Bangalay Dining

Bangalay Dining is a polished modern-Australian restaurant at Bangalay Luxury Villas, 30 Staples Street, Shoalhaven Heads, looking over the golf course towards Seven Mile Beach. This is a destination booking rather than a casual walk-in: a seasonal tasting menu built on South Coast produce and native ingredients such as finger lime and lemon myrtle, plus weekend breakfast sittings that double as the town's best brunch.

The dog setup

Treat this one as call-ahead. The region's pet-friendly guides list Bangalay Dining as having dog-friendly outdoor dining, but at least one diner has reported being turned away, so the policy appears to sit with the front-of-house on the day. Ring (02) 4448 7729 when you book, confirm a deck table for that sitting, and plan on a leashed, settled dog with your own water bowl. Note the dogs rule the roost in other ways here: a handful of the luxury villas themselves take pets on application, so you can make the dog part of the whole stay rather than just dinner.

Worth knowing

The 5-course Chef's Selection tasting menu anchors dinner, with the kitchen also running Saturday breakfast from 7.30am and a longer Sunday sitting to noon. Dinner nights are limited, so book ahead regardless of the dog question. Dietary requirements are best flagged at booking.

Getting there and parking

The address is 30 Staples Street, Shoalhaven Heads, about two hours south of Sydney on the Princes Highway. On-site parking is available for restaurant and villa guests, and the walk from the car to the deck is short and level.

Max: Booked the deck, brought my own bowl, and watched the golf course birds while the humans worked through five courses. Pacing myself was the hardest part.

Close by with the dogs

Seven Mile Beach is moments away, with a 24-hour off-leash area about 200 metres north of the surf club entrance (dogs are barred to the south, where the bird sanctuary sits). The town's fenced off-leash dog park is a short drive too, and Holiday Haven Shoalhaven Heads is the caravan-park fallback if the villas are full. More options sit on the New South Wales restaurants list and the Shoalhaven Heads destination page.