Cassowary Café

Cassowary Cafe is an eco-minded cafe in central Belmont on the NSW south-eastern edge of Lake Macquarie, doing house-roasted coffee and a breakfast-to-lunch menu heavy on gluten-free and vegan options. It is an easy place to bring a dog: the outdoor courtyard opens straight onto the free car park, so you can settle your dog at a table without threading through the indoor room.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the courtyard seating, which is the practical side of the cafe for anyone arriving with a lead in hand. The kitchen keeps dog treats on hand, including puppuccinos and biscuits from a local dog barkery. Indoor tables are for people only, so on a wet day you will need a plan B. The courtyard walls carry big cassowary and rainforest murals, which is a fair bit more interesting for the human half of the table than the usual strip shopfront.

Pepsi: I got a puppuccino and a biscuit from the barkery before my human finished the first coffee. Ten out of ten, would nap under the table again.

The vibe

This is a coffee-first, ethics-forward cafe: house-roasted beans, nitro brews and teas on tap, plus kombucha and herbal options for the non-coffee drinkers. The menu runs from eggs benedict and loaded Benny burgers to vegan pancakes, with house-made gluten-free bread covering the coeliac side of the table. Milkshakes keep kids happy. Hours run early: about 6am to 2:30pm on weekdays, closing from mid afternoon on weekends, so it is a breakfast or lunch stop rather than a dinner one.

Getting there and parking

The cafe sits in the Belmont shopping strip, and the free car park right outside is the main draw for dog owners since the courtyard is only a few steps from the parking bays. Come on a mild morning when the courtyard is comfortable and shaded, and call ahead on busy weekends if you want a specific table.

Pair it with

After breakfast, walk it off on the Fernleigh Track, which starts in Belmont and runs on-lead through the old rail corridor. For a proper run, the Valentine dog exercise area is a short drive south, and Redhead dog beach covers the sand fix. More options are in our Belmont guide or the wider list of dog friendly cafes in NSW.