was awesome. This is your classic chunky steak 🥧 in its full glory and I absolutely loved it !!!! 9.5/10
4. Pastry – For me this was clearly the best part of this 🥧. This pastry had 2 different flavors !!!! Top and bottom. The top was super flakey while the bottom was crispy yet full of flavor. The pasty held together to the last bite and trust me the last bite was the best bit !!!!! 10/10
5. Temperature – Almost perfect, while a tad too hot for my liking overall very good. It literally came straight out of the oven and I smashed it 9.5/10
🥧🥧🥧🥧 Overall 48.5/50 🥧🥧🥧🥧
This 🥧 absolutely rocked !!!! I have heard so many stories about Gisler’s 🥧’s and this 🥧 didn’t disappoint. The size and pasty for me were the real winner. Also it was quite heavy weighing around 270 grams which makes the $6 price tag terrific value.
The traditional 🥧 van is a institution and this one in particular is legendary status. Serving 🥧’s in the same spot since 1976 in INSANE !!!!! Apparently It was a quiet morning, but this place was pumping !!! Whether they were in cars, caravans, trucks even pushies people just pilled into this joint demanding 🥧’s.
A business like Gisler’s 🥧 doesn’t succeed over night. This is years and years of bloody hard work, sacrifices and providing a exceptional product and exceptional customer service.
I was only there a few hours but I met so many customers that have been coming to this place for over 25 plus years and they all told me the size, the meat, the flavor & the pastry of these 🥧’s hasn’t changed ONE bit !!!!
This was a ripping morning and one I will remember for a while. Words cannot describe the sort of people Ian and Sherrill are. Both in there mid 60’s & working like 20 years olds and showing no sign of slowing down. Ian should be cruising around town in his 1948 Norton but instead he’s at the coal face working his arse off.
Jon, I cannot thank you enough for your time today and taking me on my first 🥧 crawl !!!!! You are a salt of the earth fella who loves is family and bloody loves making outstanding 🥧’s !!!! To succeed in business you must have a true passion for what you do and you have it in spades !!!!!! You have a remarkable business and deserve every success that comes your way.
If you haven’t tried a Gisler 🥧 your truly missing out. This weekend get in the car duck out to the Nook or even better stop in at the van and grab your favorite 🥧. I’m so pleased that the traditional 🥧 van has lasted the test of time and while the Gisler family continues to bake outstanding goodies the 🥧 van is going to be around for many many years to come !!!!
