Hitching Post Bar + Grill

The Hitching Post Bar + Grill is the western-suburbs local that other suburbs wish they had: an industrial-country styled pub in the Pullenvale Marketplace, 8 McCaskill Road, that has taken the unusual step of giving its pet policy its own page on the website. Dogs get designated tables in the breezeway, fresh water is brought out for them, and the floor staff have a reputation for stopping for a pat.

The dog setup

Dogs sit with you in the outdoor breezeway rather than inside the main bar, which on Brisbane's western fringe is barely a sacrifice most of the year. Head for the breezeway section on arrival so the staff know you have a dog in the party, and book if you are aiming at a Friday or Saturday night, when the indoor crowd spills outward and the dog tables go first. Water is provided, so the travel bowl stays in the car.

The menu and the taps

The kitchen runs modern pub food with a twist: signature wings, burgers, a chicken parmy, gnocchi and a fungi pizza, with small plates and sharing options alongside a solid block of vegetarian and vegan dishes. The bar is the other half of the reputation, a regularly rotating list of local craft beers on tap plus boutique wines. A midweek lunch special, a smash burger with small chips, runs Tuesday to Thursday from noon to 3pm, and is the cheapest way in.

Getting there and parking

Pullenvale Marketplace sits on McCaskill Road about ten minutes out of Kenmore, with free parking across the shopping centre car park right outside the door. Doors open from midday, Tuesday through Sunday, running to 8:30pm most nights and 10pm on Friday and Saturday, with Monday closed. Early sitting is the calm window for dogs; the weekends get properly busy.

Close by with the dogs

The Blackbutt Place Park Fenced Dog Park over in Brookfield is the nearby secure run, and the semi-rural streets around Pullenvale make a pleasant on-lead warm-up walk. For the other end of the day, The Curious Caravan Cafe is in the same suburb, and the Wild Canary Bistro at Brookfield Garden Centre is the region's other destination feed.

Max: a pub with a whole web page for my kind, and wings for everyone else.

More Brisbane dinner tables are on the Queensland restaurants list, or browse Pullenvale.