Flare Restaurant

Flare Restaurant is a family-owned modern Australian venue at 6/124 Horton Street, in the Port Macquarie town centre. It runs from 11:30am Tuesday to Sunday and closes Mondays, with a menu that leans into American-influenced plates: brisket burgers, ribs, wings and a rotating dessert cabinet, plus a full cocktail list. It is listed as pet friendly on AGFG's Port Macquarie directory, with the alfresco seating taking dogs.

The dog setup

Dogs sit with you in the outdoor dining area out the front, not inside the restaurant, which follows the standard NSW rules for animals in food premises. The alfresco tables sit off the footpath, so there is room to settle a dog beside the chair without people squeezing past. Bring a travel water bowl as a backup, and flag the dog when you book so the team can seat you outside. It suits a dog that stays put through a full lunch or dinner service.

Worth knowing

This is a sit-down restaurant rather than a grab-and-go cafe, so it works best for a slower meal with a settled dog. The kitchen is known for hearty portions and gluten-free options, and the central Horton Street position makes it an easy stop mid-shop or after the riverfront. Weekday lunchtimes are the calmest window; the dinner service picks up from Thursday on.

Getting there and parking

Horton Street is the main spine of the Port Macquarie CBD. Street parking runs along Horton and the parallel side streets, with council car parks a block or two away when it is busy. The venue is flat and step-free from the street, and the Westport Park riverfront, with its on-leash riverside paths, is a short walk up Park Street for a stretch before or after the meal.

For a proper off-lead run before lunch, Stuart Park Fenced Dog Park is the enclosed option close to town, and Nobbys Beach is the nearest off-leash sand strip, a few minutes south on Pacific Drive. Bittersweet Cafe Patisserie covers the next-morning coffee stop.

More eating options are in the NSW restaurants index and the Port Macquarie destination guide.

Pepsi: brisket burger for them, a lap of Westport Park for me, and everyone wins.