MakiMoto Kellyville

MakiMoto Kellyville is a casual, fully licensed Japanese restaurant at Shop 28, Kellyville Village, 90 Wrights Road, doing a brisk local trade in sushi, ramen and bento. Dogs are welcome at the outdoor footpath tables in front of the restaurant, which makes it one of the few sit-down Japanese options in the Hills where a dog is not left in the car.

The dog setup

The outdoor area is compact: a row of footpath tables rather than a spacious terrace, so it suits smaller or calmer dogs better than a big dog wanting room to sprawl. Tables sit close to foot traffic through the shopping centre, so a dog reactive to people passing at close range will find it testing. No water bowls are a given, so carry your own collapsible bowl. The 70-seat dining room and sushi counter indoors are off limits to dogs.

On the plate

The menu is broad for a suburban strip venue: tonkotsu ramen and mini udon for the kids, freshly rolled maki, aburi salmon and kingfish carpaccio, chicken katsu don and teriyaki bento boxes, plus king prawn tempura, agedashi tofu and lotus chips. Hours split across lunch and dinner: Monday to Thursday 12pm to 2:30pm and 5pm to 8:30pm, Friday and Saturday dinner to 9pm, Sunday to 8:30pm.

Getting there and parking

Kellyville Village has free parking throughout its car park, and bus stops on Wrights Road cover anyone arriving without a car. The footpath tables are steps from the car park, so the walk in is short.

Close by with the dogs

The Indwarra Avenue Reserve fenced dog park at North Kellyville has a grassy run plus a small bushland sniffing section, and Connie Lowe Reserve at Rouse Hill adds agility equipment a few minutes further. Local Hive is a village coffee stop, and The Dining and Co takes dogs outdoors at Beaumont Hills. See the full Kellyville listing or more New South Wales venues.

Pepsi: Lunch service beats dinner here. Fewer feet passing the tables means I can actually nap between the karaage.

Best for a quick, good-value lunch with a chilled dog rather than a long occasion meal.