The Big Heart Cafe

The Big Heart Cafe occupies the front of the Ranges at Olinda building on Olinda-Monbulk Road, and its dog credentials are specific: the covered rear deck and balcony are where patrons report eating and drinking alongside their dogs, with the indoor dining room kept for people only. The dogsonholidays listing carries the detail, and the split between indoor and outdoor is the arrangement to plan around, so ask for the deck when you arrive and check availability on a foggy morning when everyone wants cover.

Worth knowing

Devonshire tea is the signature move here, with scones, hot chocolate and a proper fireplace for the cold mountain months, plus a breakfast kitchen doing poached eggs and hash browns from 8am. Doors run 8am to 3pm every day, stretching to 4pm on weekends, which makes the deck an easy post walk lunch stop as well as a morning coffee call. Expect the fireplace tables to be claimed early on cold weekends, and the deck keeps its own cover when the mountain mist rolls in.

Make a day of it

The hill walks are the reason to point the car up here. The lookout rock trail starts close by and pays off with a view across the ranges, and the Old Olinda Golf Course dog off leash area is minutes away for an off leash leg. Down the hill, Ranges at Olinda shares the building and handles the longer lunch.

Parking sits along Olinda-Monbulk Road and the rear car park, and the mountain traffic builds hard on weekends, so a weekday visit is the calm option with a dog. The Olinda destination page lists the surrounding dog friendly stops, and the Victoria cafes guide carries more mountain country options across the state.