Choosing the café is half the pleasure of a weekend catch-up. Somewhere in your neighbourhood, or a reason to visit a different one; a full breakfast, or just coffee and an hour with a friend.
These four Melbourne cafés each identify dog-friendly spaces on their own websites. They are alternatives, not a cross-city café crawl. Pick the neighbourhood that works for your plans, then confirm an outdoor table and the day’s opening details directly with the venue.
Lux Foundry, Brunswick
At 21 Hope Street, Lux Foundry brings a warehouse setting to the backstreets of Brunswick. The café occupies a heritage-listed building, with a courtyard where dogs are welcome.
Its all-day menu spans breakfast, brunch and lunch. That makes the choice here less about arriving for a particular service and more about what sort of catch-up you have in mind: eggs and coffee, a late breakfast or a longer lunch.
There is a booking option on the café’s website. If you are meeting a group, let the venue know a dog is coming and ask about courtyard seating. Book for the meal you actually want rather than squeezing brunch between several other appointments.
Sweet Evelyn, Brunswick
Sweet Evelyn is at 128 Union Street, with a dog-friendly courtyard and kerbside seating near Temple Park. It offers a second Brunswick address for a different part of the neighbourhood.
The café website has separate breakfast-and-lunch and drinks menus, as well as courtyard reservation enquiries. Read the current menu before deciding whether this is a quick coffee meeting or a sit-down meal.
Because the courtyard is also available for private hire, it is worth asking whether it will be open for regular service when you plan to visit. A short call is more useful than building the morning around a table you have only seen in a photograph.
Neighbours Café, St Kilda East
For a southside meeting, Neighbours Café is on the corner of Chapel and Inkerman streets, at 42 Chapel Street. Dogs are welcome in its outdoor courtyard, with yellow umbrellas and open-air tables.
The food menu includes brunch dishes such as shakshouka and a vegetable hash. Browse the current selection when making your plans; this is a breakfast or lunch destination in its own right, rather than merely somewhere to collect a takeaway.
Use the St Kilda East address when sharing the meeting point. It is a Chapel Street café, not a beachfront stop, so plan the rest of your outing around that location.
Saint Jaxie, Malvern
Saint Jaxie, at 1376 Malvern Road, describes itself as a dog-friendly, all-day brunch café. There is a courtyard at the back and larger tables for group visits.
The website offers online bookings and a contact number. Ask for the courtyard when enquiring with a dog, and check whether the group can be seated together there. It is a useful detail to settle before everyone sets off from different suburbs.
Four addresses, four possible mornings. Choose one, make the arrangements and give the catch-up room to last longer than the first coffee.
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