Friends Fur-ever! 5 Dog-friendly Venues to Have a Pawty

You know the drill…it’s time for Sunday brunch and your furry friend is giving you the evil eye knowing you are heading off for foodie fun.

Don’t despair, there are plenty of dog-friendly venues where you can say bone appetit to not only your own hunger but also your pooch’s.

Here are five of our faves for the ulti-mutt good time:

It’s all about keeping everyone in the family happy – including your fur baby - at The Mayfair on Mayfair Drive in Emerald. With a variety of spaces from an indoor air-conditioned dining room to an outdoor beer garden and impressive playground for the kids, this is the ideal watering hole and bistro to catch up with family and friends.

 

Enjoy a Sunday live music session with Fido in the beer garden off the bistro and soak up rays with an ice-cold brew while grazing on chicken wings with sticky plum, honey or BBQ sauce; then chow down on a steak sandwich with rib fillet, egg, bacon, caramelised onion, cheese, lettuce, tomato, BBQ sauce and aioli, on a garlic bread bun. Pizza lovers pick up a slice topped with white sauce, spinach, garlic prawns and cheese.

Nestled in the Southern Highlands, Robertson Public House & Kitchen on Hoddle Street offers visitors and locals a cosy place to relax over a hearty meal. Timber floors, exposed wooden beams and a roaring open fireplace all combine to create an effortlessly rustic pastoral feel, complemented by warm country hospitality.

 

Don’t be surprised to see a horse at the hitching post out front, while your canine friends are also welcome to join the fun; expect hearty pub classics on the menu made with produce from the local butcher, along with delicate seafood and mouth-watering desserts. Start with Korean pork belly bites, gochujang and sesame, followed by bangers and mash – pork and fennel sausages, mashed potato, peas and onion gravy.

Happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast and that’s what you will get at The Flying Horse Café on Southport-Nerang Road in Ashmore. This Gold Coast destination is named after the owners’ son, whose Japanese kanji for his name means Pegasus, and boasts alfresco dining on balmy days, while indoors, cabinets overflow with all manner of temptations and a wall of greenery adds a zen-like calm as you peruse a brunch and lunch menu of café classics with an Asian twist.

 

Situated next to Petstock, take your pup for a walk to the park and then stop in for a puppacino for pooch and a breaky of sweet corn fritters with grilled chorizo, wilted spinach, capsicum jam and poached eggs for you; or join the lunch gang for a smoky pulled beef brisket bowl with spinach, slaw, broccoli, pickled cabbage, brown rice and sriracha mayo.

Find friendly, relaxed and personable service at modern café Brick Lane Espresso in the quiet leafy village-style shops of Philip Mall in West Pymble. With a fenced playground within sight, this locally-loved eatery is a hangout for parents looking to enjoy a caffeine fix while the kids let off steam, while indoors is warm and welcoming with exposed brick, subway tiles and polished concrete counters.

 

Proud to be a dog-friendly café, bring your fur baby along to find designated doggie parking and a hydration station waiting, while you peruse a menu dishing up breaky tempters like a deluxe double bacon and egg roll with hash brown, aioli and spiced tomato jam. Perhaps devour a spicy sashimi salmon bowl for brunch, with soba noodles, cucumber, lime, cherry tomato, avocado, spring greens, sesame dressing, yuzu koshu and ginger.

Head to bustling beachside eatery Bellyfish Café on Terrigal Esplanade in Terrigal for quality coffee and all-day brunch offerings. Soak up rays alfresco on balmy days with water views and a cappuccino, or head indoors where walls are adorned with caricature-style murals and an aqua-tiled counter sits pride of place as the tantalising aroma of coffee beans wafts in the air.

 

Take your pooch for a walk and then watch the sun rise over the water while indulging in breaky plates of blue swimmer crab and corn fritters with bacon, poached eggs, dill cream, spinach and house relish; the lunch crowd delves into pork belly salad braised with fennel and roast garlic, with beetroot, grilled cauliflower, kale, candied walnuts, apple and Davidson plum relish.