Correction (2 October 2026): an earlier version of this page listed places and details we could not stand behind. It has been rewritten, and every place below was checked against its own current information.
A pub’s website is the most honest thing about it: the garden, the hours, the deal night, and whether the dog is allowed. This page lines up those published details for two Kew pubs and three just over the border in Hawthorn and Hawthorn East, so you can pick a day, not just a place. We did not capture a tap list for any of the five, so the picks run on garden details, hours and listed deals instead.
The quick picks
| If you want | Head to | Garden, in the venue’s words | Go on a |
|---|---|---|---|
| A garden that takes dogs on a leash | Skinny Dog Hotel (Kew) | “beloved beer garden” | Friday, for the listed live music |
| A parma night | Postmaster Hotel (Kew) | “afternoon cocktails in our beer garden” | Tuesday, from 5pm |
| A garden with a kids’ playground | The Auburn Hotel (Hawthorn East) | “expanded Beer Garden … with kids’ playground” | Saturday or Sunday, from 11:00am |
| A garden and a rooftop | The Hawthorn Hotel (Hawthorn) | “outdoor beer garden and rooftop” | Tuesday, Friday or Saturday, for the 1am close |
| A roof and heating over the garden | The Glenferrie Hotel (Hawthorn) | “a large retractable roof and heating” | A wet or cold day, if walk-ins are allowed |
Skinny Dog Hotel — 155 High Street, Kew VIC 3101
Garden: the site calls its “downstairs pub, bistro, and beloved beer garden” the place for bites and brews, and its FAQ says “Dogs are welcome in the beer garden, but they’ve gotta stay on a leash.” Kids are welcome “with an accompanied parent or legal guardian until the kitchen wraps up”. Trading hours: Sunday to Wednesday 12:00pm to 10:00pm, Thursday 12:00pm to 11:00pm, Friday and Saturday 12:00pm to 1:00am. Live music: “Live Music Every Friday”. Its Spring 2026 food menu lists beef brisket nachos at $29, an Angus beef burger at $32 and fish and chips at $34.
Go on a: Friday, if live music is the point; Sunday to Wednesday for the earlier close.
Postmaster Hotel — 186 High Street, Kew VIC 3101
Garden: the site mentions “enjoying afternoon cocktails in our beer garden” and describes dining in “the historic Kew Post Office building est. 1888”. Its own pages state no opening hours that we could read, so check before you go. Deal nights: its home page lists an eye fillet steak with chips and sauce at $29 on Monday nights from 5pm, and “Our famous chicken parma! Available for $20 every Tuesday night from 5pm”. The regular menu’s chicken parmigiana is $31. Happy hour: Thursday to Sunday, 4pm to 6pm, with “$9 Pints $8 Spirits” and a “$15 Margherita Pizza”. The menu PDF has a “KIDS UNDER 12” section.
Go on a: Tuesday, for the $20 parma.
The Auburn Hotel — 85 Auburn Road, Hawthorn East
Garden: “Relax in the expanded Beer Garden at Auburn Hotel, an inviting open-air space with kids’ playground.” On dogs: “We love furry friends! They are more than welcome in our courtyard and beer garden.” Hours: Monday to Wednesday 12:00pm to 10:00pm, Thursday 12:00pm to 11:00pm, Friday 12:00pm to 12:00am, Saturday 11:00am to 12:00am, Sunday 11:00am to 11:00pm. The Spring 2026 food menu lists an Angus beef burger at $31, a woodfired margherita pizza at $29 and a hand crumbed chicken parma at $35. The venue’s own site and Broadsheet both write Hawthorn East; the venue prints postcode 3122, which the Australia Post list pairs with Hawthorn (Hawthorn East is 3123), so we print the suburb the venue uses and no postcode.
Go on a: Saturday or Sunday, for the 11:00am start, the earliest among the pubs here whose hours we could read.
