Thorny Devil Brewery

Thorny Devil Brewery brews and pours on 185 Clifton Downs Road at Herron, in bush setting south of Mandurah, and it keeps short, deliberate hours: Friday to Sunday, 10:30am to 3pm only. That makes it a lunch destination rather than a dinner one, and it fills accordingly on weekends.

Dogs in the beer garden

By consistent visitor reports, dogs on leads are welcome in the outdoor beer garden and across the open grassed grounds, which run alongside the playground. The bush setting does much of the work here: plenty of shade, grass to settle on, and room between tables, so a leashed dog is an easy fit. Nothing is published as a formal policy by the venue, so this rests on the regular practice visitors describe, and the playground adjacency means a bit of awareness around running kids is worthwhile.

Pepsi: Grass, shade, pork sliders dropping at nearby tables, and a playground full of accidental snack donors. Five stars from me, three from the staff who keep wiping my drool.

The vibe

The kitchen works a compact menu built for afternoons in the sun: pork sliders, baby back ribs, chicken wings and fried pickles, with the house ginger beer and cider pulling their weight next to the beer range. Reviews repeatedly single out the staff for being switched on, and the weekend 10:30am to 3pm window gives it the feel of a bush market crossed with a brewery.

Getting there and parking

Clifton Downs Road runs off the Old Coast Road side at Herron, and parking is on site and uncomplicated. From Mandurah it is a short drive south; from Bunbury or the south, it is a natural stop on the way north. Aim for an early arrival on Sundays, because the afternoon close comes quickly.

Make a day of it

Lake Clifton is effectively next door. Home Lake Clifton Caravan Park handles the overnight option, while back towards Mandurah the directory lists Seven Trees Coffee and Fermentum & Co at Falcon for the other ends of the day. The Western Australia pubs page holds the wider state list.