Dog-Friendly Restaurants in Westminster: Where to Eat with Your Dog

This round-up duplicates our live listing page for the same search — for current venues and policy status see dog-friendly restaurants in Westminster.

Eating out in the West End with a dog takes a little planning. You need to know where to walk first, where there's a table outside and which places will make a fuss of your dog. Here are twelve restaurants and pubs we've checked as dog-friendly, grouped by the kind of outing they suit. A few sit just over the Camden line in Fitzrovia and Bloomsbury, which is close enough to fit into the same day. For the full list, see every dog-friendly restaurant in Westminster.

When the dog should eat too

Catalina's Fitzrovia

Catalina's is a small Mexican street food restaurant at 72 Cleveland Street, and no one on this list does more for dogs. Dogs are welcome inside as well as out on the patio, and there's a dog menu. Dogs eat free before 6pm, and a Gourmet Doggie Bowl is free during Yappy Hour. For you, the cooking is home-style and based on grandmother Catalina's family recipes: slow-roasted brisket, tequila lime chicken, enchiladas, quesadillas and street tacos, with vegetarian and vegan dishes, homemade guacamole and tres leches cake to finish. It's also known for its spicy margaritas.

Walk in Hyde Park, then lunch

The Stablehand

The Stablehand is at 4 Bathurst Street in Tyburnia, close to Hyde Park, so it makes a natural end to a long park walk. The pub was built in 1839 on an old archery range, and its locals have ranged from Winston Churchill to Tony Blair. The kitchen sources its ingredients from the British Isles, with lemons from Gibraltar among the few exceptions. Expect steak, fish pie and sticky toffee pudding, a roast every Sunday and a wine list that leans on English and Welsh vineyards. Dogs are welcome on a lead, and there's outdoor seating if the dog is still muddy from the park.

Daisy Green

Daisy Green brings Australian café culture to 20 Seymour Street in Marylebone, a minute's walk from Marble Arch station. It serves creative all-day food, seasonal dishes and good coffee, and there's art on the walls. The outdoor seating is a good spot for a treat after a walk, and dogs need to stay on a lead at all times.

Outdoor tables in the West End

Covent Garden Market

If you've come in by Tube, this one is easy: it's a 2-minute walk from Covent Garden station, right in the middle of things, and it has outdoor seating where a dog can settle and watch the crowds go by. Rated 4.6.

Foley's

Foley's, at 23 Foley Street in Fitzrovia, calls itself a local restaurant that thinks big. The chefs serve the food themselves, and there's a walk-up bar on the street outside as well as outdoor seating, which is handy with a dog at your feet. Inside, it's a 70-seater with a large ground-floor dining room and a chef's counter downstairs. The cooking is Asian-inspired, with cocktails and sake alongside.

Gaucho Piccadilly

Gaucho's flagship takes up three storeys of a townhouse at 25 Swallow Street, just off Regent Street in Mayfair. It opened in 1996 in the basement of the former residence of the Spanish Ambassador. The ground floor has a terrace for eating and drinking, and the top floor has a cocktail bar and a courtyard inspired by the bar culture of Buenos Aires. There are vegan and vegetarian dishes alongside the steak.

A pint near the theatres

The Harp, Covent Garden

The Harp is a traditional Fuller's ale house at 47 Chandos Place. It's a place for good beer and conversation, known for ciders and perries from around the country as well as craft beers and cask classics. It's just down the road from the National Portrait Gallery and Trafalgar Square and close to several West End theatres, so it's good for a slow pint before or after a show. There's a private room if you're with a group.

Sourdough pizza and all-day eggs

Franco Manca New Oxford Street

At 82 New Oxford Street in Bloomsbury, this Franco Manca has the highest rating of the twelve, at 4.8.

Franco Manca Covent Garden

The chain's Covent Garden branch is at 39 Maiden Lane, serving the sourdough pizza Franco Manca is known for. Rated 4.5.

Franco Manca Aldwych

The Aldwych branch is at 1-5 Catherine Street, a good stop on the eastern edge of the West End. Rated 4.6.

Eggslut Fitzrovia

Eggslut on Percy Street (number 19) is a chef-driven gourmet concept built around eggs. It serves all day and focuses on classic comfort food with a twist.

Eggslut Victoria

The Victoria branch is at 191 Victoria Street and serves breakfast and egg-based meals all day. It's useful if you and the dog are passing through Victoria. Rated 4.6.

Making it a good day for the dog

Walk first. A tired dog settles under the table far more easily. Hyde Park is right by The Stablehand and Daisy Green, so do the long loop before you sit down.

Bring water. The West End is a lot of pavement. A bottle and a folding bowl mean your dog doesn't have to wait for one to turn up.

Keep the lead short in busy rooms. The Stablehand and Daisy Green both ask for dogs on a lead, and around Covent Garden a short lead keeps paws away from passing feet.

Give a nervous dog space. An outdoor table at Covent Garden Market or Foley's gives a dog room to watch from a distance instead of being in the thick of it. At Catalina's, booking a table before 6pm also means the dog eats free.

Pack a mat. A small blanket gives your dog a familiar place to lie down, wherever you end up.