THAI PATIO Ferny Grove

THAI PATIO Ferny Grove is a highly rated Thai restaurant at Unit 7/1300 Samford Road, and its namesake patio is the draw for dog owners: a covered, plant-filled courtyard that keeps the street out of view while your dog settles beside the table. It runs an unusually strong vegan and vegetarian Thai menu alongside the classics.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor patio and courtyard area, not inside the dining room. Keep your dog leashed and settled close to the table; the space is cosy rather than sprawling, so a calm dog that lies under the table suits it best. Staff are accommodating and have been known to bring a water bowl out on request, but there is no advertised dog menu, so carry your own bowl and something to keep the dog busy while the curries land.

Worth knowing

Order around massaman or penang curry, pad Thai, curry puffs and taro rolls, with coconut rice and mango sticky rice to finish. Service windows shift through the week: dinner from 4:30pm on Monday and Wednesday, lunch from 11:30am Thursday to Saturday, dinner Sunday, and the kitchen closes Tuesday. Thursday to Saturday evenings book out, so reserve and ask for a courtyard table if the dog is coming.

Getting there and parking

The restaurant sits on Samford Road close to the Ferny Grove train line, handy if you want to skip parking altogether. There is a car park plus street parking, and both tighten up during peak dinner service, so arrive a little early with the dog.

Close by with the dogs

The Ferny Grove Dog Park on Samford Road is the obvious warm-up, with fully fenced large and small dog areas and agility gear, and Keperra Dog Park sits one suburb over if you are coming from the east. For a smaller fenced option, Keryn Place Park is a quiet backup.

More options are on the QLD dog friendly restaurants guide and the Ferny Grove destination page.

Max: burn off at the fenced park up the road, then massaman and coconut rice in the green courtyard.