The best dog-friendly restaurants in London

Russell Norman – the late, great founder of this excellent Clerkenwell trattoria – was a dog man, and his hounds could often be spotted here. As such, patrons are more than welcome to bring their own pooches. It’s wood-panelled and moodily lit – even at lunch. The tablecloths are gingham, light fittings have napkins flopped over them and walls are pastel green and dotted with art that Norman collected while researching the space. Feast on perfect pasta, and why not get some steak – your pup will thank you. 

What’s in it for your dog? Water bowls are available on request.

The airy dine-in bar area at Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver’s iconic restaurant – now the heart of a mini-empire with branches in Spitalfields and Marylebone as well as bakeries and a wine dealership – is a haven for folk with dogs who also want a big glass of wine and plate of bone marrow (that's for you, not the dog). It's walk-ins ahoy in the front space of this Michelin-star great.

What’s in it for your dog? If your pooch plays their cards right, there might be a bone or two in it for them. 

This taqueria is straight out of Mexico City. The sandy floor tiles of what was once a Turkish supermarket have been painted hacienda red and the walls are draped with handmade rugs, colourful crucifixes, a few well-placed animal skulls and a giant Mary de Guadalupe statue found in a gas station in Oaxaca. Dogs can chill by your table while you dine on chef and founder Daniel Carillo’s punch-pulling menu, which revolves around regional specials (including huaraches, a flatbread-ish dish rarely found in London’s Mexican restaurants) and the three Ts; tacos, tortas and tostadas. 

What’s in it for your dog? A fun-loving crowd who’ll love to pet your pooch.

José Pizarro is a big fan of dogs, and as such, they're allowed in all of his tapas spots (apart from the super posh one inside the Royal Academy). Come to José, his sherry-swilling, Seville-style spot on a quaint corner of the village-y Bermondsey Street, or the bigger, bolder Pizarro on the same road (or Lolo!), and your pup will be welcome with open arms. This is Bermondsey by way of Barcelona, and you can get stuck into nutty plates of glistening jamon Iberico, Cantabrian anchovies, croquetas and more.

What’s in it for your dog? A bowl of water on arrival for pups big and small. 

Opened on a residential Holland Park street in 1969 by Julie Hodgess, an interior designer who kitted out stores for high-end hippy fashion house Biba, Julie’s reopened with a flourish in the summer of 2024. On our first visit back, we were sat by possibly the biggest dog in west London, who was having a grand time snaffling fries. And we can’t blame it. The new chef patron is Owen Kenworthy, who, after proving himself at both Brawn and The Pelican, is serving up a menu that highlights both bistro staples and cheffy flair, with no room for passing fads.

What’s in it for your dog? Incredibly elegant floor scraps.

Who doesn’t love a towpath eatery? At Inis sogs are allowed out front, where there’s seating for 50 by the canal, but also in the big, grand room for those who don’t feel like an al fresco dinner before summer truly kicks in. Don’t let your dog know that it’s run by Lynsey Coughlan, the former director of Ginger Pig butchers, or they won’t stop begging for meaty scraps. 

What’s in it for your dog? A nice big walk around nearby Hackney Marshes after you’ve filled up on an Irish-ish lunch.

As atmospheric rooms go, Brunswick House is one of the capital’s headiest; a little Mick Jagger in Performance, a little Angela Lansbury in Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Dogs are allowed to curl up under your table in this Grade II listed mansion while you indulge in Jackson Boxer's menu of house potato bread with wild garlic butter, devilled eggs, raw dexter beef and fabulously fatty pork jowl. 

What’s in it for your dog? Water bowls for all doggos. 

Half Cut Market is the perfect wine bar. Cosy and dimly lit, but fun enough to laugh obnoxiously loudly and not get looks and with food coming out on little plates at random times so you feel like you’re in Spain. It’s dog-friendly too, adding to the uber casual atmos. Find it in that no man’s land between Holloway, Kentish Town and King’s Cross.

What’s in it for your dog? It’s walk-ins friendly, so swing perfect if your pup is feeling lazy while on walkies and wants its owner to have a small glass of wine and a snack.

No-bookings/walk-ins only Agora is located below the great, Greek-ish Oma. While dogs aren’t allowed upstairs, they’re more than welcome here on ground level. Agora translates as ‘market’, and you can casually window shop as if you’re at one before you enter, with large hatches onto the cobbled Bedale Street providing front-row viewing of the products of a two-metre charcoal rotisserie.

