A Touch of Salt

A Touch of Salt is Townsville's award-winning modern Australian fine diner on the South Townsville side of Palmer Street, looking across Ross Creek to Victoria Bridge. It sits in the ground floor of Metro Quays on Ogden Street, and while the dining room itself is strictly for humans, dogs are welcome at the outdoor tables on the deck and footpath. This is a proper night out rather than a quick stop, and one of the few fine-dining rooms in the north where the dog can join you at the table.

The dog setup

Dogs are limited to the outdoor seating: the deck and footpath tables along the creek side. You can settle a dog there without passing through the indoor dining room, and the creek outlook does the entertaining once you are seated. Because this is a sit-down, multi-course evening rather than a casual feed, it suits a calm dog that can lie quietly beside the table for a couple of hours. Ask for an outdoor table when you book and mention you are bringing a dog, and bring a portable water bowl as backup.

Worth knowing

The kitchen leans on quality local seafood, with reef fish, snapper and scallops regulars on the menu, alongside pork belly and house-made gnocchi, plus solid vegetarian and vegan options and a serious wine list. Sunset over Ross Creek is the pick of the times to be out there. Service runs from 5:30pm on weeknights, with lunch on Fridays and dinner from 5pm across the weekend.

Getting there and parking

The restaurant is on Palmer Street in the heart of South Townsville's dining strip, with free off-street parking available nearby, a rarity in a central dining precinct. The Ross Creek walkway runs right past the door, so a pre- or post-dinner stroll with the dog is built into the visit.

Close by with the dogs

The wider Palmer Street strip is easy on-lead walking, and other dog-friendly tables are close by: Levanti and Skull and Swallow cover breakfast and lunch on the same side of the creek, while Odyssey on the Strand is a short drive over the bridge for a morning after. The Townsville City destination page lists the rest.

Weeknights are the calmer service for a dog, both in noise and in foot traffic. More Queensland options sit under the Queensland restaurants listing.