Dal Mare Coffee Roastery

Dal Mare Coffee Roastery is a boutique roastery in a rustic shed at 189 Main Road, McLaren Vale. It runs as a working roastery through the week and opens a casual brew bar to the public on weekends, which is when dog owners get their chance: the gravel and garden area outside the shed is set up for people to linger with a dog while the roaster works.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor seating immediately outside the shed, and water bowls are typically put out. The indoor roasting and retail space is small, so plan on sitting outside with your dog and keeping the lead on given how compact the area is. Weekend mornings are the busiest stretch, but there is room to spread along the driveway setting.

The menu

The coffee is the point: small batch, hand roasted and ethically sourced, with house blends like the Vale Blend and rotating single origins poured as espresso or filter, plus 250g bags to take home. Food is simple weekend fare, fresh bagels and pastries. Hours are Saturday and Sunday 8am to 2pm, with the roastery working behind the scenes Monday to Friday.

Getting there and parking

The shed sits on Main Road in the heart of McLaren Vale, with street parking out front and a large free public car park directly behind. It is walkable to the main street's cafes and cellar doors, so it works as a morning coffee before a day of tastings.

Close by with the dogs

McLaren Vale is one of the more dog-tolerant wine regions in the country, and several cellar doors welcome leashed dogs outdoors: Oxenberry Farm Wines even runs a dog menu, while Sam I Am Cafe and Tin Shed Cafe cover the main street's brunch options. Under Onkaparinga's by-laws, dogs elsewhere need to be on a lead of up to two metres or under effective voice control.

More options are on the South Australia dog friendly cafes guide and the McLaren Vale destination page.

Pepsi: the smell of roasting beans, a patch of gravel sun, and everyone who walks past the shed says hello. My kind of Saturday.