Dirty Apron Cafe

Dirty Apron is a neighbourhood cafe at 47 Ramsden Street, Clifton Hill, on the corner of Gordon Street in a restored 1917 butcher's shop, and it is one of the friendlier dogs-welcome tables in the inner north. Outdoor seating on the footpath and the front alfresco area are the dog zones, and staff are known to keep treats on hand and make a fuss of regular four-legged visitors.

The dog setup

Take an outdoor table and keep your dog leashed and out of the walkway; the interior stays people-only as is standard for Victorian cafes. Ask for a water bowl when you order, and expect a puppaccino offer if the barista is in a good mood. Weekends fill with locals, so an early slot or a weekday is the way to land an outside table with room for the dog.

What to order

The kitchen runs modern Australian breakfast and lunch with something for most diets: blueberry buttermilk hotcakes, chilli scramble, baked eggs, a beef rib sandwich, spanakopita and the cauliflower salad that keeps appearing in reviews. Bread comes from Ed's Bread in Balwyn and milk from Fitzroy's Saint David Dairy, and the coffee is Gridlock Espresso from West Heidelberg. Hours are 7am to 2:30pm weekdays and 8am to 2:30pm weekends, so it is a breakfast-and-lunch room.

Before or after coffee

The cafe's location is handy for dog walking: the Ramsden Street Reserve off-leash area is effectively around the corner on Field Street, Quarries Park sits just south with its skyline views, and the Merri Creek Trail is close for a longer run. Clifton Hill station is a short walk and street parking on Ramsden and the side streets is suburban and tight at peak. Uncle Drew Cafe is the suburb's other dog-friendly option.

More of the area is on the Clifton Hill destination page, with the state list in the VIC cafes index.