Budapest – ‘As uncertain as a dog’s dinner,’ as the saying goes. His lunch, however, is no longer a matter of uncertainty, as dog-friendly restaurants have now appeared in Hungary, following in the footsteps of dog-friendly beaches, hotels and cafés. Not only are four-legged friends welcome, but they won’t go hungry either. We’ve found restaurants both on Lake Tisza and in Budapest where they cook special meals for dogs, and guests can choose from a separate menu just for dogs.

In Sarud, they serve vegetable risotto for vegetarians and beef stew with homemade pasta for meat-lovers. In Budapest, at the venerable Gundel restaurant, the waiter serves salt-free chicken breast with rice, and braised veal with pasta cooked in the same broth. Gourmet dry food is also available; the menu costs 1,400 forints.

Nóra Tasnádi’s much-loved dog, whom she adopted from a shelter, is offered fresh water served in a drinking bowl in the garden at lunchtime, following a long walk in City Park. Nóra chooses the Gundel pancakes from the restaurant’s regular menu, selecting from the traditional Hungarian dishes, whilst Füge orders veal from the dog menu.

Shortly afterwards, Mercédesz Pulai, the waitress, brings the dog’s meal in a ceramic bowl and then serves it into a metal feeding bowl for Füge, who is pacing about with growing excitement. The dog and his owner can eat together, and Füge is so preoccupied with his own portion that it doesn’t even occur to him to watch for morsels falling from Nóra’s mouth. This is a big deal; it speaks volumes more than any appreciative bark, and indicates that he certainly hasn’t been fed a concoction of leftovers.

– We’re a family-friendly restaurant, and we believe that a dog is part of the family too, so he shouldn’t go hungry or have to spend lunchtime begging for food – Mariann Pintér, marketing director, explained the background to the idea to Blikk.

As he said, the dog menu has been put together to ensure it is suitable and healthy even for four-legged guests with sensitive stomachs.

– Their meals are prepared without salt or seasoning, in a separate pot, in a separate area of the kitchen. That’s why it never even occurred to us to take a chicken breast out of the Ujházy chicken soup for the dog, for example. We sous-vide the meat beforehand – that is, we cook it in vacuum-sealed bags – and then store it chilled, so when an order comes in, it only takes a few minutes to cook. – he explained the tricks.

Kinga Schneider, spokesperson for the Noé Animal Shelter, sees the dog menu as a fun, customer-friendly gesture. According to the animal welfare activist, it is perhaps not worth making a regular practice of it, but it’s fine to do it now and then.