What’s in it for your dog? Sublime salivation over the rotisserie.

The Parakeet is technically a pub, and there is a separate space just for drinking, but chic interiors and a sophisticated cocktail offering suggest more of a restaurant inside a pub’s casing. There are no sticky beer mats or packets of Scampi Fries here. There are though, lots of dogs. In the kitchen are Brat alumni Ben Allen as head chef and sous chef Ed Jennings. Their menu sits in the wheelhouse of modern British and European-inspired sharing plates and is rich, interesting food, elegantly presented. 

What’s in it for your dog? Plenty of other dogs to sniff. 

A much-loved Highbury trattoria, Trullo hasn’t got any flashy gimmicks. Instead, Trullo’s reputation is built on consistently excellent food and its expertly calibrated atmosphere, neither of which have slipped an iota in the restaurant’s history. That they let you come for dinner with a furry friend only speaks to their approachability. 

What’s in it for your dog? Beef shin ragu, of course.

You can't take your pup to the OG Padella, but this Shoreditch iteration of the Borough Market stalwart is decidedly dog-friendly. Come for a winning formula of delicious, belly-filling dishes served in a spacious, shiny-topped setting. The menu is short without being restrictive, offering the usual Italian suspects – olives, bruschetta and burrata to begin with, and mains including the restaurant’s popular, slimy-yet-satisfying cacio e pepe, a rainbow-flecked tagliarini with crab, chilli and lemon and a rich beef shin parpadelle.

What’s in it for your dog? Pasta, of course. 

This is London’s only Michelin-starred gastropub, and locals and tourists alike will book weeks in advance to worship at the altar of its luxe game-focused menu. As it’s a pub, dogs are welcome. 

What’s in it for your dog? Any scraps your doggo scoops up from the floor will no doubt be the fanciest food they’ve ever had the pleasure to chow down on. 

Chilled out pups will enjoy Jackson Boxer’s chilled out Ladbroke Grove neighbourhood bistro. But keep your eye on them when the house burger comes out; a big, beefy doorstop of a thing that laughs in the faces of the city’s weedy, pulverised smashburgers. 

What’s in it for your dog? They might be keen on nabbing your lasagna with deep fried taleggio and truffle.

L’Escargot – which has been at its current location since 1927, after first opening down the road in 1896 – is London’s oldest French restaurant. It’s long been a dog-friendly space too. Keep your eyes open for Doris, the pampered bulldog that sometimes works on reception.

What’s in it for your dog? Bowls are available and treats will often be dished out to canine visitors. 

This south London chain of all-day Med-inspired restaurants, serving sharing platters and posh kebabs, are also very partial to a pooch. Find them everywhere from Twickenham and Parsons Green to Richmond, East Dulwich, Chiswick, Clapham Common and Balham, with one north of the river interloper in Islington.

What’s in it for your dog? They’ll dish out biscuits, as well as providing dog beds, bowls and treats.

The massive Roe (there’s room for a sprawling 350 covers here, and more outside) comes from the team behind Fallow, the glammy St James’ spot that made its name by showing us that sustainability could also be sassy. Roe follows a similar ethos, cooking with regenerative crops, highlighting underused British produce and using ingredients that even Fergus Henderson might think a little outré. 

What’s in it for your dog? Confrontational under the table snacking.

A socially conscious restaurant from chef-owner Chantelle Nicholson, Apricity’s emphasis on sustainability is there in the bare plastered walls, chairs are made from old Coca-Cola bottles, and oyster shells crafted into moon-like light pendants. They also have a Michelin Green Star and dogs aren’t just tolerated but welcomed with open arms.

What’s in it for your dog? A roomy table. ‘We love dogs!’ they say, adding: ‘Please just pop a note on your booking so we can assign a suitable table with some space.’

This all-day dining spot in Brixton welcomes well-behaved doggos both outside on the Coldharbour Lane-facing terrace and inside. Owner Melanie Brown prides the place on using new world tekkers on British produce, with exec chef Sami Harvey smashing out classic cuisine morning, noon and night.

What’s in it for your dog? An al fresco terrace space and friendly clientele. 

An artsy east London favourite, Bistrotheque also welcomes small, well-behaved pooches. Make sure yours is extremely chic and sporting a designer label collar (just so the other, cooler dogs don't tease them for not being stylish enough). 

What’s in it for your dog? Very, very good chips.