Mili & Co. Cafe

Mili & Co. Cafe sits in the Cecil Hills Shopping Village at Shop 3/1 Lancaster Avenue, and it is one of those cafes where the dog policy comes from the top. The place is named after the owners' two pointers, Miso and Mili, and that shows in how the outdoor tables work: water bowls set out, puppycinos on offer, and staff who expect a nose at the table edge.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome across the plentiful outdoor seating, with water bowls easily accessible so you do not have to beg for one. The kitchen pours puppycinos for canine guests, a rare proper dog menu item rather than an afterthought. Keep your dog on a lead and settled at your table as you would at any shopping centre strip; weekends get busy with family brunch traffic.

Worth knowing

The coffee is Pablo & Rusty's, and the all-day menu leans generous: eggs benedict, fritters, chorizo and hash brown plates, chicken and waffles, and a Nutella oat waffle that regulars order on sight. The matcha latte has its own following. Hours run 6:30am to 2:30pm Monday to Friday and 7am to 2:30pm on weekends, so it is a breakfast and lunch venue rather than an afternoon one.

Getting there and parking

The cafe fronts the Cecil Hills Shopping Village off Lancaster Avenue, with parking right at the shops. Western Sydney traffic being what it is, coming early beats circling for a spot at 9am on a Saturday.

Close by with the dogs

For a proper run afterwards, Shale Hills Fenced Dog Park in West Hoxton is a short drive west with five hectares of fenced off-lead space. If you are making a cafe crawl of it instead, Ristretto & Co and Bigge Espresso in Liverpool both welcome dogs at their outdoor tables.

More options are on the NSW dog friendly cafes guide and the Cecil Hills destination page.

Max: the puppycino arrives before you have even sat down. Tie the lead to the chair, not the table, or you will be wearing your flat white.