Diggies

Plan around one thing before visiting Diggies: the historic building on the North Beach headland is temporarily closed for council seawall works, and the team is running the dog friendly North Beach Kiosk as a pop-up in the meantime. The pop-up keeps the essentials going, with outdoor and takeaway seating right by the sand, dogs welcome on a leash, and the beachside menu Diggies is known for, from fish and chips to pancakes.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor seating and takeaway areas at the kiosk, kept on leash. With the whole operation effectively outdoors during the works, there is no indoor versus courtyard decision to make: pick a table with a view of the water and your dog settles at your feet. Pack a water bowl for your dog since service is streamlined at the pop-up, and expect queues at peak weekend brunch windows, because a beachfront kiosk in summer is busy by nature.

While the works are on

The seawall works are a council project, so the pop-up arrangement runs until the main building reopens and opening hours have shifted during the transition. Check the Diggies website or socials for current hours before you set out, especially for a weekday visit. The cliff path and the beach in front of the kiosk remain the main draw either way, and the view from a takeaway coffee on the lawn is the same one the dining room looks out on.

Make a day of it

The location sets up an easy dog day. Coniston Dog Beach is a few minutes south for an off leash swim, and leashed walking along the North Beach foreshore starts at the kiosk door. For a sit down coffee in town, Lee and Me in Wollongong is a garden set favourite, and Bread, Espresso & Gwynneville covers the sourdough crowd. There are more dog friendly cafes across NSW if the Gong is one stop on a coastal run.

Once the seawall works finish, the main building's indoor and veranda seating return. Until then the kiosk is the Diggies experience, and dogs are still very much welcome in it.