Retro Roast Coffee Van

Retro Roast is a retro caravan parked in a rural paddock at 161 Cordeaux Road, Mount Kembla, pouring Seven Miles coffee and gourmet toasties from 7am to 1pm, seven days a week. The open-air bushland setting is the whole point: you sit outside with your dog and take in the foothills while hikers and cyclists drift past.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor seating area that surrounds the van. The space is open and borders a shared walking path, so keep your dog on a lead. Bring your own water bowl, as the van does not confirm providing one, and give your dog a settled spot away from the path traffic.

Max: The paddock setting means plenty of stimulation and foot traffic on the shared path. A short lead and a solid sit-stay keep things calm while you wait for your order.

The menu

The van brews the Gusto blend from Seven Miles Coffee Roasters and serves sweet and savoury croissants, cakes and cookies to go with it. It sits opposite the Memorial Pathway entrance, which makes it a natural trailhead stop for hikers and cyclists, roughly 15 minutes from central Wollongong. Free street parking is available on site.

Close by with the dogs

Pair the coffee run with a proper off-lead session at Coniston Dog Beach down the hill, or head to the Figtree off-leash dog area for open-space exercise nearby. Paper Boat Cafe at Unanderra is a dog-friendly backup if the caravan is closed up when you roll through. Between them there is a beach run, a grass run and a second coffee within about ten minutes of the paddock.

More dog-friendly venues around the area are on the Mount Kembla destination page, with the wider list in the NSW cafes index.