Animal cafes, places where you can enjoy a nice drink surrounded by animals, have become really popular in Asia, but Deco’s Dog Cafe takes things to a whole new level by allowing pet owners to share a gourmet meal with their pooches.

Even if they don’t have the time or space to take care of a pet, people seem to enjoy spending time around animals, so cat cafes, dog cafes, and even reptile cafes have become popular venues in Asia. But when Hideko Notani opened Deco’s Dog Cafe, in 2001, she wanted to create more than just a place where people could relax surrounded by pooches. She envisioned a cafe where dogs would be in charge instead of their owners, where they would be treated to gourmet meals very similar to those eaten by their human masters. The special menu includes human and canine versions of fine dishes like cabbage rolls, sweet potato scones and chicken pie, but  no one’s stopping owners from sharing the food with their dogs.

Photo: Lococom

There aren’t many places where you can organize a birthday party for your beloved pooch, but Deco’s Dog Cafe, in Tokyo’s fashionable Daikanyama district, is one of them. For just ¥2,500 ($32) you can surprise your four-legged companion with a delicious meat cake decorated with a bone biscuit. Personalized birthday cakes can also be arranged, but they’ll need at least a week’s notice. Sharing a table with your dog and treating them to fine cuisine certainly isn’t cheap, but at least you get as many water bowls as your pooch can drink, for free. Or you can enjoy a cappuccino and treat Fido to a “puppychino”.

Photo: Lani & Lea

This kind of dog cafes have really taken off in Japan, and even people who don’t own their own canines can just come in and rent one to feed, pet and even take out for a short walk.

Photo: Lani & Lea