Dog friendly places to eat in London are rare, and usually they are pubs or separate rooms in cafes. More often than not, the term ‘dog friendly’ simply means you can eat at an outside table – not much use in January!

dog friendly cafe

Now a new pub/restaurant, The Commander, in Hereford Grove, is in the heart of trendy Notting Hill – London W2. It has been well known as a gastro pub but when it reopens next week there will be a dog friendly bar & restaurant, deli, market area and a butcher on-site. So after sitting down for a nice relaxing meal with your pet, you can buy some delicious sausages for the dog – in case he is hungry again by the time you get home.

I think this is an excellent development and hope other places follow suit. remember when a restaurant would ask your preference -  ’smoking or non-smoking’? Well now the choice could be dogs or no dogs? Would-be dog owners will also get a chance to sit near some lovely well-behaved dogs and if the ask nicely they might be able to give them a tit bit. Read more »

Since we moved to Arundel, West Sussex, we have found plenty of dog friendly pubs as well as shops, and it makes life a lot easier for Mum and Dad. This week we paid our second visit to the Swan Hotel Arundel, where I can go anywhere except the restaurant section. This is fine, as they serve food in the bar as well so we get everything we want. Mum and Dad can have a meal in the pub while I entertain my fans. On Monday we took part in the weekly quiz, of course they hardly knew any answers. While they were struggling, my employment was to distract the other contestants as much as possible!

Last night Mum and Dad wanted to go out, and they did not want to leave me alone at home. They decided to go to the Maid of Muswell, a pub that has a big outside area, and the weather was quite warm in the evening. When Dad went inside to order the drinks, the manager said that I could go inside – Mum was very pleased because she feels the cold! The policy at this pub is that well behaved dogs are welcome, so I did not bark at all: I just sat under the table and ate most of Mum’s chips with a few sausage treats. The Maid of Muswell is now on our list of regular favourite doggie pubs.

Here in England we have a new nationwide ban on smoking in public places. This means that nobody can smoke inside the pub, and this is good news for us dogs. The gardens at most of our pubs have now installed big parasol covers so that dogs and people can go into the garden even if it is raining. I have met lots of new friends out in the pub garden, cos all the smokers have to go there as well as the dogs and their owners. So even if the pub inside is not dog friendly, there are more places to go for dogs unless the weather is very cold.

My Dad is so funny – he said he was looking at a pub review website the other day and he saw a review of the Royal Oak in Muswell Hill by Kevin the Collie. ‘Oh’ he thought, ‘is there another dog called Kevin?’ No Dad, that was me. I always review the pubs where dogs are made welcome. The good news today is that my favourite pub is now smoke free, along with the rest of England. That is good news for dogs and humans.

I am already planning my pub visits in Sussex and I am getting excited. We plan to go to Brighton fairly often, and there is a nice dog friendly pub called the Prestonville Arms, which also has a nice garden. Have a look at the happy dog in the photo, it is obviously a very good place for a dog to hang out. Not that i would ever jump on the sofa, of course!!