Ichi

Ichi is a Japanese izakaya-style restaurant on Clarence Street in the Port Macquarie town centre, and it takes dogs at the outdoor tables. The kitchen works from fresh local seafood and classic Japanese small plates, backed by a curated sake list and Suntory Malts on tap, and it sits close to the Hastings River waterfront for a pre or post-dinner walk.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome at the outdoor seating along the footpath side, not inside the dining room, in line with the usual NSW food premises rules. The tables sit right in the heart of town, so tucking a dog next to the chair is easy, but the pavement carries foot traffic through the evening, so keep the lead short. Water is not guaranteed, so bring a travel bowl. Book ahead, as the room is small and the dinner service fills, and ask for an outdoor table when you do.

Worth knowing

The menu runs to mixed sashimi platters, wagyu beef tataki, chicken karaage, agedashi tofu, scallops and yakitori, and the kitchen is led by one of Australia's prominent Japanese chefs. It trades 5pm to close Tuesday through Saturday and shuts Sundays and Mondays, so this is a dinner-only outing. A longer, paced izakaya meal suits a dog that settles well rather than a fidgety one.

Getting there and parking

Clarence Street is the main dining strip of the CBD, with street parking along the block and council car parks close by for busy evenings. The Town Green foreshore is a short walk away for an on-lead riverside stroll, and dogs must stay leashed in the public open space there, with the usual ten-metre buffer from the playground.

For off-lead time before dinner, Stuart Park Fenced Dog Park is the closest enclosed run, and Nobbys Beach adds the off-leash sand option south of town. Sandbox is the same-street breakfast alternative.

More dinner options sit in the NSW restaurants index and the Port Macquarie destination guide.

Max: sashimi platter on the footpath, then a slow lap of Town Green to walk off the karaage.