Somerville General Store

Somerville General Store is a light-filled cafe and pantry on Wiltshire Drive in Somerville, run in an old-school milk-bar spirit with a proper all-day breakfast and brunch menu behind it. Locals know it as "Sommy". For dog owners the useful part is the outdoor seating, where leashed dogs are welcome and the venue has gone further than most: lead-clip rings by the tables and water bowls that get kept topped up.

The dog setup

Dogs join you in the relaxed outdoor seating areas, on a lead, with dedicated "pooch parking" clips and constantly refreshed water bowls right outside, so you genuinely do not need to carry your own. Indoor seating is for humans. The outdoor side sits away from the main road, which makes it a calmer spot for a dog than the average street-front cafe.

Worth knowing

The kitchen's regulars come for the Somerville Smash (their smashed avo), chilli scramble, toasties, bagels and acai bowls, with rotating seasonal specials on the board. True to the name, the store half stocks local Mornington Peninsula produce, artisan breads and pantry staples to take home, plus slushies for the kids, and there are colouring-sheet menus and high chairs, so it copes well with families and dogs in the same sitting. It runs 6am to 3pm on weekdays and 7am to 3pm on weekends. There is no dedicated dog menu.

Getting there and parking

The store sits in the Somerville shopping area at 43 Wiltshire Drive, Somerville VIC 3912, per its current listings, with parking in the adjacent carpark and surrounding streets. It is an easy detour off the Mornington Peninsula Freeway route through the suburb.

Close by with the dogs

Clarendon Reserve Dog Off Leash Area on Clarendon Drive is the local off-lead option, Grant Road Reserve Fenced Dog Park adds a fully fenced yard, and Hastings Foreshore Reserve is a short drive up the coast road for a beach leg.

More options are on the Victoria dog friendly cafes guide and the Somerville destination page.

Max: clip onto the pooch parking ring instead of looping the lead around a chair leg. It keeps your coffee off the floor and the waitstaff happy.