The Hungry Pelican Cafe

The Hungry Pelican is a beachfront cafe on the Esplanade at Pialba, facing the water beside the Wetside Water Park in Hervey Bay. Dogs are welcome at the outdoor seating, which makes it a natural pairing with a walk along the foreshore.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the outdoor patio and footpath seating rather than inside. Water bowls are provided for dogs, and the patio looks straight out over the Esplanade so you can keep an eye on the beach and the passing dog traffic.

Worth knowing

This is a breakfast-and-lunch operation built on local produce: eggs benedict, a croque madame, burgers and fish and chips, backed by proper specialty coffee. Hours run 7am to 1.30pm daily, so it is a morning stop rather than an afternoon one, and the kitchen closes with it.

Getting there and parking

The cafe sits at 1/267A Esplanade, Pialba, next to the Wetside Water Park, about half an hour from Maryborough. Free street parking runs along the Esplanade with council lots nearby, and the foreshore path puts the whole beachfront in reach without moving the car.

Pair it with

The Pialba beachfront is right across the road, with the paved foreshore path good for a pre- or post-coffee walk. Time it right and the Pialba foreshore off-leash beach gives the dog a swim, and the Scarness off-leash beach is a short way along the same foreshore.

For another coffee stop in the bay, Sea Breeze Cafe at Scarness and Bayaroma Cafe at Torquay both work, and more sit on the Queensland cafe guide and the Pialba destination page.

Pepsi: eggs benedict on the Esplanade, the dog on the patio, then the beach across the road. An easy Hervey Bay morning.