The Irvine Cafe & Bar

The Irvine Cafe & Bar is the neighbourhood hub at 26 Kesteven Street, inside the Florey Shops complex in Canberra's Belconnen district. It is run by the same team behind The Knox in Watson and covers breakfast, lunch and a bar menu, with Thursday to Saturday trade stretching into the evening. For dog owners the detail that matters is simple: the outdoor seating at the front is dog friendly, on leash.

The dog setup

The dog-friendly tables sit at the front of the cafe with flat, easy access from the car park. Dogs need to be well behaved and on a lead at all times, and water bowls are typically available in the outdoor area, so ask one of the staff if you cannot see one. The setting is a suburban shopfront with steady foot traffic, so a settled dog who can handle some bustle does best.

Worth knowing

Locals rate the Irvine for its coffee, the steak sandwich, corn fritters and chai, and the team's warm service gets regular mentions. There is a gated play area for children, which tells you the crowd skews family, and weekends at brunch get busy. Weekday mornings are the quiet window if you want space for a dog.

Max: Bring a short leash for the front seating area, the outdoor space is right at the shops and foot traffic runs steady past the tables.

Getting there and parking

The cafe sits within the Florey Shops on Kesteven Street, with free parking in the paved car park directly in front and a flat walk to the outdoor tables. It is about 15 minutes' drive from Belconnen town centre, with local buses servicing the suburb.

Close by with the dogs

A few minutes south, the Lake Ginninderra dog park is fully fenced with separate large and small dog enclosures, shade, water taps and seating, and it pairs well with a circuit of the lake on the Lake Ginninderra loop trail. Rosie's at Evatt and Cafe Mame in Melba are nearby dog-friendly cafe options for another day.

More around the suburb is on the Florey destination page, and the wider list is in the ACT restaurants index.