Bep cafe

Bep Cafe runs out of 799 Ballina Road in Goonellabah, and it is a Vietnamese-inspired cafe rather than a standard bacon-and-eggs shop. The cabinet and menu lean on fresh banh mi, rice paper rolls and noodle salads, backed by Vietnamese coffee, matcha lattes and a signature Mont Blanc cold brew. It took over from Cognito Cafe on the same site and is now a regular on the local breakfast run, with dogs welcome in the outdoor area.

The dog setup

Dogs belong at the covered outdoor tables; the indoor section stays for humans. Keep your dog leashed and out of the walkway through the middle of the seating, as the space is compact and the service runs fast through it. Water is not always set out, so bring a bowl and ask the staff, who are generally quick to help. If your dog is jumpy around foot traffic, an edge table beats the centre row.

Pepsi: edge table, banh mi, and a cold brew was on the table inside five minutes on a Saturday morning.

Worth knowing

Hours are 6am to 2pm Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 1pm Saturday, closed Sunday. The morning rush is the known crunch: regulars talk about wait times at peak, so an early or mid-morning arrival with the dog is the calmer call. Value is a recurring theme in local reviews, and the coffee comes out fast.

Getting there and parking

The cafe sits on Ballina Road in the Goonellabah shopping strip, with parking directly in front or in the adjacent complex. It is a few minutes' drive from central Lismore.

Pair it with

Hepburn Park Fenced Dog Park is the obvious stop before or after, being fully fenced and close by, and the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly Gully walk is an on-lead option nearby. In Lismore itself, Dark Horse Espresso and The Bank Cafe & Espresso are other dog-friendly coffee calls.

More options are in the New South Wales dog friendly cafes guide and the Goonellabah destination page.