Shack Di Fratello Berwick

Shack Di Fratello is an Italian-inspired kitchen in the Village Arcade at Unit 3/48 High Street, Berwick, serving generous homestyle plates from breakfast right through to dinner. It is a footpath-dining proposition for dog owners: dogs are welcome at the outdoor seating along the High Street strip, which puts a proper pasta dinner on the end of a village dog walk. Bookings are accepted by phone on (03) 8753 7181, and dinner slots and weekends fill first, so ring ahead if you want a footpath table with the dog.

The dog setup

Dogs stay in the designated outdoor footpath seating, on a lead and clear of the staff walkway, as the High Street footpath carries steady foot traffic through the village. Indoor tables are not open to dogs. Bring your own water bowl to be safe; the team is easygoing but the footpath setup means your dog's spot is the one you make. Flat street access makes it simple with a lead, a pram or a slower dog.

The food

The kitchen runs Italian-leaning comfort food in servings that reviewers consistently call generous. The Gnocchi Mix in cream sauce, the seafood marinara, fettuccine carbonara and the house lasagna anchor the pasta side, with lamb cutlets and garlic prawns alongside. The grill and burger list covers a chicken parma, the Beef and Reef and the Shack Double Decker burger, and kids get a spaghetti bolognese of their own. Hours run lunch from 11am with dinner from 5pm, closing Monday, earlier on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Make a day of it

Berwick's dog green space is close: Akoonah Park Dog Off Leash Area gives an off-leash run before you settle in for pasta, and Pioneers Park is the shorter green-space option off the main strip. For coffee with the dog elsewhere in Berwick, Populus Cafe and MAD BENJI are both in the same suburb.

Pepsi: The footpath at Berwick smells like garlic prawns and small children dropping chips. Five stars.

More places to eat with your dog are on the VIC restaurants list, and the suburb picks are on the Berwick destination page.