Village Pantry

Village Pantry is a relaxed breakfast and lunch cafe inside the Park Beach Homebase complex at 9/252 Pacific Highway, Coffs Harbour, and it is one of the easier dog stops in town. The Homebase car park is enormous and the cafe keeps a sheltered outdoor terrace where dogs on leads are welcome, so a highway-side pitstop with the dog is simple here.

The dog setup

Dogs join you on the covered outdoor terrace and courtyard, not in the indoor dining room. The seating has real room to settle a dog beside the table, and staff are easygoing about leashed visitors. Water is generally available if you ask, but the covered courtyard can get busy at weekend breakfast, so bringing your own bowl is the safe play.

The menu

Expect freshly prepared breakfasts and generous plates: eggs benedict, turkish eggs, acai bowls, carrot cake and solid coffee, with the mood quieter than the cafes along the Jetty strip. Hours run 7:30am to 3pm on weekdays and 8am to 3pm on weekends, and you can order ahead through the online menu if you are rolling through on the highway.

Getting there and parking

The complex sits directly on the Pacific Highway with extensive free off-street parking around it, including room for larger vehicles and vans, which makes access about as easy as it gets for a dog-and-luggage stop.

Close by with the dogs

For a proper run either side of lunch, Boambee off dog lead beach is a short drive south with a huge open stretch of sand, and North Wall Beach Off-Leash Area runs leash-free around the clock near the marina. The Thompsons Road Reserve Fenced Dog Park covers the secure-run option, and Creekside Cafe is another local coffee stop.

More choices are on the NSW dog friendly cafes guide and the Coffs Harbour destination page.

Max: the covered terrace is the whole point here. Rainy morning on the Pacific Highway, dry dog under the table, hot breakfast arriving.