Soul Greens

Soul Greens is a fully vegetarian, largely vegan restaurant at 350 Highett Road, Highett, on the neighbourhood strip a short walk from Highett station. In a suburb better known for breakfast cafes, this is the sit-down, plant-based option: hearty curry and rice combos, bean croquettes, samosas, spinach pie, moussaka and a sticky date pudding that keeps drawing praise, at prices locals call affordable. Dogs are welcome at the outdoor seating, which makes it a genuine lunch-and-dinner stop with the dog rather than a coffee-and-move-on one.

The dog setup

Dogs are permitted in the outdoor seating areas on the footpath in front of the shop; inside is people only under standard Victorian food rules. Bring your own water bowl since one is not always set out, and pick a table where your dog can settle clear of the passing foot traffic that a Highett Road strip generates. It suits a calm, settled dog better than a restless one.

Worth knowing

Sessions run lunch and dinner, roughly 11am to 3pm and 5pm to 8pm, with Monday and Sunday listed as closed by the venue's own pages, though some directories show a Monday lunch, so check before an evening or Monday plan. The kitchen rates very highly locally for flavour-packed, fresh plant-based food, and reviewers single out the curries and generous savoury portions.

Getting there and parking

It is at 350 Highett Road, a short walk from Highett Railway Station on the Sandringham line. Street parking runs along Highett Road and the side streets; check the signage as time limits vary through the strip.

Close by with the dogs

Turner Road Reserve Dog Off Leash Area is about 15 minutes' walk east: the unfenced northern oval is the designated off-leash zone, while the two sports ovals along Turner Road stay on-leash, and Bayside rules require leashing within 20 metres of playgrounds and barbecues. Third Wheel further along the strip covers the coffee half of the day.

The rest of the neighbourhood is on the Highett destination page and in the VIC restaurants index.

Max: the northern oval at Turner Road is the only off-leash part, so head there rather than the sports ovals.