Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
At San Francisco Restaurant, Pups Chow on Filet Mignon
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
October 28, 2022

Share

San Francisco is a foodie heaven with plenty of Michelin-starred restaurants. And San Franciscans love dogs. So it might come as no surprise that an entrepreneur has decided to combine the two passions, creating what’s believed to be the first restaurant exclusively for man’s best friend.

Dogue, which rhymes with vogue, opened last month in the city’s trendy Mission District.

For $75 dollars per pup, doggie diners get a multiple-course “bone appetite” meal featuring dishes like chicken skin waffles and filet mignon steak tartare with quail egg.

It also includes a mimosa and a baked treat for the pup’s human.

Rahmi Massarweh, a dog owner and classically trained chef, decided to leave his stressful job running a fine dining restaurant to focus on his new canine cafe.

Some critics have expressed online outrage over the price point for the pampered pets, pointing out income inequality, gentrification and homelessness in the city. For the cost of the tasting menu, you could buy at least five big burritos at one of the many nearby taquerias in the Mission neighborhood.

But Massarweh says that since opening a month ago, he’s received overwhelming support from his customers who appreciate having a place to pamper their pups.

On a recent Sunday, Dogue hosted three fur baby birthday parties simultaneously.

“I wanted to celebrate him. He is so special to me. He’s my four-legged child and this is the perfect place to do a really nice celebration,” Gledy Espinoza said, as her 11-year-old miniature dachshund Mason enjoyed a bowl of mushroom soup with slices of chicken breast. “We’re foodies. I guess he is too, now.”

Massarweh spends hours cooking and prepping for his service and says a similar menu for people could cost up to $500 in the expensive city and the ingredients he uses are not cheap. Everything is human-grade, although if you took a bite, you’d probably find the doggie dishes to be a bit bland for the human palate.

“When we make our food, it is a process. It is very time-consuming. There is a lot of technique. There’s a lot of method and detail to what we do,” he said. “Our pastries, for example, take about two days on average to make. I know they’re going to be eaten in two seconds.”

Massarweh said the real goal of Dogue is to raise awareness about feeding your dog fresh, healthy, natural ingredients which some research shows can be easier on your pup’s stomach than mass-produced dog food and make dog parents happy.

“I’ve worked in restaurants for many years, and it’s rare when as a chef, I walk into the dining room to touch tables and every single guest has a smile on their face,” Massarweh said. “There’s something very unique and satisfying about that.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Puerto Rico Goes Dark After Widespread Power Plant Failure

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Announce Arrest of Suspect in 2016 Cold Case Killing of Store Clerk

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Exposing Dark Money Group That Attacked Vang

DON'T MISS

Fed’s Powell: Economy Slowing in Q1, Can Wait for Greater Clarity

DON'T MISS

Fresno Gets a Shoutout on Jeopardy! in Monday’s Episode

DON'T MISS

Kennedy Plans Studies to Look for Environmental Contributors to Autism

DON'T MISS

Southwest Airlines Sued Over Spilled Coffee on 4-Year-Old Boy: ‘It’s so Hot!’

DON'T MISS

Israel Will Keep Gaza Buffer Zone, Minister Says, as Truce Bid Stalls

DON'T MISS

Judge Finds Probable Cause to Hold Trump Admin in Contempt for Violating Deportation Order

DON'T MISS

Wall Street Tumbles, Nvidia Slumps After New US Chip Export Controls

UP NEXT

California Is Preparing to Take Trump to Court to Stop His Tariffs

UP NEXT

7 Takeaways: How the DMV Allows Dangerous Drivers to Stay on the Road

UP NEXT

California Attorney General Declines to Join Musk’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI

UP NEXT

Oil Company Fined Record $18 Million for Defying CA Orders to Stop Work on Pipeline

UP NEXT

Homeless Man Wins Life-Changing $1 Million on Lottery Scratcher in SLO

UP NEXT

Up to $20 Million Lost After Thieves Tunnel Into LA Jewelry Store

UP NEXT

California Sets Aside $170 Million to Thin Vegetation, Forests to Help Prevent Wildfires

UP NEXT

CA Lawmakers Quietly Sideline Bills in Secretive Suspense Process

UP NEXT

What Some Animals Endure Before We Eat Them

UP NEXT

Trump Admin Restores Dementia Research It Gutted in DEI Purge

Fed’s Powell: Economy Slowing in Q1, Can Wait for Greater Clarity

1 hour ago

Fresno Gets a Shoutout on Jeopardy! in Monday’s Episode

2 hours ago

Kennedy Plans Studies to Look for Environmental Contributors to Autism

2 hours ago

Southwest Airlines Sued Over Spilled Coffee on 4-Year-Old Boy: ‘It’s so Hot!’

2 hours ago

Israel Will Keep Gaza Buffer Zone, Minister Says, as Truce Bid Stalls

2 hours ago

Judge Finds Probable Cause to Hold Trump Admin in Contempt for Violating Deportation Order

2 hours ago

Wall Street Tumbles, Nvidia Slumps After New US Chip Export Controls

2 hours ago

US Sues Maine Over Trump Executive Order on Transgender Athletes

3 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Jennifer Michelle King

3 hours ago

Butler, Curry Lead Warriors Past Grizzlies to Secure Seventh Seed in West Playoffs

3 hours ago

Puerto Rico Goes Dark After Widespread Power Plant Failure

SAN JUAN (Reuters) – Puerto Rico was hit with a massive power outage on Wednesday after energy plants across the island unexpectedly s...

43 minutes ago

A car drives through a dark street in San Juan, Puerto Rico December 31, 2024. (REUTERS File)
43 minutes ago

Puerto Rico Goes Dark After Widespread Power Plant Failure

Bailey Rosenberger (left) has been arrested in the 2016 cold case murder of a Fresno store clerk, Gurcharn Singh Gill, who was fatally stabbed during a robbery. (Fresno PD)
57 minutes ago

Fresno Police Announce Arrest of Suspect in 2016 Cold Case Killing of Store Clerk

1 hour ago

Wired Wednesday: Exposing Dark Money Group That Attacked Vang

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at a press conference, following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 19, 2025. (REUTERS File)
1 hour ago

Fed’s Powell: Economy Slowing in Q1, Can Wait for Greater Clarity

Fresno was featured in a clue on Monday’s Jeopardy! episode, earning contestant Andrew Hayes $800 and highlighting the city’s Armenian heritage and Spanish name origin.
2 hours ago

Fresno Gets a Shoutout on Jeopardy! in Monday’s Episode

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. discusses the findings of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network survey, during a press conference at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 16, 2025. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)
2 hours ago

Kennedy Plans Studies to Look for Environmental Contributors to Autism

2 hours ago

Southwest Airlines Sued Over Spilled Coffee on 4-Year-Old Boy: ‘It’s so Hot!’

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, April 14, 2025. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)
2 hours ago

Israel Will Keep Gaza Buffer Zone, Minister Says, as Truce Bid Stalls

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend