From al fresco cocktails to posh afternoon tea, London’s best restaurants are not only tolerating man’s four-legged friend, but welcoming dogs with open arms. Menus designed for canine consumption, tailor-made beds and beverages and treats on tap are just some of the VIP services on offer when you bring your dog on a date. From Chelsea to Westminster, and Knightsbridge to The City, you’ll find nowhere better to park your pooch in style.
Pan Pacific London, Liverpool Street
If you’re enjoying the five-star treatment, why shouldn’t your pooch? Now they can at Pan Pacific London, which has curated a special Paws experience for your four-legged friend. Alongside a pet concierge service, which can happily arrange grooming and walking facilities, the luxury hotel enlisted the help of dog behaviourist and nutritionist Anna Webb to create an in-house dining menu for pooches to enjoy alongside their owners in lounges across the hotel. Made with fresh natural ingredients, in line with Anna’s studies at the College of Integrated Veterinary Therapies, the menu is split into the Dog All Day Breakfast — organic eggs, nitrate-free bacon and lamb sausages — and The Dog’s Dinner: a sushi-style lamb hot pot with mashed carrots and parsnips and chicken bone broth as a drizzled gravy. Wag-tastic.
80 Houndsditch, EC3A 7AB, visit panpacific.com
The Parlour at Great Scotland Yard Hotel, Westminster
At the historic Great Scotland Yard Hotel furry friends are welcomed with open arms. Its new just-for-dogs afternoon tea, which launched last month, has been curated specifically for canine consumption in collaboration with specialist nutrition experts Talula Eats. Posh pooches can enjoy a fully organic three-tiered tea of meat and vegetables, doggie cake, cupcakes and digestives out of the very finest china bowls alongside their owners, with all food made with human-grade ingredients, as well as tender loving care.
Meanwhile, pup owners can have their taste buds tantalised with a multi-sensory afternoon tea inspired by scent and fragrance. We can’t get enough of the passion fruit and coconut tart or the mouth-watering truffle egg mayonnaise sandwiches, all washed down with a choice of Veuve Clicquot brut or rosé and a selection of delicate teas. You’d be barking to miss it.
Every Sunday, £30 per dog, 3-5 Great Scotland Yard, SW1A 2HN, visit afternoontea.co.uk
Egerton House, Knightsbridge
A pet concierge, VIP grooming and hound-friendly bubbly are just some of the luxuries your dog can expect when they dine at Egerton House, the boutique Knightsbridge townhouse famed for its tasty yet traditional English culinary fare. But for the real red-carpet treatment, don’t miss the dedicated doggy afternoon tea. Enjoy a laid-back afternoon with man’s best friend in the elegant drawing room, while your dog enjoys unctuous treats such as chicken liver meatloaf, homemade peanut butter biscuits, and yes, even a delicious carrot cupcake. A must-have drink for the best-dressed hounds in town, channel your canine’s inner James Bond with a homemade chicken consommé́ martini, complete with turkey skewers. Humans are also free to peruse the tea menu (think freshly baked scones and cream cakes) before going for a walk around neighbouring Hyde Park.
From £30, 17-19 Egerton Terrace, SW3 2BX, visit egertonhousehotel.com
Bluebird Café, Chelsea
Image: Tucker Images
A long-standing landmark and cultural institution itself, the Bluebird Café in Chelsea has welcomed man’s best friend into the fold for as long as its loyal patrons can remember, having started the doggy brunch trend years ago with a gourmet pop-up. As we head into a sunny spring (and hopefully even sunnier summer), the already beautiful space is transformed into a verdant garden in bloom, delivering delectable British food, with everything from weekend brunches to a summer BBQ season on offer.
And what better way to enjoy an al fresco cocktail or lunch with friends than bringing along your four-legged friend for the ride? From handbag fluffers to heavy-duty hounds, you can expect your dog to be offered water and treats with all the pomp and ceremony they deserve. Dog-led living was made in Chelsea.
350 King’s Road, SW3 5UU, visit bluebird-restaurant.co.uk
Gaucho, Hampstead
Well-behaved carnivores (both two and four-legged) are welcome at all of Gaucho’s outposts every day of the week, but on the first Sunday of every month, they go all out at the Hampstead venue. Doggy Sundays see guests in the know make a reservation in their pooch’s name before arriving to enjoy a mixture of activities for dogs and dog lovers alike. This Easter, the restaurant will be hosting a four-legged egg hunt on 2 April, before Swish London gift all pampered pooches a bag of delectable canine-friendly eggs from their Pettisary range. All Sunday events are followed by a never-ending mouth-watering roast, consisting of a roast sirloin of beef served with roast potatoes and unlimited Yorkshire puddings, all cooked in delicious beef dripping. For dogs, the A la Bark menu includes three courses for all pampered pooches.
64 Heath Street, NW3 1DN, visit gauchorestaurants.com
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