Kellys (By the Sea)

Kellys (By the Sea) is a relaxed seaside cafe at 2/31 Zunker Street in Burnett Heads, open seven days for breakfast and lunch, about 15 to 20 minutes from Bundaberg and close to Bargara. It is one of those cafes where the dog welcome is explicit rather than tolerated: water bowls and homemade pet treats are kept behind the counter.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the shaded outdoor, alfresco and footpath seating, not inside, and the tables have room for a dog to settle at your feet. Ask for the water bowl and a treat when you order, since staff keep both on hand, which makes this an easy stop on a warm morning even if you arrived without supplies.

Pepsi: this is the rare place where the puppuccino is genuinely on the house, so the dog gets a course of their own while you work through the cabinet.

The vibe

The kitchen leans freshly cooked and generous: eggs Benedict and smashed avo at breakfast, roast pork rolls and burgers at lunch, fresh cold-pressed juices and 7 Miles roasters coffee, plus a cabinet stacked with date scones, carrot cake and a Biscoff cheesecake. Gluten-free options are well covered. It has a relaxed, airy coastal feel popular with locals walking the foreshore.

Getting there and parking

The cafe sits on Zunker Street with free on-street and nearby public parking, so dropping in is simple. Hours run roughly 6am to 3pm daily, though some days close earlier around 2pm, so an early or mid-morning start is the safe plan.

Pair it with

The fenced run at Burnett Heads Dog Park is a few minutes away for an off-lead stretch before coffee, and an on-leash foreshore walk covers the rest. To turn it into a longer outing, the Lighthouse Hotel Motel nearby has dog-friendly outdoor seating of its own.

More options are on the Queensland dog friendly cafes guide and the Burnett Heads destination page.