La Pizzaiola

La Pizzaiola is the rustic Italian at 173 Margaret Street in the Toowoomba CBD, a long-running family favourite built around a wood-fired pizza oven and house-made pasta. The outdoor tables take well-mannered dogs, so an early dinner on the sidewalk with the dog at your feet is a Toowoomba tradition that still works.

The dog setup

Dogs join you in the outdoor seating area only; the dining room inside is people-only under the standard Queensland food rules. Water bowls are typically available. The outdoor tables sit close together, so a short lead and a dog that will settle beside your chair matter more here than at a big beer garden.

Worth knowing

The kitchen's reputation rests on the classics: spaghetti marinara, garlic prawn risotto, veal scallopini and wood-fired pizza from the oven at the back, with garlic bread ordered by half the room. Dinner runs Tuesday to Saturday from 5pm, with a lunch service Thursday to Saturday and Mondays closed, so check the day before planning an outdoor table.

Getting there and parking

It sits on Margaret Street in the heart of the city. Kerbside parking is usually findable along Margaret and the adjacent streets, and it loosens up in the evening when the offices empty. The first dinner sitting, before the room fills, is the calmest window for a dog at the close-set tables.

Pair it with

Queens Park and the Botanic Gardens are a short walk away for a leashed pre-dinner lap on the lawns. On the dog-friendly cafe side of the street, Park House Café faces the park with footpath tables, and Urban Grounds Cafe near Laurel Bank Park runs a dog-forward deck with water bowls, while Picnic Point Toowoomba is the scenic breakfast alternative.

More options are on the Queensland dog friendly restaurants guide and the Toowoomba City destination page.