Cake o'clock

Cake o'clock is a small cake and dessert cafe in the Quadrant Mall in central Launceston, trading 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and closed Sundays. It is one of the most genuinely dog-welcoming stops in the city: dogs are allowed inside as well as at the outdoor mall tables, and the kitchen bakes custom puppy cakes to order.

The dog setup

Bring your dog into the cafe or settle at the footpath tables in the pedestrian mall, leashed and out of the walkway. Because dogs are welcome indoors, rain does not end the visit, which is rare for a CBD cafe. The kitchen makes dog-friendly puppy cakes for birthdays and gotcha days with advance notice. Bring your own water bowl, as the mall is compact and staff are focused on the cake counter.

Worth knowing

The draw is light Asian-style cakes by the slice, including a well-known Earl Grey chocolate cake, plus custom and specialty desserts, loose-leaf teas and specialty lattes like matcha and hojicha. Coffee is solid but cake is the reason people come. The mall is flat and pedestrian-only, so it is an easy stop with a dog on lead.

Pepsi: a cafe that lets me inside and takes cake orders for dogs is doing everything right. Order ahead if the puppy cake is the whole point.

Getting there

The address is Unit 3/13 Quadrant Mall, a pedestrian laneway off the Brisbane Street end of the CBD. Easiest access is on foot through the mall. Metered street parking sits on the surrounding blocks, with paid parking on Paterson and Cimitiere Streets a short walk away.

Close by with the dogs

City Park is a few blocks north for lawns and gardens on lead, and the Tamar riverfront is a short walk further for a flat riverside stroll. For an off-lead run afterwards, Waterfront Dog Park at Newstead sits beside the river, or Hoblers Bridge Reserve Fenced Dog Park is a few minutes' drive east. For a sweet follow-up, The Devil's Own Ice Creamery is another Launceston stop that welcomes dogs.

More picks are on the Tasmania cafe guide and the Launceston destination page.