Touch of the MO

Touch of the MO is a retro, cosy cafe at 3120 South Arm Road on the South Arm Peninsula, southeast of Hobart's eastern shore, and it earns the drive. The kitchen bakes with Jackman & McRoss pies and pastries, the coffee and smoothies hold their own, and the outdoor setup is genuinely built for dogs, with tether points and provided water bowls rather than an afterthought table by the bins.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome across the outdoor areas, where specific tether points let you secure your dog properly while you order and eat, and staff keep water bowls out. The seating is ample, so there is room to settle in with your dog alongside rather than squeezed in. Standard cafe rules apply: leashed and under control, and bring a lead extension if your dog needs more slack than a standard cafe tether allows.

The vibe

This doubles as the peninsula's community hub: locals, visitors and the cyclists who loop South Arm all pass through, with daily salads and soups alongside the famous pies, and vegetarian and vegan options on the board. Steak sandwiches, egg and bacon rolls and a beef and jalapeno pie get named in reviews. It opens Wednesday to Sunday, 8:30am to 2:30pm, and closes Mondays and Tuesdays, so plan around the weekend brunch window; mid-morning arrivals beat the cyclist crowd to the outdoor tables.

Getting there and parking

The cafe sits on the main road through South Arm, roughly half an hour from Hobart. Street parking runs along South Arm Road. The peninsula's beaches and coastal walks make the trip easy to stretch into most of a day.

Close by with the dogs

The peninsula itself has quiet on-lead beach walking at Opossum Bay and Seven Mile Beach to the north. Further back towards Hobart on the eastern shore, two off-leash options combine into a bigger day out: Howrah Dog Park and the South Street Reserve Fenced Dog Park at Bellerive. Angie Sue at Lauderdale is the dog-friendly cafe on the drive through.

More options are on the TAS dog friendly cafes guide and the South Arm destination page.

Max: A tether point that actually fits my lead, a Jackman & McRoss pie for the table, and the peninsula still to walk. Worth the drive.