The Local Afare

The Local Afare is a bright, health-conscious neighbourhood cafe at 64C Holbrooks Road in Flinders Park, on Adelaide's western side, with a perfect five-star average across its reviews so far. It is the kind of spot locals duck into on the way to or from the dog park, and dogs are welcome in the outdoor seating and courtyard area while the inside room is people only.

The dog setup

Dogs join you at the outdoor tables and courtyard seats, leashed and settled beside the table. Staff will often bring a water bowl out on warm days, but ask when you order rather than assuming one is sitting ready, and carry your own travel bowl for hotter mornings. The outdoor area is compact, so a settled dog is the polite guest, and weekday mornings outside the rush are the easiest time to land a courtyard table.

The food

The draw is the house-made overnight oats, which come in rotating flavours like Biscoff, Nutella and strawberry, and banoffee, and are dairy-free and low-gluten, topped with fresh fruit, nuts and seeds. Toasted-to-order ciabattas, fresh croissants, sweet and savoury cakes and a rotating display-fridge round out the cabinet, and the salads change daily with options like Greek-style, rainbow slaw with pepitas, and beetroot, walnut and fetta. There is a solid run of vegetarian and vegan-friendly choices, and locals rate the barista coffee highly. Hours run 7am to 2:30pm on weekdays, with a later 4:30pm close on Thursdays, and the cafe is closed on weekends, so this is strictly a weekday coffee stop.

Getting there and parking

Find it on Holbrooks Road in the Flinders Park shop pocket, with free street parking directly outside and on the surrounding side streets. The cafe posts its daily cabinet and specials to Facebook and Instagram, which is the easiest way to check what is in the fridge before you go.

Close by with the dogs

The natural pairing is the Tedder Reserve Pooch Park, the City of Charles Sturt's fully fenced dog park a short drive away on Belgrave Avenue, which makes a clean loop of fenced off-lead play then coffee. The River Torrens Linear Park trail is also close by for a longer on-lead walk along the water.

More of the area's dog-friendly venues are on the Flinders Park destination page, with the wider list in the SA cafes index.