Moonstruck Noosa

Moonstruck runs two acts on Hastings Street. By day it is a European-style boutique coffee house pouring house-roasted blends and stacking sourdough bagels (the Portobello forest with truffle oil and provolone is the signature); by night the same room becomes a gin bar working through Australian independent labels like local Noosa gins and Brookie's, with European share plates and cocktails. The footpath tables out front put you and your dog right in the middle of the strip.

The dog setup

Well-behaved dogs are welcome at the outdoor alfresco tables on Hastings Street, on lead, with staff usually bringing a water bowl out; carry your own as backup because the strip gets busy. Only assistance dogs go inside. Hours shift across the season, with cafe service from early morning and the bar side running into the evening on weekends, so check the day's trading before planning a sunset gin with the dog in tow.

The beach question

Main Beach is steps away but dogs are not permitted on it, so don't plan a swim there. The real prize is at the end of Hastings Street via Claude Batten Drive: the riverside beach on Noosa Spit, known locally as the Dog Beach, allows off-lead running and swimming, with the zone covering the beach and parkland on the riverside side of the drive. Dogs must be under effective control and on a physical lead through the shaded Noosa Woods trails and everywhere outside the signed boundaries. Baggies are on you, and dogs can't be left tied up unattended under Noosa Shire rules.

Getting there and parking

Hastings Street parking is metered and fills fast in holiday periods. The Lions Park paid car park near the roundabout is the usual fallback, then it's a short walk in; ride-share also works well. If you're coming by water, the Noosa Ferry takes dogs on laps, which is a very Noosa way to arrive.

Close by with the dogs

Before or after, the Dog Beach covers the exercise, and Elysium off-leash park adds a grass alternative. The Scoop at 4567 handles gelato stops and Jungle and Co is another Hastings Street dog-welcoming coffee option. More sit on the Queensland restaurants page and the Noosa Heads guide.

Pepsi: bagel crumbs on the footpath, then off-lead zoomies at the spit before the gin crowd showed up. Perfect day.