The Island Surf & Espresso

The Island Surf & Espresso is a combined surf shop and espresso bar at 6/15 Mudjimba Esplanade, directly across from Mudjimba Beach on the Sunshine Coast. It opens early and closes early, 6am to 1pm every day of the week, which makes it a first-stop rather than a last-stop: coffee, a bite and a board check before the beach day proper begins.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the casual outdoor seating facing the esplanade, on a lead and settled beside your chair. Water bowls are not guaranteed, so pack your own on a warm day. The tables sit close to the footpath, which is handy for a dog still salty from a swim but worth remembering if yours gets chatty with every passing dachshund.

Worth knowing

The coffee has a strong local reputation, and the quick-bites menu covers breakfast rolls, sausage rolls, muffins and the almond croissant people come back for, with chai and soy options on the drinks side. The shop half of the building sells and repairs boards, so it doubles as gear stop and coffee stop. Being a morning-only operation is the one scheduling catch: no afternoon flat whites here.

Getting there and parking

The cafe sits on Mudjimba Esplanade at the beach access, about ten minutes north of Maroochydore off the Sunshine Motorway. Free street parking runs along the esplanade with a public lot nearby, and it fills early on blue-sky summer mornings, which is another reason the 6am opening suits dog walkers.

While you're out there

Mudjimba Off Leash Beach puts a designated off-leash zone within reach of the tables, and the esplanade itself suits a leashed stroll. Flawsome Cafe around the corner covers the crowd once the espresso bar rolls up its doors at 1pm. Check the beach access signs on the day, as council can adjust zones seasonally for shorebird nesting on the North Shore.

More options are on the Queensland dog friendly cafes guide and the Mudjimba destination page.

Pepsi: get there before 9am and you will usually have a table with a clear view of the water and no argument about whose dog is on whose towel.