Racecourse Cafe

Racecourse Cafe sits at the Ballina Jockey Club on Racecourse Road in East Ballina, a leafy, quiet pocket away from the town centre crowds. It is the kind of local secret that works brilliantly with a dog: open-air seating, easy parking and a kitchen that turns out generous homemade plates. If you walk East Ballina in the mornings, this is the natural finish line.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the open-air outdoor seating, kept on lead, and there is room around the edges of the venue for a dog to lie clear of foot traffic. Staff are accommodating, but bring your own water bowl, particularly through the busy morning stretch. The setting is calm by cafe standards, so it suits dogs that settle easily rather than those still learning the ropes.

What the kitchen does

Fresh, homemade breakfast and lunch is the draw, with quality coffee alongside. The topics that keep coming up are the brisket burger, the pork roll, burgers generally and a chocolate muffin worth ordering, and reviewers agree the servings are generous. This is a local meeting point more than a tourist stop, which keeps the atmosphere relaxed.

Getting there and parking

The cafe is reached via Fox Street, with extensive free on-site parking at the Jockey Club, so access stays easy even on the busier mornings. It is walkable for East Ballina locals and a two minute detour for anyone driving through.

Pair it with

The Ballina to Lennox Head coastal path is an easy on-lead walk nearby, and Shaws Bay's calm-water foreshore is a short trip for a flat stroll. For a proper off-leash session, Kingsford Smith dog park and the Missingham Park off-leash area both sit within easy reach, and Bertie's food and drink covers the town-centre coffee run on days you are closer to Cherry Street. The wider picks are on the Ballina destination page and in the NSW cafes index.

Weekdays are the only service: the cafe opens 7am to 2pm Monday to Friday and closes on weekends. Come after an early walk and you will have the quietest tables.