The Hawthorn Hotel — 481 Burwood Road, Hawthorn VIC 3122
Garden: “Sit back and relax in our outdoor beer garden and rooftop.” On dogs: “Furry friends are welcome in the outdoor areas of the venue.” On kids: “Minors are allowed with a parent or legal guardian at all times whilst the kitchen is open.” Hours: Monday and Thursday 11.30am to midnight, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday 11:30am to 1am, Wednesday and Sunday 11:30am to 11pm. The pub says it was established in 1868. On its own ordering page the beef burger, with milk bun, cos, tomato, cheese, pickle, tomato sauce, mustard and chips, is $30.00, and the beef pie with mash, gravy and peas is $34.00.
Go on a: Tuesday, Friday or Saturday, if the 1am close matters.
The Glenferrie Hotel — 324 Burwood Road, Hawthorn VIC 3122
Garden: the site describes the beer garden as having “a large retractable roof and heating”, in a sentence that pitches it as a setting for functions and events. The pages we read give no trading hours, so confirm before you go, and ask whether the garden is open to walk-ins. Its menu lists garlic bread at $10.00, a soup of the day at $15.50 and prawn and ginger dumplings (6) at $19.50.
Go on a: a wet or cold day, if the garden is open to walk-ins, because the roof and heating are the point. Confirm hours and access first.
What a tasting paddle is
Some pubs sell tasting paddles: several small pours on one board, a way to try a few styles without committing to a full pint.
The photo only shows what a paddle looks like. We are not saying any of the five pubs above serves one.
Quick answers
Which Kew pubs have a beer garden?
Skinny Dog Hotel, 155 High Street, calls its garden “beloved”, and Postmaster Hotel, 186 High Street, mentions “afternoon cocktails in our beer garden”. The other three pubs on this page are in Hawthorn or Hawthorn East.
Which of these beer gardens allow dogs?
Skinny Dog Hotel says dogs are welcome in the beer garden “but they’ve gotta stay on a leash”. The Auburn Hotel says furry friends are “more than welcome in our courtyard and beer garden”. The Hawthorn Hotel says they are welcome “in the outdoor areas of the venue”. We captured no dog policy for Postmaster Hotel or The Glenferrie Hotel.
Which beer garden has a roof and heating?
The Glenferrie Hotel, 324 Burwood Road, Hawthorn, describes its beer garden as having “a large retractable roof and heating”.
Which of these beer gardens are okay for kids?
The Auburn Hotel’s beer garden has a kids’ playground, per its own site. Skinny Dog Hotel welcomes kids with an accompanied parent or legal guardian until the kitchen wraps up, and The Hawthorn Hotel allows minors with a parent or legal guardian while the kitchen is open.
When is parma night in Kew?
Postmaster Hotel lists its chicken parma at $20 every Tuesday night from 5pm.
How we checked
On 2 October 2026 we confirmed each pub’s address at two independent sources: its own website plus OpenStreetMap or, for The Auburn Hotel, Broadsheet. Garden, dog, kids and deal wording is quoted from each pub’s own pages. Prices are from each pub’s own menu or specials page; the Skinny Dog Hotel and Auburn menus are PDFs that print bare numbers, so we have added the dollar sign, and The Hawthorn Hotel’s prices come from its own ordering page. Postmaster Hotel’s own pages stated no hours we could read, so none are printed. The Auburn Hotel’s site and Broadsheet both write Hawthorn East, but the venue prints postcode 3122, which the Australia Post list pairs with Hawthorn, so we use the venue’s suburb and print no postcode for it. Specials and hours change, so check before you go. The photos are illustrative, from Unsplash: they show the kind of scene, not the pubs.
Seen something out of date? Email [email protected] with the page link and what has changed, and we will check it again.
Sources
- Skinny Dog Hotel: website, FAQs, live music, Spring 2026 food menu and OpenStreetMap
- Postmaster Hotel: website, May 2026 menu PDF and OpenStreetMap
- The Auburn Hotel: beer garden page, FAQ, contact page, Spring 2026 food menu and Broadsheet
- The Hawthorn Hotel: website, FAQ, ordering menu and OpenStreetMap
- The Glenferrie Hotel: website, menu and OpenStreetMap
