Austrian Club Restaurant

The Austrian Club Restaurant at 20 Grattan Crescent, Frenchs Forest, is a genuine piece of the Austrian countryside dropped onto Sydney's northern beaches: a country-style club building serving schnitzels, pork knuckle and strudel, with a community feel and regular live music. Dogs are welcome in the outdoor seating and beer garden areas, which makes a big Saturday lunch here a proper day out with the dog.

The dog setup

Dogs join you in the outdoor areas only, leashed and settled under the table. The indoor Tyrolean hall is off limits except for assistance animals, which is standard for NSW clubs. A water bowl may be available on request, but bring your own to be safe. The garden is casual and family friendly, so it suits sociable dogs that are comfortable around kids and other tables.

Worth knowing

The menu is unapologetically traditional: chicken and pork schnitzels, pretzels, sauerkraut, goulash and Apfelstrudel with cream and ice, washed down with Austrian and German beers and a winter gluhwein. Hours are limited: dinner Thursday from 5:30pm and Friday from 6pm, then lunch and dinner Saturday from 12:30pm and Sunday from midday, closed Monday to Wednesday. Book ahead and confirm the outdoor area is open, because the club mainly trades on weekends.

Getting there and parking

The club sits near the Forest Way and Warringah Road junction, about 30 minutes from the CBD, with on-site parking plus street parking on the surrounding roads. The car park can fill during the popular weekend lunch service.

Close by with the dogs

The Frenchs Forest Showground dog off-leash area is minutes away, a fully fenced 24-hour run with a separate small dog enclosure and lighting to 9:30pm. The Currie Road dog park at Forestville is another fenced option nearby, and Behind the Beans covers the weekend coffee run.

More options are on the NSW dog friendly restaurants guide and the Frenchs Forest destination page.

Pepsi: showground run first, then a pork knuckle in the beer garden while the oompah band warms up.