H A P I

H A P I is a casual dumpling and bao bar at 465C Dean Street in central Albury, right on the main dining strip a block from the Murray River crossing. It serves a Japanese-inspired menu of house-made dumplings, bao buns and small plates from noon until 8pm, Tuesday to Sunday, and dogs are welcome at the outdoor footpath tables out front.

The dog setup

Dogs join you at the front outdoor tables on the Dean Street footpath, with the compact interior kept for people. The tables sit close to passing foot traffic, so this suits a dog that is settled around busier streets; a nervous dog will do better at a quieter hour. Staff have been known to bring water out on warm days, but bring your own bowl to be sure, and keep the lead short since diners squeeze past on the footpath.

Worth knowing

Dumplings come in fives, with the edamame and pea vegan option sitting alongside chicken and prawn, and the bao list runs from pork belly with house kimchi to the soft-shell crab that regulars order on sight. Sticky chicken, pork pot stickers and seasoned broccoli round out the sharing plates, and there is a genuine run of vegan choices. It is a small, high-energy room, so the outdoor tables are the calm seat as well as the dog seat.

Getting there and parking

The address is 465C Dean Street, Albury, in the town-centre block. Free street parking lines Dean Street and the surrounding grid but turns over quickly at lunch and dinner, so the side streets are the reliable fallback. It is an easy walk from the QE II square end of town.

While you are out there

The river is the after-lunch move: the Oddies Creek Leash Free Area on the South Albury foreshore gives dogs open riverfront space to run, and the Logan Road Park Fenced Dog Park adds a fully fenced option further out. If you are working through the town's dog-friendly eating, Public House and Canvas Eatery Albury are both close by.

More options around the city are on the Albury destination page, and the full run is in the New South Wales restaurants guide.

Max: Grab a front table before the 6pm rush, order the pork belly bao twice, and finish with the walk down to the river. Mine rates this street highly.