Pyney’s 🥧 Reviews
Hebel General Store and Caravan Park (Hebel QLD)
June, 2026
After leaving Lightning Ridge we headed further north towards Charlotte Plains Station. Along the way we crossed the border into the greatest state of all (QLD) and stopped into the little town of Hebel.
I’ve visited this magical place a few times but every time either the Hebel Hotel & General Store
has been closed. This time both were open for business and it was fantasic to see a few caravans lined up supporting this little town.
Hebel is a tiny, tight-knit border town in south-west Queensland, located just 4 km north of the NSW border on the Castlereagh Highway. The Hebel General Store and Hotel is owned by the Deshon Family who took over both businesses in March 2021. Both businesses have kept much of its original 1890s dancehall character and the general store offers amazing home cooked cakes, desserts, meals and best of all homemade 🥧’s. I quickly introduced myself to head 🥧 maker Sue and we immediately went to the warmer to check out the 🥧’s.
The warmer was filled with a few flavours that change on a daily basis. Once again the store is quite small so numbers are limited, so try to get in early. I chose one of my favourite flavours to review and that was “Chunky Pepper”. I was told that this bad boy had a little extra kick in it which I don’t mind.
🥧 THE REVIEW 🥧
1. Value for Money – $9 is certainly creeping up there in price, but the size was really good and the depth of this 🥧 was even better. Also jump onto Google and see we’re Hebel is located. To get a 🥧 our this way is a huge bonus and freighting goods in and out would be super expensive. Reasonable value without being ridiculous 7.5/10
2. Meat/Fill Ratio – Totally full, with a decent amount of meat chunks too. Zero complaints here 10/10
3. Flavour – I really enjoyed it !! Sue wasn’t wrong either, this thing had some kick to it. The green peppercorns could be tasted with every bite which I thoroughly enjoyed. The meat was beautifully cooked and wasn’t gritty or tough, and the gravy sauce blended in beautifully. Overall a very solid flavour. 7.5/10
4. Pastry – The color was outstanding and caught my attention straight away. This was a very attractive 🥧 with zero shrinkage on the top pastry. The stability was excellent, as was the pastry taste and texture. Both bake thicknesses were on point, however both bakes were slightly underdone (wet lines in pics) This is nothing major and quite an easy fix (more time in oven). Overall a couple of things to work on but nothing that cannot be tweaked or fixed. 8/10
5. Serving Temperature – A little hot but nothing to get excited about. 9.5/10
Overall Rating
🥧🥧 42.5/50 🥧🥧
In my opinion Sue and her team have come up with a really solid product and one I would easily have again. The flavor was wonderful and those green peppercorns added some real kick and flavour to the experience. While it was a little 🔥, it’s still quite pleasant and would be tolerable for most pepper steak lovers to enjoy. Yes $9 is there but it’s about the location, location, location, and the price is the price. The 🥧 was full and the pastry experience was more than satisfactory. Well done Sue, keep up the outstanding work and I’m positive the locals and thousands of passings tourists who have your 🥧’s are greatful they’re available on the menu.
The Deshom family took a huge gamble purchasing these businesses in the height of Covid, and we are all better off because of it. This little town has a pub, fuel, general store, caravan park and most importantly 🥧’s. Sadly most other little communities I’m seeing are slowing dying and becoming ghost towns. I cannot stress enough there is plenty of fuel out here, priced well and the Channel Country is the greenest I’ve ever seen it. So jump in your car, truck, bike, or caravan and get out to Hebel you won’t be disappointed. If you are looking for a place to camp, there is self contained camping behind the pub or a caravan park behind the general store.
As always thanks for the ongoing support and keep supporting 🇦🇺 bakeries and don’t forget to invite all your friends to the page.
