Leisas Cafe

Leisas Cafe is a small neighbourhood cafe on Minnie Street in Southport, trading weekday mornings only and built around one thing done well: coffee, toasties and a genuinely local feel. It is a pet-friendly room with a community streak, and book sales here support brain cancer research.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the cafe, both at the outdoor tables and inside, which is generous for a room this size. The cafe stays relatively quiet, so it suits a dog that settles rather than one that needs to work the room. Staff are warm and usually happy to sort out water, but a travel bowl takes the guesswork out.

The vibe

Coffee is the headline, with flavoured options alongside the usual, and the kitchen leans on toasted sandwiches: toasties, jaffles and the reuben all get name-checked by regulars, with house-baked cookies in the cabinet. The staff's passion comes up as often as the food, and the whole place feels like it belongs to the neighbourhood rather than the strip.

Pepsi: go early on a weekday. The parking is easier, the room is calmer for your dog, and the opening hours are tight enough that a late morning risks a locked door.

Getting there and parking

Leisas is at 82/86 Minnie Street, near the Ferry Road end, with street parking on Minnie and the surrounding residential streets that is easy to find early. It opens from 6am on weekdays and closes by early afternoon, and it is closed on weekends entirely.

Close by with the dogs

The Musgrave Park Dog Off Leash Area is nearby for an off-lead run, and the Broadwater Parklands waterfront paths are a short drive for an on-lead stroll. For a second stop, Broadwater Cafe and humble cafe are other Southport options.

More options are on the Queensland dog friendly cafes guide and the Southport destination page.