Cafe Ziss

Cafe Ziss is a small, cosy cafe on Kenrick Street in The Junction, a few minutes from the Junction Village shopping strip, doing breakfast, brunch and lunch for the local crowd. It is the neighbourhood coffee stop rather than a destination brunch spot, and the footpath tables out front are where dogs fit in.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the outdoor footpath seating on the pavement, on a lead, at the shopfront tables. There is no dedicated dog menu or treat jar, so this is a bring-your-own-bowl kind of stop, and a settled dog copes best with the passing foot traffic along Kenrick Street. Indoors stays humans-only.

The vibe and the menu

The menu runs the classic cafe line: breakfast and brunch plates, lunch, toasties, cakes and proper coffee. The cafe trades from 7am on weekdays until mid afternoon, closes after lunch on Saturday, and shuts Sundays entirely, so plan the dog walk around breakfast or a weekday lunch. The room is small and casual, and the staff keep things relaxed.

Getting there and parking

You will find it at shop 6, 10 Kenrick Street, The Junction, Newcastle's upscale shopping village south of the CBD. Free street parking is available on Kenrick Street and the surrounding residential streets, though the strip is busiest on weekday mornings.

Make a day of it

The Merewether Dog Off-Leash Area is one suburb over with ocean views, running timed off-lead sessions outside the 9am-to-5pm window. For a swim, Horseshoe Beach at the harbour mouth is Newcastle's official off-leash dog beach, a short drive north. If you are turning it into a cafe lap, Little Mickey's Cafe and Yellowish in Hamilton are both dog-friendly and minutes away.

More of the area is on the The Junction destination page and the wider list sits in the NSW cafes index.