The Bondwood Cafe

The Bondwood is a coffee-and-toastie caravan in Adamstown, run out of an original 1950s Bondwood van parked on Glebe Road. Everything happens in the open air around the van, so there is no indoor or outdoor split to worry about: your dog is simply part of the stop, and the grassy space beside it makes this one of the more relaxed dog setups in Newcastle's inner suburbs.

The dog setup

The van sits outside the Adamstown Bowling Club next to open green space, so you can take a chair or drop a picnic rug on the grass with the lead clipped to your belt, or grab takeaway and wander. Locals walking their dogs are a fixture here. Water bowls are not guaranteed from the caravan, so pack your own; with no indoor fallback, this is a fair-weather stop.

Max: the humans sat on the grass next to a shiny old van and I got half a toastie crust, which I judged to be fair.

Worth knowing

Hours are 6am to midday Monday to Friday and 7am to midday on weekends, so it is strictly a morning call. The toasties are the signature: the Original with double-smoked ham and tomato chutney, a baked bean toastie, and a pickle toastie with Spanish salami and dill pickles, all on seeded sourdough. Acai bowls, smoothies, pastries and cold-pressed juices fill out the menu, with proper barista coffee from the van window.

Getting there and parking

Find the van at 504 Glebe Road, Adamstown, easy to spot as the vintage caravan. Pull-in parking out front suits a quick takeaway with the dog still in the car, or park on a side street and make a walk of it. The northern end of the Fernleigh Track is only a short distance away, which makes the van a natural first-stop or finish-line coffee.

Close by with the dogs

Adamstown Dog Off-Leash Area is nearby for an off-lead run before the coffee. If the van has packed up by the time you arrive, Fernleigh Cafe Adamstown and Hope Coffee & Sandwiches Adamstown keep the suburb covered.

More morning stops are on dog-friendly cafes in NSW, and the local listing lives under Adamstown.