Timber Tales Coffee

Timber Tales Coffee occupies Cargo's original late-1800s general store and bank building at 23 Belmore Street, half cafe and half gift shop, with rustic decor, a fireplace and shelves of local produce and gifts. It is a dog-friendly pit stop for anyone driving the Cargo Road between Orange and the Central West villages.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome inside as well as out here, which counts for a lot when Central West weather turns. The room is compact, so it suits a dog that will settle quietly at your feet; if yours prefers space, take an outside table. Bring a water bowl because the cafe is small and water stations are not guaranteed. Cabonne Council keeps dogs on lead in Cargo's public parks and streets, so the stroll either side of coffee is an on-lead one.

Coffee and the counter

The menu is honest country cafe food: toasted sandwiches, bacon and egg muffins, brioche burgers, Orange Pie Co pies, scones and a rotating cake and slice selection with an apple crumble that regulars come back for. Coffee is the drawcard, served in collector cups with a buy-ten-get-one-free card, and there are takeaway options for the road. Trading is limited: closed Monday to Wednesday, 8am to 11am Thursday and Friday, 8am to 1pm Saturday and 9am to 1pm Sunday, so plan the detour around those windows.

Making a day of it

Cargo is a small village, so parking off Belmore Street is simple and a leg-stretch with the dog is easy before or after eating. For a proper off-lead run, the drive to Orange gets you the fenced run at Bloomfield Reserve, and Bensons Cafe is a dog-friendly coffee stop back in town. The Cargo Road Wines cellar door sits on the road that shares its name for anyone stretching the trip into wine country.

More dog-friendly stops in the district are on the Cargo destination page, with the state list in the NSW cafes index.