Walnut Avenue Cafe

There are so many dog-friendly restaurants in Santa Cruz and vicinity that you could eat at a different one every day and not repeat the rotation for months.

The dine-with-your-dog classic is Aldo’s Harbor Restaurant, overlooking a marina where boats, kayakers and paddle-boarders drift in and out. For sampling craft beer, try 99 Bottles of Beer On the Wall, Seabright Brewery, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing or Beer Thirty Bottle Shop & Pour House, all of which offer dog-friendly seating. For breakfast, select from some 20 types of burritos at Chill Out Café or as many styles of bagels at the Bagelry, a popular spot for more than 30 years. Walnut Avenue Café, Woodstock’s Pizza and Café Limelight are other in-town eateries that welcome DogTrekkers on their patios.

South of Santa Cruz, Aptos and Capitola are a pair of captivating and very dog-welcoming oceanside communities with a casual, wind-in-the-hair ambiance. Dog-friendly restaurants in the area include Betty Burgers and Margaritaville in Capitola, and Palapas and Café Rio in Aptos. more »