DALY’S

DALY'S is a corner cafe at 137 Dawson Street in Brunswick West, run by hospitality veterans Reece and Gus, and dogs are welcome at the street-side tables out front. It is a coffee-and-a-jaffle stop rather than an all-morning destination, and the welcome at the footpath tables is a genuine part of the routine for local walkers.

The dog setup

Dogs sit at the outdoor and footpath seating at the front, which doubles as a good spot for people watching while the pour settles. Staff keep a water bowl out the front and are known to hand out the odd pat and treat. With a residential street rather than a strip of shops, the footpath stays calm enough for a dog to settle, and the tables are most comfortable outside the weekend rush.

The coffee and the counter

Coffee is the draw: rotating single origins and a house blend run through a two-group La Marzocco, with retail bags of beans to take home. The food is simple and done well, with jaffles, house-baked goods by Gus, and a sausage and egg breakfast muffin that regulars order by name. The deli-style rolls change often, and ordering ahead through the Skip app is an option if you are walking past on a schedule.

Getting there and parking

The 58 tram runs down Dawson Street, so it is an easy trip without a car. Dawson Street is residential, and there is usually unmetered street parking out front or on the side streets. Hours are 7am to 4pm weekdays and 8am to 2pm weekends.

Make a morning of it

Gilpin Park's fenced dog park is a short walk away, so a coffee first and an off-leash run afterwards is the natural order. Holbrook Reserve's off-leash area is the other Brunswick West option, and the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail suits a longer on-leash walk. Lux Foundry in Brunswick is a warehouse-scale alternative with its own courtyard.

More stops in the suburb are on the Brunswick West destination page, and the full list is in the VIC cafes index.

Max: the footpath tables fill fast after school pickup on weekdays. We time our Dawson Street walks for mid morning and always get a spot.