Ray's Cafe & Patisserie

Ray's Cafe & Patisserie is a busy Darwin CBD institution with a pastry case that earns the name, and dogs are welcome at the covered outdoor tables where the leafy courtyard seating catches the breeze. It rates 4.3 from more than 600 reviews, which makes it one of the most reliable breakfast stops in the city centre.

The dog setup

Dogs sit with you in the shaded outdoor patio under the fig trees, on lead beside the table; the indoor area is people-only. Staff provide water bowls, but in the build-up heat it pays to carry your own water anyway. It opens 6:30am on weekdays and Saturdays and 7am Sunday, closing mid-afternoon, so it suits an early walk-and-breakfast circuit before the Top End sun gets serious.

The pastries and the menu

The croissants are the headline: house-baked, properly flaky, and frequently compared to a European boulangerie by locals who know, with loaded ham and cheese versions and almond croissants leading the cabinet. Behind the pastry case the menu runs to truffle scrambled eggs, corn fritters, waffles and Turkish eggs, with fresh juices alongside the coffee. It sits centrally in the CBD, so leave the car in one of the paid council car parks or walk from your hotel; on-street spots near the mall fill quickly through the morning.

Walking it off

Bicentennial Park on the Esplanade is a short walk away for a clifftop loop over the harbour, though it is strictly on-lead, as are the city centre streets. For the off-lead stretch you will need to drive, with the fenced Bundilla Fenced Dog Park at Fannie Bay among the closer options. Back in the CBD, Postie Coffee is another compact dog-welcoming stop.

More of the area's dog-friendly venues are on the Darwin City destination page, with the state list in the NT cafes index.