Black Vice Coffee Roasters

Black Vice Coffee Roasters on Heidelberg-Kinglake Road in Hurstbridge was a small in-house roastery and cafe with a history of welcoming dogs, but the dine-in side has closed and the business now runs as an online-focused roastery. If you are walking the dog around Hurstbridge, treat this as a bean stop rather than a brunch stop, and go on the right day.

The dog setup

During the cafe years, dogs were welcome in the outdoor area, and the Wednesday roastery door keeps that easygoing feel: you can pick up beans and a takeaway coffee, dog in tow, on the street out front. There is no seating to settle into any more, so bring a lead you can loop and your own water bowl. Confirm the door is open before making a special trip, because the operating model has changed more than once.

What it is now

The roasting is the point: in-house roasting on a Diedrich IR-12, with a focus on single origins, traceable sourcing and blends supplied to local cafes. The roastery door runs Wednesdays from about 9:30am to 12:30pm for bean purchases, pickups and takeaway coffee, and online orders with free local delivery cover the rest of the week. The old menu of smashed avo, thick cut bacon and almond croissants belongs to the full-service era and is gone.

Getting there and the dogs instead

The roastery is at 946 Heidelberg-Kinglake Road with on-street parking along the main road, a short walk from Hurstbridge station. For the actual dog outing, the Hurstbridge Dog Park is close by for an off-leash run, and the Wild Wombat Cafe or Bridge 2 Eden Cafe in town are the places to sit down with your dog and a proper coffee.

More dog-friendly venues around town are on the Hurstbridge destination page, and the full list is in the VIC cafes index.