Dog-friendly places in Randwick

Sunday in Randwick: a run at Paine Reserve, then breakfast at Java Junction

Paine Reserve in Randwick is the run for a big dog. Its dog exercise park, on the corner of Botany and Rainbow Streets, is where dogs of all sizes can be off the leash. The reserve also has a shade structure and a water bubbler with a bottle refill and a dog bowl. Unleashed dogs aren't allowed on the sports fields, so keep the run to the exercise park.

Java Junction is a 9-minute walk from the park, on Perouse Road. This retro breakfast and coffee cafe opens at 8am on Sundays and closes at 2pm, and its outside stools on the footpath suit a dog that has just had a run. Order the breakfast plate with poached eggs, or the ice cream and milkshakes on a warm morning. Visitors come for the breakfast, the friendly staff and fresh food at good value, so be seated before 2pm.

Weekday mornings in Randwick: an on-lead start for a small or nervous dog

Randwick Peace Park is a small grassed reserve on Avoca Street, shaded by plenty of trees. Its fenced playground is for younger children, and dogs are welcome on a lead outside it. This is a short walk rather than a run. At 0.17 hectares, the reserve suits a small or nervous dog that doesn't need much space.

TUCKER is a 3-minute walk from the park, at 30 Clovelly Road. It's a long-running corner cafe with footpath tables, a takeaway window and a steady local crowd, and dogs sit at the outside tables only. Coffee and pancakes are the best bets. Regulars say the owners know them by name, which suits a dog owner who wants a quiet, familiar stop.

Dog rules in Randwick: where dogs can't go

Off-leash running is in the dog exercise park at Paine Reserve. Confirm the off-leash hours with Randwick City Council before you go, because the hours decide when a run is allowed.

Dogs are prohibited within 10 metres of the playground at Paine Reserve, so leash the dog when passing it, and unleashed dogs aren't allowed on its sports fields. At Randwick Peace Park, dogs are welcome on a lead but are not allowed inside the playground or within 10 metres of it, and owners are asked to pick up after their dog.

Simeon Pearce Park, on the corner of Middle Street and Jane Street, is a leashed park with a free public barbecue and picnic tables, so keep your dog on the lead there.

At the cafes, dogs can sit only at the outside tables, at Java Junction, Clodeli, TUCKER, 22 Grams, 169 Cafe, Gusto Espresso Bar, Nooks Place, A Man and his Monkey Cafe and Saint Marks. For more cafes that take dogs, the Randwick page on dog-friendly cafes is the next stop.