Loco Bites

Loco Bites is a family-run Mexican food truck set up in the Whitsunday Food Garden at 208 Shute Harbour Road, on Airlie Beach's main strip. It trades evenings from 5pm to 9pm, Thursday through Monday, with Tuesday and Wednesday off. The menu is built around tacos, barbacoa beef, smoked chicken, grilled prawn and fried feta among the fillings, plus loaded nachos, at prices that stay friendly for a holiday budget.

The dog setup

Because service and seating are entirely outdoors, dogs are welcome at the casual tables of the leafy food garden. There is no indoor space to negotiate, so a polite dog can simply settle beside your table under the garden lights. It gets busy in the evening rush, so bring your own water bowl and keep the lead short around the service area.

Worth knowing

The kitchen also turns out BBQ green chilli wings alongside the taco line, and the garden setup is casual and BYO-friendly, which is why families and dog owners gravitate here on holiday evenings. Portions come out fast, so the wait rarely tests a young dog's patience.

Getting there and parking

The truck sits on Shute Harbour Road in the central strip, a short walk from the foreshore. On-street parking along the main street is limited in the evening, so the easiest move is to use the public car parks behind the main street and walk in, which suits a dog anyway.

Pair it with

The Airlie Beach Boardwalk runs along the coast from town and makes a natural on-lead walk before dinner, ending close enough to the strip to finish with tacos. Cannonvale Dog Exercise Area covers the off-lead option a few minutes south, and Fat Frog Beach Cafe in Cannonvale is the local beachfront pick for a dog-friendly lunch with its own dog menu.

More Whitsundays ideas are on the Queensland dog friendly restaurants guide and the Airlie Beach destination page.