9 Dog-Friendly Restaurants in Austin for You and Your Furry Friend

The best days are the ones we spend with our best friends — and no offense to our human friends, but our best friends have four paws, floppy ears, and very waggly tails. And we won’t be leaving home without them.

Fortunately, Austin‘s famous food scene didn’t forget about Fido. The dog-friendly restaurants in Austin take dog-friendliness to the next level. There are restaurants with off-leash parks, pet-friendly menu items, and mile-long nature trails. These aren’t just dining experiences, they’re doggy destinations.

So, leash up! It’s time to head out for a fun day of dining with your furry friend. These are the best dog-friendly restaurants in Austin.

The 9 Best Dog-Friendly Restaurants in Austin

We’ve rounded up nine restaurants that not only allow dogs, but also love dogs. These are the spots that will welcome you and Spot with open arms (and maybe even a few butt rubs).

1. Yard Bar

6700 Burnet Rd.

The Yard Bar‘s motto — “Good food. Good dogs. Good beer.” — says it all. This isn’t just a dog-friendly restaurant, it’s a local hangout designed specifically for dogs and their humans. The Yard Bar combines a bar, restaurant, and off-leash dog park into one perfect pet-friendly concept.

The off-leash dog park is fenced so your pooch can run around like it’s their own backyard. You can grab a drink at the bar and head in, but you’ll have to buy a park pass before your furry friend can enjoy the off-leash area. Dogs also have to be spayed or neutered to enter the park area, while humans have to be 21 or over. And of course, to prevent a furry frenzy, there’s no food allowed in the off-leash area.If that doesn’t suit you and your dog, sit at the picnic tables on the outdoor patio instead. 

In this area, dogs have to be on-leash, but humans of all ages and furry friends of all sorts are welcome. Plus, both you and your best friend can enjoy great food from Fat City. The restaurant serves up old-school comfort food, including sliders, chicken tenders, fries, and floats. And for your four-legged friend, the kitchen turns out chicken meatballs or peanut butter and greek yogurt ice cream.

2. Dog House Drinkery

3800 County Rd. 175

Here’s a philosophical question for you: Does it count as a restaurant if it doesn’t serve food? The Dog House Drinkery is primarily a private dog park and a bar, but they do partner with food trucks during special events. They also sell doggy ice cream if you want to order a special treat for your furry friend.

Much like at Yard Bar, there’s no food allowed in the park area and all dogs have to be spayed or neutered to attend. You can buy an annual membership or pay for a day pass to get access to the off-leash dog area. Once inside, you can reach the bar without leaving the fenced area. You can also sit in the bar area with your four-legged friend — dogs are allowed on-leash, and there are plenty of bar games to help entertain the humans.

3. The ABGB

1305 W Oltorf St.

The ABGB, or The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co., is one of Austin‘s best breweries. A friend to the animals, they donate 10% of their annual profits to local causes, including Austin Pets Alive!

ABGB brews a special beer just for Austin Pets Alive! (APA!)— an American Pale Ale (APA). It’s an APA for APA! (They love their acronyms here.) Every time you order the Austin Pets Alive! Pale Ale, the brewery donates $1 to this animal rescue group. They also work with the rescue to host adoption drives and other events.

While the ABGB doesn’t allow dogs in the taproom, you can grab a seat on the dog-friendly patio and spend the afternoon drinking local craft beer and hanging out with your best friend. 

The restaurant is open to humans of all ages so you can also bring the little ones along. The kitchen serves up crowd-pleasers, like bacon burgers, veggie burgers, shrimp tempura tacos, and BBQ pulled pork sandwiches.

4. Cosmic Coffee + Beer Garden

121 Pickle Rd.

Coffee shop by day, cocktail bar by night — Cosmic Coffee + Beer Garden is an entire ecosystem in the heart of South Austin. The outdoor area is a nationally recognized wildlife habitat, featuring a biological pond and garden. Your dog is welcome to join you in this serene space morning, noon, or night, and tiny humans can tag-along up until 9 p.m.

In the morning, this spot serves coffee, tea, and daytime tipples like boozy lattes, Bloody Marys, and mimosas. 

In the evening, you can often find live music from local bands, seasonal cocktails, craft beer, and organic wine. While Cosmic Coffee doesn’t make their own food, they host amazing Austin food trucks every day of the week, including Pueblo Viejo. As one of the best taco spots in Austin, this food truck serves up authentic Mexican street food seven days a week.

