Rosemary by EightyTwenty

Rosemary by EightyTwenty sits in the old Kingston shops on Tench Street, a short walk from the Kingston Foreshore, and cooks to the 80/20 philosophy the name promises: mostly fresh, unprocessed food, with room for an indulgence. It opens early, 6am Monday to Saturday and 7am on Sundays, and shuts at 3pm, so it is a breakfast and lunch stop rather than a dinner one. Dogs are welcome at the outdoor tables, and staff are used to canine visitors calling in on morning walks through the precinct.

The dog setup

Your dog gets the alfresco seating, which runs along the front of the cafe and catches the morning sun before the Canberra heat sets in. Water bowls are provided on request, and the precinct footpaths are wide enough that a dog can lie clear of the chair legs. The room inside is spacious too, but plan on the patio: keep your dog on a lead and settled beside the table. Both vegan and gluten-free options run across the menu, so a mixed group with dietary requirements is easy to cater for.

The vibe

This is a health-conscious, community cafe rather than a white-tablecloth affair: salads and breakfast plates, smoothies, specialty coffee and raw desserts, with signatures like the eggs benedict, the karaage bowl and the cauliflower steak. The room is wheelchair accessible. Bookings and online ordering are available through the EightyTwenty website if you want to lock in a weekend table.

Getting there and parking

The address is unit 9/15 Tench Street, Kingston ACT 2604, in the old shops precinct. Street parking along Tench Street is free but fills quickly through the breakfast and lunch peaks; paid parking around the wider Kingston precinct backs it up. If you are walking from the Foreshore apartments, it is about a ten minute amble up through the older streets.

While you're out there

Telopea Park, with its creek-lined path down to Lake Burley Griffin, is a short walk away and is an on-leash park, as are all of Canberra's major parks. The foreshore paths along the lake make a good pre-coffee leg stretcher on lead too. For a proper off-leash run, the nearest fenced dog park is further out at Weston Park in Yarralumla; the ACT government's ACTmapi dog exercise map covers the current on-leash, off-leash and prohibited zones. When the coffee is done, the precinct has more dog-friendly tables nearby: Dockside Cafe on the water side of the suburb, or the Kingston Hotel in neighbouring Griffith for a pub lunch. See more dog friendly cafes in the ACT or browse Kingston for the full list.