Dory's Takeaway

Dory's Takeaway is a family-run fish and chip shop at 173 River Street in Ballina, a short stroll from the Richmond River foreshore. Everything is cooked fresh to order, and the menu leans on local seafood: barramundi, snapper and calamari, house-made tartare and the old-school potato scallops that Ballina locals keep coming back for. There is a gluten-free batter option, so coeliac travellers in the family are not left watching.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor seating areas out front, and the footpath table setup means you can eat on the spot with a leashed dog at your feet. It is counter service, so one person ducks inside to order while the other holds the lead, or ring ahead and pick up. Staff are easygoing about water; carry a travel bowl anyway, because town takeaway shops rarely have bowls permanently out. Dogs stay outside the indoor counter area, as they do at any NSW food premises.

Pepsi: order the scallops and a fish, walk two minutes to the river foreshore, and you have the best table in Ballina for about twenty bucks.

Worth knowing

Hours run 11am to 7:30pm Tuesday through Sunday, with Mondays closed. In-house ice cream handles dessert, which matters on a hot Northern Rivers afternoon. This is a grab-and-go shop, not a sit-down restaurant, so the outdoors-plus-foreshore routine is the way to do it rather than expecting table service.

Getting there and parking

River Street is the main drag through town, with street parking out front and along the parallel side streets. Friday nights and summer weekends fill the spots quickly; if you park a block back, the walk doubles as a leg-stretch for the dog before the chips.

Close by with the dogs

The Richmond River foreshore parks are minutes away for a waterfront picnic, and Missingham Park Off Leash Area gives your dog a proper run where it is legal to do so. If takeaway is not the plan, Wharf Bar & Restaurant sits right on the water with dog-friendly outdoor dining, and Bertie's food and drink covers the coffee-and-breakfast end of town.

More options are listed on the New South Wales dog friendly restaurants guide and the Ballina destination page.