Caffè al Lago

Caffe al Lago is a Tuscan-style sandwich bar and coffee house on the Yerrabi Pond waterfront at 60A Phyllis Ashton Circuit, Gungahlin, and the Canberra cafe most conveniently built into a dog walk. It opens at 8am daily, running to 4pm on Mondays and Tuesdays and 8pm from Wednesday through Sunday, so it works as both a mid-walk coffee stop and an early dinner spot.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the outdoor tables that look straight over the water, and reviewers report they are allowed inside as well, which takes the stress out of Canberra's cold mornings. Water bowls are put out for passing dogs, and the wide paved promenade in front gives you room to settle a dog beside your chair without blocking foot traffic. It is a genuinely popular stop with local walkers doing the pond circuit, so your dog will not be the first one through the door that day.

Worth knowing

The kitchen is known for schiacciata sandwiches made on 72-hour fermented bread baked onsite, with the stacked prosciutto versions the signature order, and the coffee is ONA, roasted in Fyshwick. Weekends and the later Wednesday-to-Saturday evenings are the busy windows; a weekday morning is the calmest shift if your dog prefers a quiet table.

Getting there

There is a free car park nearby plus street parking around the Phyllis Ashton Circuit shops, but the easiest arrival is on foot straight off the Yerrabi Pond circuit path, which runs past the door. The loop is flat and sealed, and drinking stations are spaced along it for dogs.

Close by with the dogs

Around the pond itself, ACT rules mean dogs stay on leash on all the shared paths and parkland, and are kept at least ten metres from play spaces and barbecue areas. The exception is the designated off-leash dog swimming area on the north-eastern shore, where dogs can swim and run off lead inside the marked zone, but must be back on the leash as soon as you return to the general paths. Carry bags with you, as they are required across Canberra reserves. The full circuit is mapped on the Yerrabi Pond Loop page, and for a fenced run instead, Franklin Dog Park and Forde Dog Park are both short drives away. For another table with water views, Frankies at Forde welcomes dogs on its deck.

More options are on the ACT dog friendly cafes guide and the Gungahlin destination page.

Pepsi: do a lap of the pond first, then claim a water-side table and let the bowl cool your dog down while you order the schiacciata.