Dog friendly restaurant and coffee shop chains
If you’re anything like us and take your dog out with you a lot, there will be times when you want to eat out with them. There will also be times when you need to eat out with them, because you’ve been out for a long day, it’s getting late and it’s going to take a long time to get home! In those situations, where do you go?
You probably know the dog friendly restaurants and coffee shops in your home town, but when you’re somewhere new, it’s good to know which chains you can go to. While the majority of restaurants and coffee shops of course don’t allow dogs, there are a few that do. And we are very grateful for them!
Pho
Want to go to Wagamama? Sorry, you can’t take your furry friend! Luckily, you can go to Pho with your dog though. Pho is Vietnamese street food and it is delicious. There are currently 36 branches of Pho, mainly in the big cities of England, but there is also one in Edinburgh and one in Cardiff and a few in smaller English towns, like Cheltenham. The staff will welcome your dog, give him/ her a bowl of water and give them lots of attention.
Hetty has been to Pho in Birmingham and Cheltenham.
Loungers
Loungers operates two restaurant brands – Lounges (each has a different name, our local ones are Portivo Lounge and Rosado Lounge) and Cosy Club. Altogether, it has 206 restaurants across England and Wales, so you should never be far from one. Lounges are completely dog friendly and Cosy Club allows dogs into its bar area, although it doesn’t take reservations for the bar, so it’s pot luck whether you will get a seat.
In terms of food, there is something for everyone at the Lounges – brunch, sandwiches, burgers, chillis, tapas and more. And of course there is a bowl of water and a warm welcome for your dog.
Hetty has been to Rosado Lounge in Tewkesbury.
Bill’s
Bill’s has a similarly varied menu to the Lounges, with brunches, salads, burgers and more, but the restaurants feel slightly more formal. They still welcome dogs though! There are around 78 Bill’s restaurants. Apart from a restaurant in Cardiff, Bill’s is just in English towns and cities.
Hetty has been to Bill’s in London and Birmingham.
Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party is halfway between a restaurant and a coffee shop. You can go in for a coffee and cake or you can have a more substantial meal. There are lots of breakfast options, as well as burgers and toasties served with chips. You can even have a beer or a glass of wine with your meal.
There are 25 branches of Boston Tea Party, mainly in the South West of England and the Midlands.
Hetty has been to Boston Tea Party in Stratford-upon-Avon, Cheltenham and Birmingham.
Coffee shops
If you want to take your dog to Starbucks, Greggs or McDonald’s, you’re out of luck! S/he won’t be welcome. Luckily, there are a couple of coffee shop chains which are dog friendly.
Costa
Update October 2024 – Costa says that “After a successful trial, we’re excited to welcome well-behaved dogs into many of our stores”. Certainly our two closest stores in Gloucestershire have signs in the window which says dogs are welcome. However, some stores still won’t be dog friendly. Costa recommends using its store locator and checking the list of amenities to find out if a particular store is dog friendly.
Coffee #1
Dogs are welcome in Coffee #1. They have a special dog seating area, but my experience is that people tend to sit anywhere and everywhere with their dogs and nobody complains. Branches we have been into have not only water for dogs, but also treats to help yourself to and even beds to borrow for your dog.
There are around 100 branches of Coffee #1 in the UK.
Hetty has been to Coffee #1 in Cheltenham and Tewkesbury.
Caffe Nero
Caffe Nero is a dog friendly coffee shop chain, which serves the usual coffee, cake, cold drinks and paninis etc. There are around 650 branches of Caffe Nero in the UK, so you are never far from one!
Hetty has been to Caffe Nero in Cheltenham.
Pret
Pret is a bit of a grey area. Whether or not it is dog friendly seems to be down to the manager’s discretion. Well behaved dogs are welcome in some branches and others will allow you to take your dog in just while you pick up a takeaway. It’s worth asking inside – or you could just stroll in confidently with your dog until someone tells you to leave!
Hetty has been to Pret in Bristol and Cheltenham, but was only allowed in to pick up a takeaway in London.
That’s all the dog friendly restaurant and coffee shop chains that I’m aware of. Have I missed any?
I didn’t realise that so many places were dog friendly. All the pubs and cafes locally to us are but I had no idea the the bigger one’s were. How interesting. x
I didn’t realise either. It was a big relief to discover that Bill’s is dog friendly, because we were out for the day in London and had no idea where we could go with Hetty! Pho would have been my first choice, but my daughter doesn’t like the food there.
Our dog seems to always be welcome in Starbucks unless I am a serious rule breaker
They even provide water bowls
That’s lovely that you can take your dog into Starbucks. There must be a bit of local variation. I know there’s definitely local variation between branches of Pret.
It’s because the information is wrong you can bring a dog into starbucks really this website should have information right
They’re not allowed in our local Starbucks! As someone has previously said, there is local variation with Starbucks.
Dogs are allowed in Starbucks in the North East
Thanks very much, that is useful to know. It may be that it has changed in the South West now as I wrote this about a year ago, but I’ve definitely noticed there are some variations between cities and regions.
My friend works in Starbucks (south east) and apparently it’s all down to the franchise owner. Some do, some don’t
That’s interesting to know, thank you! I didn’t even realise Starkbucks was a franchise.
And in Gloucester!
My local Greggs allows me to take my doggo in every day, Howe he is an ID carrying service dog (but doesn’t have labels attached to his harness just his ID card). They didn’t even realise until 2 months ago and I had him for over a year!xx
That is really lovely that they let him in! Of course they should let service dogs in, but it’s great they let him in without even realising he was a service dog.
Pret at Nugents Orpington also allow dogs in and out. Just as well as they make the best coffee.
That’s good to know! It seems like the individual branches of Pret have different rules.