The Fat Goat

The Fat Goat is Upwey's craft beer and gin bar on Morris Road, a mini pub in the words of its own regulars, trading Wednesday and Thursday 4pm to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 3pm to 11pm and Sunday 3pm to 10pm with Mondays and Tuesdays closed. The list runs deep on local and independent taps, the gin shelf is treated seriously, and the ciders cover the rest.

Well behaved dogs are welcome at both indoor and outdoor tables, per the venue's OpenTable listing, which flags it dog friendly inside and outside; there is no written policy on the venue site, so the OpenTable stance and visitor reports carry the record. For a Dandenongs winter that indoor welcome matters: most dog friendly venues on the hill are footpath only, and this one lets a wet dog settle under a table beside the tap list.

The vibe

It is small, social and music leaning, with live music nights filling the room and the BYO food arrangement filling the gaps, because there is no on-site kitchen. Grab dinner from the Main Street strip and bring it in, order the tasting paddles, and the evening runs itself. The outdoor tables catch the afternoon light earlier in the day, and the indoor side carries the crowd once the hill cold settles in.

Make a day of it

Pair the afternoon with the strip's food options: Nevedya Masala Spice Kitchen and Tapas is the strong pick up for BYO dinner nearby, and a leashed leg stretch at Glenfern Valley Bushlands burns off the morning before the taps open. The rest of the village is on the Upwey page, with the Victorian dog friendly pubs list beyond it.