Cafe Matto

Cafe Matto at 136 Burgundy Street is a busy Mediterranean restaurant covering breakfast through dinner, and a regular first pick for local dog owners on Heidelberg's main strip. Well-behaved dogs on a lead are welcome at the outdoor footpath tables, which run along the street under a permanent covering, so the seating works in weather that would kill an uncovered kerbside spot.

The dog setup

The footpath tables are people-watching territory and the staff are consistently described as warm, happy to bring out a water bowl and easy about dogs at your feet. Keep your dog settled on a lead though: this is a working strip and pedestrian traffic passes close to the tables.

Worth knowing

The menu leans Italian-Mediterranean: seafood marinara, salt and pepper calamari and the Matto Mixed Platter come up regularly, alongside a solid all-day breakfast including eggs Florentine. Coffee and service are the other constant praise points. It opens early, 6am to 8pm every day, so a post-walk breakfast is an easy fit.

Getting there and parking

Street parking on Burgundy Street is limited, so check signage. Cartmell Street behind the shops has free two-hour parking a short walk away, and Warringal Shopping Centre has paid undercover parking nearby. It is also an easy walk from Heidelberg railway station on the Hurstbridge line.

Pepsi: Mid-morning or early afternoon is the easy window, the footpath tables fill up over the lunch rush.

Close by with the dogs

The Malahang Reserve Fenced Dog Park at Heidelberg West gives the dog an off lead run, and the Banyule Flats Reserve Loop is a proper riverside walk a few minutes away. For coffee after, Crate Specialty Coffee at Heidelberg Heights has dog-friendly outdoor seating of its own.

More options are on the Victoria dog friendly restaurants guide and the Heidelberg destination page.