5. Ski Shores Cafe

2905 Pearce Rd.

This casual eatery is located on Lake Austin. Its outdoor space offers views of the lake from pristine white picnic tables. There’s also a shaded tiki hut where you and your best friend can escape the heat with cold drinks (yours from the bar and your dogs’ from their water bowl).

Ski Shores Cafe is oozing with vintage charm, and the menu adds to the ambiance. Reminiscent of a 1950s diner menu, there are just enough modern updates to keep you coming back for more. They serve burgers, fried food, and root beer floats, alongside ahi tuna tostadas and lobster rolls.

This spot also has a breakfast menu on the weekends in case you and your pooch are up and at ’em early. Not to be confused with brunch, Ski Shores‘ breakfast is only served until 11 a.m. Although they do have mimosas and Bloody Mary’s, this is definitely an Austin breakfast place, not a brunch spot.

6. Austin Eastciders

1530 Barton Springs Rd.

Leave the breweries behind for the day, and check out this awesome Austin cidery — one of the most dog-friendly restaurants in Austin. Austin Eastciders makes dry, crisp ciders in unique flavors like blood orange, spiced peach, and rosé. 

They have two locations: the Collaboratory Taproom in East Austin and the Austin Eastciders Restaurant in Barton Springs. Both locations allow dogs in the outdoor seating area.

The Barton Springs restaurant offers more food options and a traditional restaurant dining experience with a menu that includes snacks, salads, sandwiches, pizza, and dessert. But if you head to the taproom, you can still get good eats from the Dipping Springs food truck.

7. Banger’s Sausage House

79 Rainey St.

Located in the Rainey Street Historic District, this German-style sausage house and beer garden is a can’t-miss Oktoberfest destination. And during the rest of the year, it’s an irresistible anytime destination for anyone with a furry friend.

Banger’s Sausage House serves stick-to-your-ribs fare in a German beer hall setting. The outdoor area is full of rustic wood picnic tables. Grab a pint and settle in with your best friend for some irresistible comfort food.

Banger‘s serves up a variety of sausages — from classic brats to gourmet duck, bacon, and fig sausages. They also offer hearty sides like German potato salad, mac ‘n cheese, and poutine. 

Your pup won’t feel left out either. You can get a Woofwurst — a beef, pork, and veggie sausage — made specially for them.

8. Easy Tiger

3508 S Lamar Blvd.

One of the best bakeries in Austin, Easy Tiger has three locations around town — one in South Lamar, one in East Austin, and one in the Highland District — all with ample outdoor seating for you and your pup. Our favorite location is the one in South Lamar where you can take in views of the Greenbelt from the outdoor deck.

At all three locations, Easy Tiger offers two menus. Their all day menu is available anytime. It features soups, salads, and sandwiches served on fresh baked bread. They also offer a variety of house-made pastries and signature coffee beverages, like their Honey Lavender Latte and their white chocolate and cardamom Bengal Spice Latte.

Easy Tiger also offers a brunch menu on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 am. to 3 p.m. It includes all of the regular menu items, plus brunch classics, like an egg sandwich, a breakfast bowl, and pastrami hash. 

On weekdays, you and your canine companion can take advantage of happy hour specials from 2-6 p.m.

9. Jester King Brewery

13187 Fitzhugh Rd.

For a quiet escape into Hill Country, grab your furry friend and head 25 minutes outside of town to Jester King Brewery. This peaceful spot is set on a 165 acre ranch. It features a brewery, farm, kitchen, and event hall. (We think we just found the venue for your dog’s next birthday party!)

More than just a restaurant, you can also visit the barn, beer garden, hop yard, pasture, or tree grotto. Take your dog for a hike on the half-mile farm trail or two-mile nature trail, and then settle in at any of the picnic tables on the grounds to order your food.

You can order food and drinks from your phone, using the QR code on the picnic tables. Then pick it up when it’s ready. The kitchen serves pizza, pulled pork sandwiches, and fresh-baked desserts, and their drinks menu features their own beers, ciders, and wines, including a variety of fruit wines.

This destination provides a full day of fun for dogs and their humans.

Doggy Dining at Its Finest

With so many dog-friendly restaurants in Austin, it’s easy to find somewhere to dine with your doggo — now if only you could train them to pick up the check. But, who knows? Maybe the Chicken Meatballs at Yard Bar or the Woofwurst at Banger’s Sausage House will be the inspiration your pup needs to learn this new trick.

Until then, you can also explore free activities with your four-legged friend — check out the best parks in Austin or head out for a little Austin hiking. 

Your dog will have the best time exploring the city with their best friend. (That’s you!) And if you want to explore more of what Austin has to offer, check out ATX Guides.