Rocksalt Cafe & Restaurant

Rocksalt is an all-day cafe and restaurant on Bay Street, Brighton, running from morning coffee through to a licensed dinner service seven days a week. For dog owners the relevant part is the streetside footpath seating out front, where leashed dogs are a normal part of the furniture.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the outdoor footpath tables, not inside the dining room, in line with Victorian food-safety rules. Water bowls are usually out front and staff are known for being easy about dogs, but a portable bowl covers you on busy mornings. Keep the dog on lead, settled beside the table, and clear of the footpath traffic that the Bay Street strip carries.

Worth knowing

The menu is broad Modern Australian: big breakfasts, avo smash, pasta, pizza, the chicken parma, steak sandwiches and seafood mains, all backed by a licensed bar. It opens 7:30am to 8pm every day and shifts character across the day, from a bustling weekend brunch room to a quieter dinner service. Weekend brunch is the peak; a weekday dinner table is the calmest shift for a dog.

Getting there and parking

Rocksalt sits on Bay Street, Brighton. Street parking runs along Bay Street and the side streets, with timed bays and a commercial car park nearby; it tightens up at weekend brunch, so watch the signs. Middle Brighton station is a short walk away if you are arriving by train.

Close by with the dogs

The Bay Street strip is an easy on-lead wander with cafes at every block, including The Little Ox a few doors up. For a proper run either side of a meal, the Brighton Beach dog off-leash area and Sandown Street Beach are both close, subject to Bayside's seasonal off-leash windows.

Pepsi: parma for the humans, then the beach run. This is what a Sunday is for.