Gigi’s Kiosk at Waverley Park

Gigi's Kiosk is a family-run Italian kiosk at 6 Cavenagh Boulevard, right beside the Waverley Park lake and playground in Mulgrave. It opens 8am to 3pm daily with the kitchen winding up at 2:30pm, and it works as a coffee stop mid-walk more than a sit-down restaurant.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor seating around the kiosk and in the parkland around it. It is an order-at-the-counter setup, so you take a bench in the undercover area or wander back into the park with your flat white. The kiosk is genuinely dog-oriented: doggychinos are on the counter menu, and water bowls usually appear for canine regulars. Dogs on lead are fine in the open grass around the fenced playground.

Worth knowing

The kitchen turns out loaded focaccias made to order, including the signature Gigi and the Carpaccio, with halal and gluten-free options. Pizza slices, croissants and cruffins fill the cabinet, ricotta cannoli cover dessert, and gelato rotates in seasonally. Matcha and crema di caffè sit alongside the coffee. Popular items sell out, so a mid-morning visit beats a 2pm one.

Getting there and parking

Cavenagh Boulevard runs through the Waverley Park estate, with street parking along it and the surrounding avenues. The lakeside boardwalk loops right past the kiosk, which is what makes the dog walk plus coffee combo so easy.

More walks nearby

Sabina Park and Whitehaven Crescent Reserve cover the Mulgrave green space either side of the estate, and the Jells Park and Nortons Park loop at Wheelers Hill is the bigger outing. Troublemaker Cafe is the indoor-seated alternative in the suburb.

The Victoria dog friendly restaurants guide and the Mulgrave destination page list more nearby.