Golden City Hotel

The Golden City Hotel is a classic Ballarat pub on Sturt Street at 427 Sturt Street, right in the CBD. It does proper pub fare, including a well-mentioned steak sandwich, porterhouse, chicken parma and barramundi, and it is a dog-friendly venue as long as everyone stays in the outdoor areas. Long trading hours from 9am to 10pm across the week make it flexible for a post-walk lunch as much as a dinner.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor dining spaces, including the large verandah that runs along the front and side of the hotel. Water bowls are usually put out for canine visitors, and the expectation is standard Victorian pub practice: dog on a lead, settled beside your table and out of the walking paths. Indoor dining rooms and the bistro stay dog-free, so this is an outdoor-tables affair whatever the season, with the verandah giving some shelter on cool Ballarat days.

Worth knowing

The kitchen leans classic rather than fancy: parma, steaks off the grill, fish and chips, and the outdoor seating is part of the appeal for many reviewers. It sits in the middle of the Sturt Street strip, so you can pair a meal with a walk along the avenue or one of the CBD's side streets.

Getting there and parking

The hotel trades 9am to 10pm every day of the week. Sturt Street is a main Ballarat road with angle and street parking nearby, and the venue is walkable from much of Ballarat Central if you are pairing it with an on-lead stroll rather than driving.

Pair it with

Hop Temple a couple of blocks away welcomes dogs in its rear beer garden, and Irish Murphys is another CBD pub option. For a proper off-lead run either side of lunch, Pennyweight Park fenced dog park is a short drive east, and Earl's Deli covers the coffee end of the day.

More options are on the Victoria dog friendly restaurants guide and the Ballarat Central destination page.