The Woodlands Hotel

The Woodlands Hotel on Sydney Road is a Coburg institution, and the draw for dog owners is stated plainly by the venue itself: a massive dog friendly beer garden out the back. Well behaved dogs on leash are welcome in that backyard space, which is where the Sunday crowd, the trivia nights and the live music energy all land in warmer months. The indoor bars and dining rooms stay people only, so this is an outdoor garden arrangement rather than a full house welcome.

The kitchen is parma country. The chicken parma is the headline order and the topic lists read like a Melbourne pub should, with steaks and pub standards behind it. Hours run from 4pm Monday to Thursday, midday Friday through Sunday, with Friday and Saturday nights going to midnight. Between the parma nights, open mic sessions and the beer garden itself, the Woodlands works as a local's local that happens to be genuinely set up for dogs rather than merely tolerant of them.

Worth knowing

Sydney Road parking is the usual inner north scramble, with street parking on the side streets off Sydney Road the practical answer, and the 19 tram runs past the door for those coming from the city. The garden fills early on warm Friday and Saturday evenings, so arriving before the dinner rush is worth planning around. Because the dog policy is the venue's own published description, you can rely on the garden welcome; just keep the leash on, as the garden is shared space with tables, kids and other dogs moving through.

Close by with the dogs

Coburg's dog infrastructure is a short stroll away. Egan Reserve's off leash area and the Merri Creek track via Coburg Lake handle the exercise end of the day, and BrewDog Pentridge is the other dog friendly pour nearby. Our Coburg guide and the Victorian pub list cover the wider map.