How much is too much to pay for a pie?
In Rotorua, that question is sparking debate after a local cafe priced its potato-top pies and sausage rolls at $13.50 each, prompting one upset customer to speak out.
But Rotorua Daily Post investigations have found it is not the city’s priciest pastry.
The customer, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Post he had never seen prices like that for such basic items.
The $13.50 pie and sausage roll were seen at Shadehouse Cafe.
“I hadn’t been in there for quite a few months, so that’s why I was just so shocked.”
The cafe’s owner said his pastries were premium products that were bigger than those of other cafes.
The customer said cafes had “definitely” increased their prices, but felt the pie and sausage roll prices were too expensive.
He said the cafe’s food quality looked “good”, but he had never seen a sausage roll priced higher than $9.
He said that in his opinion, the higher prices might be justified if the pastries came “beautified up” with a side salad and sauce.
Shadehouse Cafe owner KV Ranawat told the Rotorua Daily Post $13.50 was “normal pricing” at the moment for cafes. He confirmed the price of his pastries did not include a salad or sauce.
“They are premium products. They’re handmade.”
He said the size of the pies and sausage rolls at Shadehouse cafe was “significantly bigger” than those at many other cafes in the area.
“Normally, a pie size is around 200 grams, but our ones are 250g to 280g. So that weighs on the pricing as well because it is a bigger piece.”
Ranawat said the cafe was feeling the pressure of rising costs such as wages, building costs, all outgoings, and GST, which was “very challenging”.
“We are very careful of our products and the costs, especially at Shadehouse. Most of the customers come for cabinet food, and we have to price it very accurately.
“Our business is dependent on it, and we’re very mindful of that.”
The Rotorua Daily Post asked other local cafes and bakeries what they sold a standard pie and sausage roll for.
Scope Cafe’s products were priced slightly higher than Shadehouse Cafe – $14.90 for a pie and $14 for a sausage roll.
“We have no standard pies or sausage rolls, ours fall under the gourmet category,” said Scope Cafe owner Dave Fabling.
All products were fully made on-site, he said, and the cafe varied its pie flavours, but there was always a beef option.
“This weighs 310g and sells for $14.90. We use diced sirloin steak, bacon, mushroom and IPA beer in the pie filling.
“Our sausage roll weighs 270g and sells for $14. We use beef mince, no sausage meat, garlic and onion.”
Fabling took over the cafe in mid-November and said prices were increased earlier in 2025.
“These price rises were driven by a combination of increases in ingredients, labour and energy costs.”
Zippy Central Cafe and Bar sells pies for $12 with a homemade tomato sauce. A sausage roll was also $12.
Third Place Cafe sells pies and sausage rolls for $8.90 each.
Aroma Cafe sell a mince and cheese pie for $8.50 and a sausage roll for $10. Both came with a side salad and sauce.
Bird the Word sold a bacon and egg pie priced at $9.50.
Pantry d’Or Boutique Bakery sold a potato-top pie for $7.50, and a sausage roll was $6.50.
Patrick’s Boutique Bakery sold all pies at a flat rate of $8, and each was about 300g.
The owner of Goldiluck Bake Shop said she sold a “normal” pie for $6.80 and a sausage roll for $4.30.
“In this area, my shop sells cheaper than the others because everything has gone up, meat, the building costs, but I’m selling cheaply because I try to help my customers.”
Guidough’s Bakery owner Mel Bachmann said she sold potato-top pies and sausage rolls for $7.50 each.
The bakery also sold a smaller sausage roll for $4.
“The sausage rolls are definitely larger than the standard size, like ours are massive. The pies are probably standard,” Bachmann said.
When asked if she had to increase her prices recently, Bachmann’s response was “had to, yes, did we, no”.
“We just understand that everybody’s struggling.
“Beef prices have gone up massively, like mince has just gone up again. So, we probably need to increase prices, but we haven’t yet.”
Kaitlyn Morrell is a journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.