Menu items include special dog pastries, steak tartare and mushroom soup
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Fine dining isn’t just for humans any more.
The restaurant Dogue — rhymes with vogue — which opened on Sept. 25 in San Francisco, California, is giving dogs the full gourmet experience, including a steep price tag.
For $75 US (about $100 Cdn), dogs get a taste of the good life with a multicourse gourmet meal made just for them.
Dogue, a gourmet restaurant just for dogs, was opened by a chef after he left his stressful job working at a fine dining restaurant. (Image credit: Haven Daley/The Associated Press)
While some say that’s too much money to spend on dog food, the restaurant’s owner, a classically trained chef, said dogs deserve delicious and healthy food.
What’s on the menu?
Dogue always has a display case of pet-friendly pastries and take-home raw dog food on offer, and its sitdown tasting menu is only available on Sundays.
Some of the high-end dishes dogs can dine on include filet mignon steak tartare (pronounced tar-tar, it’s raw meat) with quail egg, squid tentacles (with ink on the side) and beef liver flan.
Rahmi Massarweh, the owner of Dogue, is a professional chef who used to cook for humans.
He used a lot of those same skills to craft the menu at Dogue.
Massarweh said that the goal of Dogue is to let people know that a fresh, healthy diet can benefit dogs, and that according to some research, it’s easier on their stomachs.
Dogue’s offerings are far from your average kibble. With dishes like spirulina meringue cloud, right, Massarweh said a similar meal for a human would cost around $500. (Image credit: Haven Daley/The Associated Press, @Dogue.SF/Instagram)
He said that it takes “a lot of method and detail” to prepare food for their four-legged guests that don’t waste time devouring them.
“Our pastries, for example, take about two days on average to make. I know they’re going to be eaten in two seconds.”
According to the Dogue website, the pastries have “no fillers or toxic ingredients” and take inspiration from “the finest pastry chefs in the world.”
All the food served at Dogue is human grade, which means you could eat it yourself.
Since it’s meant for dogs, you’d likely find it a bit bland. Don’t worry, though. Humans don’t leave empty-handed! While their dog chows down on gourmet goodies, they get a drink and a baked treat.
Critics howl over price
While Dogue has had a lot of guests leave with wagging tails, it has also seen its fair share of wagging fingers, too.
Critics of Dogue say that a pricey restaurant for pampered pets is unnecessary, and is another example of gentrification in San Francisco.
“Gentrification” is when wealthier people and expensive businesses move into areas with less money and make things more expensive. This can cause people who live there to move because they can no longer afford it.
Desserts at Dogue can take two days to prepare and are eaten in seconds by excited pups. (Image credit: Haven Daley/The Associated Press)
The restaurant is even a popular spot for owners to host doggy birthday parties, like Gledy Espinoza did for Mason, her 11-year-old miniature dachshund.
“I wanted to celebrate him,” Espinoza told The Associated Press. “He is so special to me. He’s my four-legged child and this is the perfect place to do a really nice celebration.”
For Massarweh, he’s happy knowing that his customers — and their owners — are leaving satisfied.
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With files from The Associated Press
TOP IMAGE CREDIT: Haven Daley/The Associated Press
