Café Ritz

Cafe Ritz is a long-running, family-operated city cafe on Gawler Place in the Adelaide CBD, serving the weekday office crowd from 6am to 3:30pm, Monday to Friday. It is a practical, no-fuss stop: good barista coffee, made-to-order rolls, salads and hot dishes from a Mediterranean-leaning kitchen, with footpath seating out the front where dogs are welcome. It is closed on weekends, so plan it as a working-week visit.

The dog setup

Dogs join you at the outdoor footpath tables, not inside, where space is limited and food-service rules apply. Some of the outdoor seating is under cover, which helps on Adelaide's colder or wetter mornings. Keep your dog leashed and tucked out of the pedestrian flow of Gawler Place, and bring your own water bowl since the counter is busiest around the breakfast and lunch peaks. Mid-morning and mid-afternoon on a weekday are the calm windows.

Worth knowing

The food goes beyond standard city-cafe fare: double-cut rolls made to order, fresh salads and sandwiches, and homemade hot dishes such as spanakopita, lasagna, pastitsio and ratatouille, with Greek sweets like kataifi alongside. There is also a catering arm for offices around the city. Coffee is a consistent strength, and the staff get repeated mentions for being quick and welcoming, which matters when you are standing on a footpath with a dog.

While you're out there

Being in the CBD square mile, parking is limited and metered, with UPark stations the nearest off-street option, so walking in or catching a bus to Grenfell Street is easier with a dog. For an off-leash run before coffee, the All Dog Park in the parklands is a short drive away, and North Adelaide Fenced Dog Park offers a fully fenced option. For a sit-down brunch alternative, The Flinders Street Project is a few minutes east. More options are under South Australian dog friendly cafes and the Adelaide guide.