Happy Alley

Happy Alley is a hugely popular sandwich shop tucked into a laneway off Bay Street at 13 Bay Street, Rockdale, right beside Rockdale Station. It made its name on New York-style cookies, then grew into stuffed kaak breads, bagels and oversized deli sandwiches, and dogs are allowed in the outdoor areas, which is exactly where its best seats are.

The dog setup

The outdoor space is a paved laneway courtyard with communal tables, park benches and bright yellow umbrellas, and leashed dogs are welcome there while the indoor counter and ordering area stays pet-free under food safety rules. It is communal seating, so a well-socialised dog that is relaxed with strangers and other dogs passing close by will do best. Bring your own water bowl, and time your visit early: the queue at weekend brunch is the main challenge, not the dog policy.

Max: Communal tables mean neighbours within patting distance. Anchor me under the bench end, not the aisle, and we both get to enjoy the cookies.

The food

Everything is halal certified and made to order: hefty kaak and bagel rolls, loaded focaccias, deli sandwiches like the Alley Deli and Parmi Melt, plus the biscoff and nutella cookies the shop started with, fresh pastries and soft serve. The portion sizes are big, so a single sandwich usually covers lunch, and the cookies travel well back to the office or the park.

Getting there and parking

The laneway runs off Bay Street steps from Rockdale Station on the T4 Illawarra line, which is the easy option if you are bringing a dog that likes a train ride. Free street parking is available around Bay Street but it is competitive at peak, and hours run 7am to 2:30pm Monday to Saturday and 8am from Sunday, closing mid-afternoon.

Close by with the dogs

Rockdale Park is a short walk away for an on-lead post-lunch stroll, and Bayside Council's bigger green at Rockdale Bicentennial Park is on-lead only, with dogs barred within 10 metres of playgrounds. For a legal off-lead run, Lady Robinsons Beach at Kyeemagh has a 24/7 dog area. If you are back another day, Boschetto Cafe and ROAR Cafe are fellow Rockdale dog-friendly stops, with more on the Rockdale destination page and in the NSW restaurants index.