The Kitchen Cafe

The Kitchen Cafe is a local coffee shop at 23 Cherry Street in East Ballina, a short hop from Shaws Bay and the caravan park precinct. It is an unpretentious morning stop: coffee on the run or a sit-down breakfast and lunch at affordable prices, with the kind of regulars who are greeted by name. Weekday hours run 6am to 2pm, and weekend trading is lighter and can shift, so check the cafe's Facebook page if you are planning a Saturday or Sunday visit.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the outdoor front seating on a leash, which suits the grab-a-coffee-and-find-a-table rhythm of the place. The cafe has a local reputation for being genuinely welcoming to dogs, with water offered rather than requested. Indoor seating is out of bounds for pets under NSW food premises rules, so plan on the outside tables with your dog beside you.

Worth knowing

The menu covers the breakfast and lunch staples, and regulars call out generous serves: the haloumi roll, avo on toast and bacon and eggs draw repeat orders, and the iced coffee has its fans. Everything is fresh and well priced, with takeaway moving quickly through the morning peak. Street parking is straightforward around Cherry Street, and the whole stop folds easily into a walk around the Shaws Bay foreshore.

Close by with the dogs

Shaws Bay's calm-water paths are effectively next door for an on-leash stroll, and Compton Dog Park in East Ballina gives a proper off-leash run before coffee. Down the coast, Seven Mile Beach Dog Beach Car Park (Lennox Head) covers the beach-swim end of a morning out. For another coffee in the same pocket, Double Shot on Brighton sits on Brighton Street, and Missingham Park Off Leash Area is the riverside option towards the town centre. More are listed under NSW dog friendly cafes and the Ballina guide.