No More Begging for Treats. Dogs Now Have Restaurants.

From special menus for canine companions to food trucks and even tasting menus, some restaurateurs are pulling out all the stops for pets.

 

Mason and Milo, Cavalier King Charles spaniels, celebrate a birthday party at Dogue in San Francisco. The restaurant caters to canines with a tasting menu that starts at $75 per dog. Credit…Kelsey McClellan for The New York Times

 

To celebrate the 10-month anniversary of the successful spinal surgery on Jagger, her goldendoodle, Cat Torrejon-Nisbet didn’t buy him the traditional rawhide dog bone. Instead, she paid $15 for a light pink, rose-shaped dog pastry made with antelope heart from Dogue, a canine restaurant in San Francisco.

“They’re not going to love you more for giving them a fancy treat,” said Ms. Torrejon-Nisbet, 50, who lives in Santa Barbara, Calif., with Jagger and his Bernedoodle sister, Sierra. “It’s more about the love we have for our dogs.”

Dog owners like Ms. Torrejon-Nisbet are frequenting an increasing number of restaurants across the country that offer separate menus for their four-legged family members. Dog menus have become the new version of children’s menus at some restaurants. Pet parents can now order their dog a steak or Alaskan salmon with steamed rice. The dog can wash that down with a nonalcoholic “beer” made of pork broth, or a bowl of Dög Pawrignon made with wild-caught-salmon oil.

Other restaurants have gone a step further, catering exclusively to dogs, from custom canine birthday cakes to food trucks serving chicken nuggets and burgers. At Dogue, dogs eat a fine-dining tasting menu.

Kelly Lockett, 32, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, has taken Benji, her mini schnauzer mix, to several New York restaurants with dog menus, including Judy Z’s in Greenwich Village. “He gets so happy, and he enjoys spending time with us and not spending time home alone,” she said.

The pandemic has prompted an increase in pet ownership, according to a 2021-22 survey by the American Pet Products Association, which found dogs in about 65.1 million U.S. households. Sales of pet products have risen by $46 billion since 2018, according to the association, which predicted they will reach $143.6 billion this year.

In San Francisco, Jason Villacampa, 40, has treated his corgis, Tony and Captain, to the tasting menu at Dogue four times. It costs $75 per dog, with complimentary sparkling water or mimosas for the owner.

A paper menu in a leather case is open on a marble dining table. On the left side, it says “Dogue 2023” On the right, it lists the chef’s tasting menu, which includes “wild Nilgai antelope heart from South Texas served in its natural environment” for the first bite; “Braised wild elk with celeriac cream, dill and dandelion” for the starter; “Mosaic chicken made with organic chicken breast, organic toasted nori and cabbage” for the main dish; and “wild Moroccan sardines and cuttlefish ink topped in pure silver leaf” for the final bite.
The tasting menu at Dogue changes seasonally, depending on the availability of ingredients, which all come from family farms.Credit…Kelsey McClellan for The New York Times
A paper menu in a leather case is open on a marble dining table. On the left side, it says “Dogue 2023” On the right, it lists the chef’s tasting menu, which includes “wild Nilgai antelope heart from South Texas served in its natural environment” for the first bite; “Braised wild elk with celeriac cream, dill and dandelion” for the starter; “Mosaic chicken made with organic chicken breast, organic toasted nori and cabbage” for the main dish; and “wild Moroccan sardines and cuttlefish ink topped in pure silver leaf” for the final bite.
From left to right, Bambi, Miso, Boomer and Hamilton enjoy bites from their multiple-course dog tasting menu.Credit…Kelsey McClellan for The New York Times
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A middle-aged man with dark brown hair and a goatee beard wearing a short-sleeved black-and-blue hoodie with blue shorts holds his beagle dog, which is wearing all blue with a glittery birthday hat with a pom-pom and a bandanna that says “birthday boy.”
Restaurants have been catering to more dog birthday parties, similar to people’s own celebrations, like this one for Piper, a beagle.Credit…Kelsey McClellan for The New York Times
A middle-aged man with dark brown hair and a goatee beard wearing a short-sleeved black-and-blue hoodie with blue shorts holds his beagle dog, which is wearing all blue with a glittery birthday hat with a pom-pom and a bandanna that says “birthday boy.”

On a recent visit, Mr. Villacampa said, the chef, Rahmi Massarweh, explained the dishes the dogs were about to eat, detailing which local farm provided each ingredient and how each meal was prepared. He served bone broth tableside, and put the finishing touches to plates like mosaic chicken, thin strips of white meat wrapped in nori, layered together and cooked in a water bath. Mr. Massarweh, a chef for 20 years, trained in French cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu in San Francisco.

Dog menus provide a new revenue source for restaurants. The Wilson, in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, estimates that it serves meals to most of the 30 to 40 dogs that come in every day. A dog entree of steak and vegetables costs $24.

Despite recent inflation, 54 percent of dog owners said they were willing to spend more to provide their dogs with a more nutritious, whole-food diet that aligns more with their household’s health choices, according to a small survey a year ago by Rover, a pet-sitting service. Rover also said that dogs have become a substitute for children in many households.

“Pets are members of our family, and we equally want to feed them that way,” said Ron Holloway, who owns Woofbowl, a food truck based in Dumbo, Brooklyn, that caters to dogs. Mr. Holloway and his wife, Solo Holloway, a former biochemical and electrical engineer, started the mobile restaurant after making more nutritious meals from scratch for their French bulldogs, Latto and Dino. Mr. Holloway, a military veteran, and his wife, a Cambodian refugee, adopted the dogs as part of his treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Just as some people celebrate their birthdays or holidays at restaurants, many dog owners do the same for their pets. Owners order custom cakes — like one shaped as a ramen bowl for a Shih Tzu named Ramen — from businesses like Maison de Pawz in New York, a dog bakery and catering company where they can choose from flavors like peanut butter, Funfetti, coconut, spiced apple or carob (chocolate is toxic to dogs). The dense cakes are made with buckwheat flour and coconut oil, and though humans can eat it, they probably wouldn’t like the taste, said Mei-i Zien, the owner of the bakery.

