Sandstone & Co Cafe & Restaurant

Sandstone & Co is an old-fashioned, hearty cafe and restaurant at 284 Torquay Road, on the Surf Coast Highway corner in Grovedale, and it works well with a dog because of its outdoor courtyard. Breakfast and lunch run from 9am to 2:30pm every day, with dinner service on weeknights and weekends, so it covers a full day of eating rather than just morning coffee.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor courtyard only; the indoor dining room stays dog free. The courtyard is a proper space rather than a footpath squeeze, and staff have a habit of greeting canine visitors with a welcome treat and a water bowl, though carrying your own water backup is still sensible. Keep your dog leashed and settled by the table, especially when the courtyard is busy.

The food

The on-site cake and slice cabinet is the standout, made fresh in-house, sitting alongside generous breakfast and lunch plates. Regulars point to gluten-free options, buffalo wings, fritters and gnocchi, plus a steak night when dinner service runs. Weekday mornings are the quiet window if you want the courtyard to yourself.

Getting there and parking

The cafe sits at the Torquay Road and Surf Coast Highway corner in Grovedale, with easy on-site parking, so it is a simple stop if you are driving through Geelong's south on the way to or from the coast.

Make a day of it

For an off-leash run before breakfast, Brearley Park Reserve Dog Park at Marshall is a short drive south with a fully fenced reserve for a proper burn-off. Coffee the next morning is covered too: Interlude up the road on Torquay Road takes a dog-friendly approach, and Afterglow Espresso is just past the highway in Waurn Ponds.

More of the area is on the Grovedale destination page, and the full Victorian list is in the VIC restaurants index.