Bru's House

Bru's House is a coastal cafe at 19 Dampier Drive in the Golden Bay estate, just south of Rockingham, serving breakfast and lunch seven days a week to locals from Golden Bay, Secret Harbour and Singleton. It runs on walk-ins only, opens with the sun (5:30am weekdays, 6am weekends) and wraps up food service by 1pm, which makes it as much a pre-walk coffee stop as a sit-down brunch spot.

The dog setup

Pets are welcome in the outdoor seating areas, and the house policy is unusually explicit: all pets must remain leashed, outside and under your control, and bringing one means you accept responsibility for their behaviour. It is officially dog-friendly and cat-friendly, and the staff have reportedly served the occasional native visitor too. Water bowls are usually set out for dogs in the alfresco area, which is shaded and comfortable through the warmer months. There is no printed dog menu, but the team is accommodating, so it never hurts to ask.

Worth knowing

The menu is seasonal and changes often, so check the cafe's Instagram for current dishes before making the trip for something specific. Regulars rate the breakfast side of the menu, with burrito bowls, eggs benedict, salmon bagels and waffles among the recurring favourites, plus gluten free and vegetarian options and a kids menu. Coffee is the other pillar, and catering, merch and gift cards are available. On public holidays the cafe opens until 12pm with the kitchen closing at 11:30am, and it shuts entirely on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

Getting there and parking

The cafe sits in the Golden Bay shopping hub at 19 Dampier Drive, with ample street parking around the cafe and on the surrounding residential streets. Access is flat and easy if you are walking in from the estate, and the coastal walkways behind the cafe suit an on-leash stroll before or after your table.

Close by with the dogs

Golden Bay's foreshore includes designated off-leash coastal stretches, so check the signage for the zoned entry points before letting your dog off the lead on the sand. Singleton Beach has a dog off-leash area just to the north with toilets nearby, and the Secret Harbour dog beach off Siracusa Court adds parking, dog-bowl water fountains and beach showers for washing off salt and sand. For a proper run on grass, Rockingham Fenced Dog Park and Seahaven Reserve in Waikiki are both a short drive north, and Warnbro Dog Beach covers the same job closer to the water.

More options are on the Western Australia dog friendly cafes guide and the Golden Bay destination page.

Max: do the beach first, coffee second. A sandy but settled dog sits quietly in the alfresco area, and the short walk over from the foreshore burns off the zoomies before you order.