Cafe Mise en place

Cafe Mise en Place is a French-inspired cafe at Shop 2a/85 Mount Eliza Way, right in the middle of the Mount Eliza village strip, and it has picked up a spotless local rating across hundreds of reviews. It is the sort of place where the baristas know the neighbourhood dogs by name: reviews and local listings repeatedly call out the staff making a fuss of visiting dogs and keeping a stash of treats ready behind the counter.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the outdoor footpath tables looking over Mount Eliza Way, which doubles as decent people-watching for you and a steady stream of passers-by for your dog. The team provides water bowls and stocks locally made dog treats, so most dogs leave with something. Indoors is for humans only, so plan your visit around a street-side table. The strip runs a community feel under the morning light and the village atmosphere carries over to the footpath seating.

Worth knowing

The kitchen leans French: fresh croissants and baguettes, almond lattes, vanilla slice and a French onion soup that gets named in reviews. Coffee is the consistent headline, with service the other running theme. The cafe opens absurdly early, 4.30am Monday through Saturday, which makes it a workable first stop for an early walk, and it trades through to 2pm. Sundays it is closed, so plan weekend visits for Saturday.

Getting there and parking

Mount Eliza Way is the main shopping strip, and street parking runs along it and through the side streets behind. It fills at peak breakfast and school-hours times, which is another argument for the 4.30am crowd. The village walkways are flat and easy for a leashed wander before or after coffee.

Close by with the dogs

For an off-lead run afterwards, Mount Eliza Regional Park Dog Off Leash Area at Moorooduc Highway and Two Bays Road has open ovals and bush tracks, while John Butler Reserve Fenced Dog Park is the fully fenced option closer in. On the water side, Mount Eliza Beach Dog Off Leash Area covers the bay leg. More choices sit in the Mount Eliza guide and across Victoria.