A gray and white furry Havanese dog eats a dog burger and vegetables like broccoli from a bowl. To the dog’s right, there is an empty glass of wine.
Wilson, a Havanese, eats a burger and vegetables from the dog menu at the Wilson in Chelsea, Manhattan.Credit…Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times
A gray and white furry Havanese dog eats a dog burger and vegetables like broccoli from a bowl. To the dog’s right, there is an empty glass of wine.

The dog menu at the Wilson includes items like homemade dog biscuits and “pupsicles.” Main courses include grilled chicken, steak and a burger, all served with vegetables. Credit…Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times

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A furry cream-colored goldendoodle sits on the ground and looks up to a wooden outdoor dining table filled with menus, as a waiter fills glasses with water.
Cerebus, a mini goldendoodle waits for his dog meal at the Wilson with his owner and their friends. Restaurants like this one are increasingly offering dog menus.Credit…Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times
A furry cream-colored goldendoodle sits on the ground and looks up to a wooden outdoor dining table filled with menus, as a waiter fills glasses with water.

Ashley Marino, who lives on the Upper East Side, is planning to take Henry, her Maltipoo, to a birthday brunch at the Wilson later this month. She’ll probably order him his favorite dish, chicken with baby vegetables in a dog bowl, and he’ll later eat a bacon- or banana-flavored cupcake. (She hasn’t decided which.)

“I want to experience this with him,” said Ms. Marino, 37. She and her boyfriend celebrate birthdays with brunch, and would like to do the same for Henry. “It sounds so ridiculous to say out loud. It’s just nice to take him out and treat him to something. We’re all enjoying this together.”

To comply with health department regulations, the pet-focused restaurants in New York City serve just dog-only items or prepare meals for pets and people separately. At Judy Z’s and the Wilson, dogs and their owners are seated at tables outside, and the food is served in dog bowls that must be placed on the ground.

At Boris & Horton in the East Village, which serves Ms. Zien’s treats, dog items and pastries for humans are prepared by a separate staff and served on disposable plates to prevent cross-contamination. Logan Mikhly, a founder of the dog cafe, said the city’s health department was “helpful with what we had to do to make it happen with a strict list of things we follow to a T.”

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A dark-brown dog — a German shepherd and Australian cattle dog mix — wears a yellow collar and reaches over a silver counter, opening its mouth to eat a dog treat someone is holding out from a takeout window with light blue trimming. The dog’s owner, a woman with long brown hair and wearing a black puffer jacket, smiles next to the dog.
Zeus, a German shepherd and Australian cattle dog mix, eats a dog treat at Boris & Horton, a cafe in the East Village, Manhattan, that serves dog pastries as well as items for people.Credit…Kholood Eid for The New York Times

An oval plate with a black-and-white checkerboard rim is used to serve cookies for dogs that are shaped and iced like pink, orange, blue and white flowers. These cookies surround a purple dog Pop-Tarts that's topped with plant-based rainbow sprinkles.
Maison de Pawz, a dog bakery, recreates people’s favorite treats for dogs, like this plate of cookies shaped and iced liked flowers and a Pop-Tarts, topped with plant-based sprinkles.Credit…Kholood Eid for The New York Times
An oval plate with a dark blue outline and a thinner orange outline toward the edge of the plate holds dog treats shaped and iced like doughnuts. For the ones on the outer edge, the tops look like chocolate frosting and have plant-based rainbow sprinkles. The doughnuts in the middle are topped with a white frosting and orange stripes.
A plate of doughnut-shaped dog treats from Maison de Pawz. The bakery also makes custom dog birthday cakes and serves their pastries at Boris & Horton in the East Village of Manhattan.Credit…Kholood Eid for The New York Times
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Several people sit on a leather bench and behind circular red tables at a cafe with their dogs. On the left, a person wearing a white hoodie holds a tiny white dog. In the middle, a woman with long brown hair and wearing a tight, long-sleeved gray shirt feeds her miniature black and white Australian shepherd a waffle treat for dogs. Another black and white dog waits under the table. On her table, there is a half-consumed plastic cup of iced coffee, a disposable plate and her cellphone, which has a screensaver photo of her dog. On the right, there is another person wearing a black jacket holding a black and white dog.
Dogs, like Willow, a miniature Australian shepherd, at Boris & Horton are allowed to eat inside. The food for the dogs and people are prepared by separate staff and served on disposable plates to prevent cross contamination.Credit…Kholood Eid for The New York Times
Several people sit on a leather bench and behind circular red tables at a cafe with their dogs. On the left, a person wearing a white hoodie holds a tiny white dog. In the middle, a woman with long brown hair and wearing a tight, long-sleeved gray shirt feeds her miniature black and white Australian shepherd a waffle treat for dogs. Another black and white dog waits under the table. On her table, there is a half-consumed plastic cup of iced coffee, a disposable plate and her cellphone, which has a screensaver photo of her dog. On the right, there is another person wearing a black jacket holding a black and white dog.

When Joey, a Yorkshire terrier, visits New York City, his owner Rachel Choi, 25, usually takes him to socialize at a dog park on the Lower East Side. But Ms. Choi said he makes it clear, with his whining at the entrance, that he doesn’t want to be there. He wants to go to Boris & Horton, which has air-conditioning, to enjoy a peanut butter cupcake and have other people pet him.

“He just seems to have a bright mood there in a way that he doesn’t have anywhere else,” she said.

 

 

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