Pengo's Cafe

Pengo's Cafe sits at 153 Arcadia Drive in Shoalwater, right beside the Penguin Island ferry departure point at Mersey Point jetty, and the headline for dog owners is the spacious, sheltered outdoor alfresco with panoramic views across Shoalwater Bay. The kitchen covers breakfast and brunch through to fresh fish and chips and gourmet burgers, and it is a popular stop for visitors coming back off the island. Dogs are very much part of the scene out front.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome on leash in the outdoor alfresco, which is paved, shaded by sail cloths and equipped with heaters for cooler mornings. The cafe provides plenty of water bowls, and puppacinos have been known to appear. Only service animals go inside the main building, so plan to sit outside. One local quirk worth knowing: while the cafe and the Shoalwater coastline are dog friendly, dogs are strictly not allowed on Penguin Island itself, which is a nature reserve, so the cafe is where the dog day happens.

Worth knowing

The cafe opens from 8am, but hours shift with the seasons, with shorter windows and cabinet-only mornings through winter, so check ahead before making a special trip. Mornings are the best time to secure an outdoor table with a bay view, especially on weekends when Penguin Island tour traffic picks up.

Getting there and parking

Free parking sits in the large public car park directly in front of the cafe and along Arcadia Drive, and the site is wheelchair accessible. A grassy area sits immediately beside the cafe and a coastal walking path runs along the beachfront.

Close by with the dogs

The Shoalwater foreshore gives you an on-lead coastal stroll straight from the door. For a proper off-leash run, the Rockingham Fenced Dog Park is a few minutes away by car, and Spill the Beans at Palm Beach Jetty keeps the beachside coffee theme going.

More options are on the WA dog friendly cafes guide and the Shoalwater destination page.

Max: bay-view table under the sails, water bowls already out, and a fenced park run down the road. The dog stays on the mainland side.