In Forno Charlestown

In Forno Charlestown is a casual Italian restaurant at 36 Pearson Street in the Charlestown Square precinct, south of Newcastle, doing wood-fired pizza and handmade pasta with a Neapolitan-leaning kitchen. It opens for lunch from 12pm to 3pm and dinner from 5pm to 8:30pm, seven days, and dogs are welcome at the outdoor tables, which makes it a useful sit-down stop on a Lake Macquarie day out with the dog.

The dog setup

Dogs are permitted at the outdoor seating area only, on a leash and under your control, in line with Lake Macquarie City Council's rules for dog-friendly food businesses. Staff are reported to be accommodating with diners bringing dogs. There is no confirmed water bowl service, so bring your own water for the dog to be safe, especially on a warm day when the precinct is busy.

Max: Cacio e pepe rolled in the parmesan wheel at the table and the dog lying under ours. The staff were lovely about her.

The food

The kitchen is known for slow-fermented, Detroit-style pizza and a cacio e pepe pasta served from a parmesan wheel, alongside the wider Italian menu. Weekend evenings get busy, so for a guaranteed outdoor table with a dog, an early booking or a quieter weeknight lunch is the safer bet.

Getting there and parking

The restaurant sits within the Charlestown Square precinct on Pearson Street. The centre has extensive free parking, and street parking is also available nearby, so arriving with a dog on lead is straightforward. The centre's walkways and the Dudley Road side are the calmer routes if your dog is wary of crowds.

Close by with the dogs

The Charlestown dog exercise area on Dudley Road is the closest off-leash option, leash-free at all times except when netball is running. For a fully fenced run, the Speers Point fenced dog park is about 15 minutes west, and the Redhead dog beach is an easy drive down the coast. For another meal, Pacific Kebab and Pizza is the other dog-friendly Charlestown listing.

More options are on the Charlestown destination page and in the NSW restaurants index.