Headlands Hotel Brasserie & Bar Austinmer

The Headlands Hotel Brasserie & Bar is the rebuilt beachfront pub on Headland Avenue, perched directly above Austinmer Beach with panoramic ocean views from a large outdoor deck and garden. The kitchen runs a bistro menu with wood-fired pizzas and seafood, the bar pours through sunset, and live music lands on weekends. Dogs are welcome across the outdoor covered patio and garden, which makes this the natural end point for the Austinmer beach walk.

Dogs at the Headlands

The deal is outdoor only: dogs join you on the covered patio and in the garden areas on a lead, while the main restaurant and bar inside stay humans only. Staff are used to dogs at the outdoor tables and the deck makes it easy to set a water bowl down. The terrace fills fast for weekend sunsets and when live music is on, so arrive early if you want a table with room for the dog. Keep leads short when the music crowd moves through; the deck edges drop towards the beach path.

Pepsi: salt in my fur, chips on the deck and a whole ocean doing zoomies in front of me. The Headlands gets my tail every time.

The vibe

Coastal pub rather than city bistro: chorizo risotto and prawns on the menu, a dumpling bar for the share-table crowd, and views that do most of the decorating. The brasserie suits a long lunch, while the bar side picks up sunset drinkers and the weekend music sessions. It is popular with walkers finishing the Austinmer loop and with families coming off the beach, so the deck hums on fine weekends.

Getting there and parking

The hotel sits on Headland Avenue, Austinmer, right above the beach on the northern Illawarra coast. Free on-site parking plus free street parking nearby, and the path from the car park to the outdoor dining area is flat and easy, which helps with older dogs. Austinmer station is a short walk for train arrivals on the South Coast line.

Close by with the dogs

Austinmer Beach is right below the deck for an on-lead walk, and Little Austinmer Beach is an eight to nine minute walk south for a proper off-leash swim. If you are staying over, Austinmer Gardens B&B is the pet friendly base in the village. Browse more dog friendly pubs under New South Wales or see everything else around Austinmer.

Worth knowing

The hotel's own apartments do not take pets, so do not conflate the indoor accommodation policy with the outdoor dining one; the deck is where dogs are welcome. Check the beach signage for on and off leash times before you let the walk dictate the schedule, and note that review scores sit below the coastal average, so go for the view and the setting rather than a fine dining experience.