Rice Boi

Rice Boi holds the corner at 123 Parkyn Parade on the Mooloolaba waterfront, serving a Modern Asian menu built around dishes people come back for: eggplant chips, coconut braised beef, sticky pork belly, kingfish sashimi and a yellow curry that regulars order on sight. The room opens daily from 11:30am through to 9pm, so it works for a long lunch or an early dinner before the esplanade crowd builds.

The dog setup

This is one venue where the dog policy comes straight from the source: Rice Boi promotes leashed dogs at its outdoor seating on its own Instagram and Facebook channels, so the practice is venue reported rather than rumour. Take an outdoor table, keep the lead clipped, and treat the indoor dining room as off limits. Staff are used to dogs at the alfresco tables, and the outdoor section looks across the water, which keeps a settled dog occupied. Carry a water bowl as none is advertised, and aim for the shoulder of service rather than the Friday night rush if your dog is still learning restaurant manners.

Close by with the dogs

North along the coast, Juan Fifty Kitchen & Bar at Alexandra Headland runs another outdoor table scene, and the Unfenced Dog Leash Free Park in Maroochydore is the pre-lunch leg stretch. For the morning after, Beach Street Deli does a solid coffee and bagel run. See the wider Queensland restaurant list and the Mooloolaba guide for the rest of the suburb.

Parkyn Parade carries metered parking and the marina complexes add more a block away, though dinner peak can leave you circling. The Wharf precinct next door makes an easy leash-on wander afterwards, with the river on one side and the beach strip the other. Weekday lunches are the calmest slot, and the outdoor section sits under shade that keeps a waiting dog comfortable through a longer meal.