Our dog Roxy has an instagram account highlighting dog-friendly places to go and things to see. This page showcases some of the places featured on her account, with a rating for humans and dogs.
Victoria Hotel, Victoria Street, Footscray
Human score: 3/5 – good selection of beer and the food has been good every time we ate there, though we didn’t on our most recent visit
Canine score: 3/5 – lots of outside space, but not a lot of shade for a doggy to lie down in
Puppy Pub Crawls. Various (St Kilda, Foostcray, Collingwood, Brunswick, Port Melbourne)
Human score: 4/5 – a fabulous idea delivered really well by Bianca. A good choice of venues in Footscray, with human snacks along the way. Worth it for the reactions of people along Barkly Street as 20 dogs plus owners headed down the street.
Canine score: 5/5 – a top doggy day out, with snacks, cocktails and lots of new friends to be made.
Curlewis Winery, Curlewis, Bellarine Peninsula
Human score: 5/5 – the hidden gem of Bellarine wineries. Persevere to find it, it’s worth it if you’re a fan of subtle, restrained, French-style wines. A tasting session presented in test-tubes is a nice touch. Great platters for snacking/lunching.
Canine score: 5/5 – three new friends awaited Roxy at this cellar door, and plenty of outside space meant they could get to know each other even when it was raining.
Bennetts on Bellarine, Portarlington, Bellarine Peninsula
Human score: 4/5 – after an abortive attempt to have lunch at Jack Rabbit Winery (“you can tie your dog up to the tree over there” – haha lady, don’t think your other punters will be very happy with that!), we ended up back at Bennetts after a year. Highlight was the Bellarine platter, with foods from lots of local artisans. Great wines too, from a range of local wineries.
Canine score: 5/5 – lots of tables outside, plus a field of sheep for Roxy to stare at intently during lunch, then be scared of when she got close to them.
Zymurgy, Barkly Street, West Footscray
Human score: 4/5 – with Hop Nation and Navi as “parents”, this was always going to be a good option. We only had a snack when we were there, but the food looked great. There isn’t a huge range of drinks, but what they have is good and a special shout-out for the non-alcoholic options. It was quite noisy, though I accept that might just be my age!
Canine score: 3/5 – lots of dogs there, but Roxy didn’t like the gravel. If we go back (which I think we will) we’ll take a mat for her to lie on.
Have you got a suggestion of a dog-friendly place for Roxy to visit?
Send in your suggestions using the contact form.