Vanilla Cream Cafe

Vanilla Cream Cafe sits inside the historic Amaroo Park at 233 Annangrove Road, on the rural fringe of The Hills Shire, and dogs are welcome at its outdoor tables. The trip out of suburbia is the point: a quiet garden-and-bushland setting, hearty breakfast plates and a cake cabinet that keeps people coming back.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the outdoor seating, leashed and settled beside your table. Staff are used to four-legged guests and the parkland around the cafe gives you somewhere to wander before or after you eat. The indoor dining room is for people only, so this is a fair-weather option on rainy days, and bringing your own water bowl is a sensible habit here.

The vibe and the menu

The kitchen runs breakfast and lunch, and the baked goods are the headliners: scones, cakes and a high tea style service that regulars mention often, along with corn fritters and the seafood crepe. It is a relaxed, unhurried room, the sort of place where the staff get named in reviews for being friendly. Weekday mornings are calm; weekends pull in families from across the district, so arrive early if you want a good outdoor table.

Getting there and parking

Amaroo Park has its own parking off Annangrove Road, and the cafe is easiest to reach by car from Kenthurst, Glenhaven or Rouse Hill. There is no train or bus service out this way, so plan on driving. The road is a popular cycling route, which tells you something about the scenery.

Max: keep the leash short at the outdoor tables, this one is set in open parkland where other dogs wander past.

Close by with the dogs

For a leg-stretch after the cake, Connie Lowe Reserve in Rouse Hill has open ground for a wander, and Cafe Elle Restaurant & Cafe is another outdoor-friendly coffee stop in the same pocket. Back toward Kenthurst, The Hills Grove runs garden seating on Annangrove Road itself.

More of the area's dog-friendly venues are on the Annangrove destination page, with the state list in the NSW cafes index.