Coombe Yarra Valley

Coombe is the Yarra Valley estate Dame Nellie Melba made her home, at 673-675 Maroondah Highway in Coldstream, where a restaurant, cellar door and seven acres of historic formal gardens sit among estate vineyards. The dog case here is the outdoor area behind the cellar door: you can taste the estate's cool-climate wines over cheese, charcuterie or the famous scones with a leashed dog beside you instead of in the car.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor cellar door area, which includes some undercover seating, but not inside the restaurant, the indoor tasting rooms or during structured indoor tastings. The formal gardens run largely as a tour and ceremony space, so keep your dog on the lead and to the casual seating zones rather than the manicured lawns. Seating in the dog-friendly zone can change or book out, so confirm when you reserve, and bring your own water bowl to be safe.

The vibe

The restaurant does a seasonal modern-Australian lunch from local and estate-grown produce, with the signature Peach Melba, created for Melba herself, and fresh buttermilk scones on the dessert list. High tea runs Wednesdays and Sundays with sparkling wine. The estate trades Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, and closes Mondays and Tuesdays. Gardens and house tours add Melba memorabilia and heritage trees if you want to make the visit longer, though those are dog-free indoor and garden components.

Getting there and parking

Coombe is on the Maroondah Highway roughly 45 minutes east of Melbourne, with free onsite parking and plenty of room. Bookings are recommended for lunch and worth making alongside any cellar door plans, especially on weekends when the Yarra Valley day-trip traffic flows through.

Close by with the dogs

The Coldstream strip is dense with cellar doors: Rochford Wines and Tokar Estate are both nearby PawScapes listings, and the Yarra Valley Pie Stop covers the casual end of the road. For a leg-stretch, the Healesville Showgrounds off-leash area is a short drive north-east.