The Flying Bear

The Flying Bear sits out over the water on a timber wharf deck at Careening Cove, at the end of McDougall Street in Kirribilli. It is the kind of table people plan mornings around: open-air, over the water, with the city skyline across the harbour, and it opens at 7am every day of the week for the walkers and ferry traffic that pass through.

Dogs are welcome across the entirely open-air deck, and the dog-friendly listing notes water bowls are provided, so hydration is handled. The one thing to manage is the foot traffic: the deck sits on a walk-in boardwalk, so keep your dog close to the table and out of the passing path. With the whole venue effectively outdoors, there is no indoor fallback for dogs on wild days.

The vibe

The menu is honest cafe fare: the bacon and egg roll and the smash avo carry the breakfast shift, and QR code ordering keeps things moving at busy water-view tables. This is a spot people photograph before they eat, so the trick is arriving early, especially on weekends when the deck fills with a mix of ferry riders, walkers and the Milsons Point crowd. The seaplane that occasionally pulls up at the cove is a bonus for anyone whose dog is unfazed by spectacle.

Kirribilli has more dog-friendly ground than its size suggests. Cool Mac is the local coffee option up the hill, and across the water in McMahons Point the North Spoon makes a good second stop. For a proper walk beforehand, the Waverton Park to Balls Head Reserve loop is a short drive around the bay. More of the lower north shore is listed under Kirribilli.