Dog-Friendly Patio Dining… with a Dog Menu!
San Diego is the best dog-friendly city in the US that I have visited (so far). And it really shows in the countless dog-friendly restaurants spread across the city. From San Diego bay to La Jolla shores, I was able to easily find not only dog-friendly patio dining, but also ones with a dog menu. And after visiting these restaurants, it should be a crime to call your restaurant dog-friendly without having a dog menu!
Places to Eat with a Dog Menu in San Diego:
- Working Class North Park
- Shorehouse Kitchen La Jolla Shores
- Encontro North Park
- Sally’s Fish House & Bar
Working Class North Park
Working Class is located in North Park and it is more of a bar/pub than a restaurant IMO. But it had really solid bar food for humans AND a puppy chow menu for me! I chose the beef patty with rice for $6. And I ate the entire thing!
They do not accept reservations, but we went on a Friday early afternoon after we landed, which is about a 20-min drive from SAN, so there was no wait. We sat in the back patio versus the front patio, which was nice because there were TVs and picnic tables that are widely spaced apart for lots of room between me and other neighboring dogs. Parking was a bit hard to find even in the middle of a work day, but there are lots of 2-hour street parking on 30th Street if you can snag a spot.
Shorehouse Kitchen La Jolla Shores
Shorehouse Kitchen is a breakfast/brunch spot in La Jolla. The human brunch was great and the dog menu was even better. They do not take reservations, but you can join the waitlist for a same day only table. I arrived for my brunch around 8AM on a Sunday and there was no wait, but finding street parking was a bit tight in the area.
I got the Fido’s Finest, which they let me order even though it was before 11am (my heart was set on that bowl so I didn’t even notice the time constraint). But I was very grateful they entertained my order since it was my birthday brunch :). The bowl was a carnivore’s dream with large pieces of hamburger and thick slices of turkey and bacon. It was definitely more than turkey and bacon “bits”. And it was a lot more meat than my normal diet, but I have no regrets.
Encontro North Park
Encontro is located across the street of Working Class in North Park. It is a full service restaurant and bar with a fairly large patio area. We sat outside because the hostess failed to inform us that they also welcome dogs inside, which is rare so we would have selected that option if we knew. And we were seated at a weird tight-spaced corner near a lot of foot traffic, which made eating slightly uncomfortable for my humans with all the bodies around their food. Service was also a bit slow but we arrived for dinner around 6PM on a Saturday night.
I also requested to add rice to my Pupp Patty order so that I would have some starch to my meal rather than just a hunk of meat like my Shorehouse brunch. My request was met with slight hesitation, which was weird since they also serve a chicken bowl WITH RICE. I was actually encouraged to order that item, but I had to explain that I am allergic to chicken so that was not an option. In the end, I was able to get a hamburger patty with rice and I ate it all – which is not usual for me, so it was a big deal!
The best part of my visit to Encontro was the puppuccino dessert. It was an extra large serving and it was FREE. I have been to a lot of restaurants that will charge anywhere from $1-4 for a tiny cup of whipped cream, so it was nice to get a large serving free of charge.
Sally’s Fish House & Bar
Sally’s Fish House & Bar is located in the Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego and overlooks San Diego Bay. They take reservations and you can request seating on their extra large outdoor, dog-friendly patio, which makes it easy to join for dinner at sunset. And there is convenient parking in the Grand Hyatt’s parking structure where Sally’s provides validation.
The human food was fantastic and the dog menu was a delight even though it had chicken in both entree choices (again, I’m allergic to chicken). But I still ordered the Surf & T-arf without chicken. And unlike my experience at Encontro, my server at Sally’s graciously offered a double serving of salmon in replace of the grilled chicken. And as you can see in the pic below, the salmon was huge chunks of (cold) fish! I did not finish it all, but I am also not a big fish eater like my pawrents. In all, I would still go back here for the service, ambiance, and beautiful bay views.
Other Dog-Friendly Things to Do
When you’re not out enjoining some dog-friendly patio dining, there are lots of other dog-friendly things to do in San Diego. For more reasons why you should visit San Diego, read about my top 3 favorite things to do here!
