HWY-1 Cafe Pizzeria

HWY-1 Cafe Pizzeria is the casual pizza and pasta stop at 20 Princes Highway, right on the main road through Tailem Bend. For anyone driving the Adelaide to Melbourne route with a dog in the car, this is the dinner break that works: the alfresco tables take dogs, parking is easy with a caravan, and the kitchen turns out Italian-style pizzas and a full pasta menu into the evening.

The dog setup

Dogs are welcome in the outdoor alfresco area, which is the realistic option at a highway-style venue like this. Keep your dog leashed and settled beside the table away from the car park side. Water bowls are not confirmed on the venue's own materials, so carry one in the boot with the rest of the road-trip kit.

Worth knowing

The menu leans on the pizza classics: meat lovers, supreme and the barbecued chicken versions get named most often, with garlic bread and pasta filling out the order. Hours run evenings only, from 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday, so it is a dinner stop rather than a lunch one, and Monday is a rest day.

Getting there and parking

It sits on the Princes Highway as it passes through town, with plenty of onsite parking for cars, caravans and trailers. Weekend evenings and school holidays are the busy windows as travellers funnel through; weeknights are quieter and easier with a dog.

Pair it with

Tailem Bend Dog Park is a short drive away for a proper off-lead stretch before you lock the dog in the car-free alfresco zone, and the Murray riverfront in town gives a leashed leg-stretch if you have time either side of dinner. Pushing on in the morning, 1924 RiverFront Steakhouse in Murray Bridge is another dog-friendly dining option up the highway.

More options are on the South Australia dog friendly restaurants guide and the Tailem Bend destination page.