Local Crowd

Colonel Light Gardens is one of Adelaide's heritage-listed garden suburbs, and its tree-lined streets make for some of the best dog walking in the inner south. The reward at the end of the loop is Local Crowd, a modern Australian cafe that has built a loyal following on The Strand for quality coffee and a brunch menu that runs well past midday.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the outdoor sidewalk tables under the market umbrellas along The Strand, which is the natural pick on a leafy street like this. The building itself is a converted 1920s butcher's shop, so the cosier rooms inside stay people-only. Doors run 7:30am to 3:30pm every day of the week, which covers both the before-work and the slow-morning crowd.

Pepsi: heritage streetscapes, fence-line smells and a table with my name on it. This suburb was built for the morning lap.

Worth knowing

The coffee is locally roasted and the crema gets regular praise, backed by an all-day brunch menu: tater tots, hash potato, almond croissants and eggs benedict, with gnocchi and vegetarian options at lunch. The room has a loyal local base and weekend tables on the footpath go early. There is also a small beer and wine list if the visit stretches past breakfast.

Getting there and parking

Find it at 14 The Strand, the suburb's central shopping strip. Street parking runs along The Strand and the surrounding park-lined avenues, and it is generally easy outside the weekend brunch peak. The suburb's grid of curved avenues is flat and quiet, which is exactly why the dog walking around here is so good.

Close by with the dogs

Mortlock Park on West Parkway allows dogs off-leash under effective control, though leashing applies near the playground and BMX track. The CC Hood Reserve in Panorama has an enclosed off-leash section with agility gear, Randell Park Reserve adds a trail walk, and Hark! Coffee Roasters is the nearby roastery option.

More options are on the SA cafes list or in the Colonel Light Gardens guide.