Stonewall Cafe Kiama (Australian and Filipino food)

Stonewall is a cafe at Shop 2, 8 Manning Street in central Kiama that pairs classic Australian cafe fare with traditional Filipino dishes and sweets, and it gives you a couple of dog-friendly seating options within sight of the town centre. The courtyard and the front outdoor tables each suit a different kind of dog.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor dining area and the courtyard; indoor seating is people only. Staff are accommodating with pets and will usually bring a water bowl, though carrying your own is the sure bet in peak season. The courtyard is the calmer of the two spots if your dog prefers to be out of the street flow, while the front tables suit a settled dog happy to watch the Manning Street foot traffic.

Worth knowing

The menu is the point here: Filipino favourites such as tocilog and the shaved-ice dessert halo-halo sit alongside burgers, sandwiches, kids' pancakes and coffee, with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options too. It trades from about 7:30am to 2pm on weekdays, staying later on weekends, so breakfast through early lunch is the window. The Filipino half of the menu is what locals single out, and it is an unusual find on the NSW south coast.

Getting there and parking

The cafe is in the heart of the Kiama town centre, with free street parking generally available along Manning Street and the adjacent cross streets, busier in peak season. Black Beach is practically around the corner for a coastal walk, the Blowhole Reserve is roughly a ten-minute on-lead walk away, and the clifftop loop of Loves Bay via Kiama Blowholes is the bigger walk option. For the next dog-friendly stop, Diggies Kiama is the established beachfront pick, and Surf Beach Holiday Park is a local base if you are staying over.

More of the south coast is on the Kiama destination page and the NSW cafes list.