BURGER VILLAINS PAGE

Burger Villains is a smashed-burger shop on Page Place in Belconnen's west, and the ACT Government itself includes it in its roundup of dog-friendly food spots in Canberra. It is a West-Coast US style burger joint rather than a restaurant, so the model is simple: order at the counter, take a seat at the outdoor footpath tables and let the dog lie in the shade while the patties come off the grill.

The dog setup

Dogs on leads are welcome at the outdoor, footpath-style seating, which is where you will want to be anyway when the weather is decent. Keep your dog leashed and clear of the counter and doorway, standard practice under ACT food rules. Nothing about water bowls or treats is advertised, so carry your own bowl and top up from a bottle rather than counting on the shop.

The menu

The kitchen works in smash patties and fried chicken: the signature Villain and Super Villain stack both, the VFC burger covers the chicken side alone, and specials like Operation: Doomsday and Here Comes Truffle rotate through. Sides do serious work too, with buffalo chicken loaded fries, truffle fries, crispy chips, cauliflower bites and mozzarella sticks, plus a bacon and egg roll for the morning shift. Online ordering is available if you are grabbing takeaway for the park instead of sitting in.

Getting there and parking

The address is 2 Page Place, Page, a short hop off Bindubi Street with free parking directly in front of the shop, which makes an easy stop with the dog still in the car. Trading hours shift by day, with late-afternoon starts some days and longer sessions toward the weekend, so check the current hours before you build the trip around it.

Make a day of it

The Lake Ginninderra Dog Park is the obvious pairing, an off-lead run by the water a few minutes drive away, and the Lake Ginninderra Loop Trail stretches the outing into a proper walk. For a second feed stop, Cafe2617 keeps dog-friendly tables over in Belconnen.

Pepsi: fries first, then I negotiate hard for the bottom of a loaded-chicken container.

More Canberra options are on the ACT restaurants list, or browse Page.