Mr Martins

Mr Martins is a cosy local cafe on Lambourn Road in Watsonia, serving a village-strip crowd breakfast through lunch seven days a week. It is explicitly dog friendly: outdoor street-side tables take dogs, the kitchen bakes its own muffins, and the staff have built a reputation for friendliness that extends to the four-legged regulars.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the outdoor street-side tables, leashed and settled while the Lambourn Road foot traffic passes; the indoor room is for humans. Water is often provided for canine visitors but availability varies, so a collapsible bowl in your bag is the safe bet. Mid-morning on a weekday is the calmest window if your dog prefers a quiet table.

The vibe

The food is made-to-order breakfast and lunch with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, and the signatures are the bacon and egg roll, the house Mr Rueben with corned beef and Russian dressing, and a solid mushroom toastie. Croissants and freshly baked muffins cover the coffee-and-something run. It opens from 7am daily (7:30am Sundays), closing mid afternoon.

Getting there and parking

Find it at 2D Lambourn Road, just off the main Watsonia Road shopping strip. Street parking runs along Lambourn Road and the surrounding streets, and Watsonia station is a short walk away if you are arriving by train with a dog who tolerates the trip.

Close by with the dogs

Watsonia Dog Park is a short walk away, so an off-lead run before coffee is easy to build in. On the town square, Honey Cafe is the other outdoor-table option in the suburb, and JIJI's in neighbouring Macleod keeps the dog-friendly cafe run going.

More options are in the Victoria dog friendly cafes guide and the Watsonia destination page.