Juan Fifty Kitchen & Bar

Juan Fifty Kitchen & Bar is an award-winning modern Mexican restaurant at Shop 3, 150 Alexandra Parade in Alexandra Headland, directly opposite Alex Beach. The club confirmed on its own socials that the outdoor dining area is dog-friendly, which makes it one of the more dependable sit-down dinner options with the dog on the Sunshine Coast's coastal strip.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor dining section, which looks across Alexandra Parade toward the ocean; the indoor restaurant is not open to pets. Keep your dog on a lead and settled at the table, and expect a breeze coming off the beach on exposed afternoons. Water bowls are often put out for canine visitors, but bring your own to be safe.

Worth knowing

The kitchen presses its corn tortillas in-house daily from Masa Harina imported from Mexico, and the menu runs to soft tacos, specialty burrito bowls, pork belly nachos, corn ribs and Mexican-inspired plates, with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options across the menu. The bar list is built on margaritas, classic and flavoured, alongside mojitos and Mexican beer, with a happy hour in the mid-afternoon. The venue took the Best Mexican Restaurant title for South East Queensland at the RCA Awards for Excellence in 2022. It opens at 12pm daily and runs through the evening.

Getting there and parking

The venue is at 150 Alexandra Parade, the main coastal road through Alexandra Headland between Maroochydore and Mooloolaba. Street parking runs along Alexandra Parade but fills on weekends and sunny afternoons, so allow extra time.

Close by with the dogs

The coastal pathway from Maroochydore to Mooloolaba runs right past the restaurant for an on-leash walk before or after dinner; Sunshine Coast council keeps dogs on lead on the shared path. The patrolled section of Alex Beach and the beach access points along Alexandra Parade prohibit dogs, so stick to the pathway, or head to the Maroochydore Unfenced Dog Leash Free Park for an off-lead run. Francis Bean covers morning coffee nearby.

More options are in the dog-friendly restaurants across QLD list and the Alexandra Headland dog-friendly guide.

Max: guarded the pork belly nachos from the breezy ocean-side table and declared the margarita hour in session.