Cafe Botanica

Cafe Botanica on Walker Street is the dessert-led odd one out among Rhodes cafes: bingsu, matcha drinks and ice cream rather than bacon-and-egg rolls, and trading hours that run into the evening. From Wednesday through Saturday it stays open until 9:30pm or later, which is unusual for the suburb and the reason it fills with a younger evening crowd.

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor seating areas, with puppuccinos reported for canine visitors, per the Google listing and reviewer reports - so frame the policy as visitor-reported rather than venue-published. The outdoor strip along Walker Street is where dogs settle, and because the cafe keeps evening hours, it doubles as a rare dog-friendly after-dinner option in an area where most cafe tables fold up by mid afternoon.

Worth knowing

The signature order is the strawberry matcha bingsu, and the menu branches out through tiramisu lattes, black sesame ice cream and a solid matcha lineup. Board games on the shelves give groups a reason to stay, and reviewers rate the staff highly. It is closed Monday and Tuesday, and weekend hours vary - Sunday closes at 5pm while Saturday runs late - so check the day before you plan an evening visit. The shopfront has limited indoor seating, which is another reason the outdoor strip does the heavy lifting for dog owners.

Make a day of it

Walker Street puts you minutes from the Parramatta River parks. King George V Park Fenced Dog Park gives the dog a secure off-lead run, and the suburb's other dog-friendly tables - Left of Field and Bare Witness - cover the daytime shift Botanica sleeps through. Parking is at the Walker Street shops; see the Rhodes destination guide and the NSW dog-friendly cafes list for more.