Naked Racer

Naked Racer is a bar, cafe and restaurant on Grange Road in Cheltenham built around a huge vintage motorcycle museum, with hundreds of classic and rare bikes lining the space. It is a lively, unusual spot, and a dog-welcoming one: bring your dog for the outdoor seating, the rows of bikes to walk past, and live music later in the week.

The dog setup

The outdoor seating areas are the safe and obvious choice with a dog. Some visitors report well-behaved dogs being tolerated in parts of the bar, but not on the carpeted restaurant areas, so confirm with staff on the day rather than assuming indoor access. Staff are generally happy to provide water outside, and the venue is spacious enough to set up comfortably away from the door traffic. Keep your dog on lead; the museum floor and the crowds around the bikes are not somewhere to let them roam.

Worth knowing

The motorcycle museum is the headline, but the food holds its own too, with steak sandwiches, chicken parma and a solid weekend breakfast. Live music, open mic nights and Sunday events fill the calendar, and the fireplace makes the front room a winter draw. Hours stretch early to late: from 7am most mornings, closing past 10pm Thursday through Saturday and around midnight on Saturday. Weekend breakfast and casual lunch are the natural dog-friendly times to visit; loud gig nights are better left to the night owls.

Getting there and parking

The venue sits at 1 Grange Road, Cheltenham, near the Moorabbin Airport industrial area. There is ample street parking on Grange Road and the surrounding streets. It is easy to reach by car, but public transport to the door is limited, so most dog-owning visitors will drive in.

Close by with the dogs

Cheltenham Park's off-leash area is nearby for an on-lead arrival walk or an off-lead run after, and Sir William Fry Reserve is a short trip for more open space. For other tables in the area, Bad Shepherd Brewing Co. on Reserve Road runs a dog-friendly terrace with smoked barbecue, and Drip Cafe covers the coffee end of town.