Rise & Grind Drive Thru Coffee Mitcham

Rise & Grind is a drive-thru coffee stop on Canterbury Road in Mitcham with a loyal local following, and it works better for dog owners than the format suggests. There is a compact strip of footpath seating out the front, so you can walk up, tie a lead to the chair leg and drink your flat white without ever leaving the dog outside alone. It is one of the original drive-thru setups in Melbourne's east, which means a steady hum of cars along with the walk-up trade.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the outdoor footpath tables, and staff have a solid reputation for making a fuss of them. The space is tight rather than a proper courtyard, so it suits a calm dog more than an excitable one, and bigger groups with dogs may struggle at peak times. Because this is really a service counter with a window, there is no indoor seating at all, which takes the usual indoors-versus-outdoors question off the table. Don't count on a water bowl being out; bring your own on warm mornings.

The coffee and the menu

The draw is strong, consistent espresso, and the kitchen does more than drinks: toasties and muffins are regulars' picks, and the all-day brunch line covers the usual smashed avo and eggs benedict territory. Iced chocolate gets a mention when the weather warms up. Hours run from 5:30am on weekdays to 3pm, with weekends from 6am and 7am respectively, so it is a genuine early-morning option before a walk.

Getting there and parking

The cafe sits on Canterbury Road in Mitcham's east, right where the Mitcham and Vermont boundaries blur, so listings sometimes disagree on the exact suburb. Free street parking is available on and around the strip, and the drive-thru lane keeps things moving if you would rather grab cups and go. Mullum Mullum Trail is a short drive away for a proper walk afterwards.

Close by with the dogs

For off-lead time, Mitcham Dog Park and Simpson Park both sit within the suburb and pair well with an early coffee run. If you want to sit in longer with the dog, Dark Horse on the Brit is the other local dog-friendly cafe option.

More of the area's dog-friendly venues are on the Mitcham destination page, with the state list in the VIC cafes index.