High Life

High Life runs Monday to Friday only, 6:30am to 2pm, from Shop 5/103 Jonson Street, and the Sydney Morning Herald's Good Food review calls it exactly what it is: a very good cafe where old and new Byron meet. The menu tagline is coffee, herbs, snake oils, which explains why the organic cold brew might come blended with MCT and lion's mane mushroom, why turmeric lattes and ginger, turmeric and lemon shots come off the pass, and why the shelves hold boutique speakers, natural wine and jars of artisanal everything. Dogs are welcome at the verandah tables, and this is a weekday-morning venue: closed weekends, so plan accordingly.

The dog setup

The sunny verandah is the spot for dogs, and it does double duty as the people-watching perch off Jonson Street. The menu leans wholesome: sourdough slathered with grass fed butter and piled with medicinal mushrooms, topped with a duck egg if you like, bone broth on the side, a smoked cheese toastie with tomato sugo and salsa verde, and the mixed plate regulars keep ordering. Staff are known for being easygoing about off-menu requests, which matters when you are juggling a lead and a coffee order.

Getting there and parking

The cafe sits on Jonson Street, Byron Bay's main strip, a short walk from the Butler Street end and the train station side of town. Parking around Jonson Street is the usual town-centre exercise: metered and competitive, so arrive before 9am or come on foot from wherever you have parked the wider morning.

Close by with the dogs

After the verandah, give the dog a real run: the Belongil Beach South dog exercise area allows off lead play in the intertidal zone and is minutes by car. Folk Byron Bay welcomes dogs in its garden seating if you are stacking a second coffee stop, and the Byron Bay destination guide plus the NSW cafe list fill in the rest.

Max: mushrooms for me, a patch of verandah shade for the dog, and nobody in a hurry