Whole Pet Kitchen, the first Dog Cafe in the Philippines

When my brothers and I heard of a cafe here in the Metro that caters especially to dogs, we got excited. Our 5-year old Golden Retriever, Buster, has always counted on commercial dog food or kibbles for sustenance and so serving him some real food would surely be a treat! Despite the distance and the traffic, we decided to bring Buster to Whole Pet Kitchen for a whole new natural food eating experience.

Well hidden in the city of San Juan, Whole Pet Kitchen is a small cozy place where your pets are the ones waited on and are served only the finest of foods. Owned and operated by Chef Giannina Gonzalez, daughter of renowned Chef Gene Gonzalez (founder and president of Center for Asian Culinary Studies and owner of Cafe Ysabel), it is the first ever dog cafe and the first natural pet bakery in the Philippines.

The place is really small, with only these 3 tables (2 double tables and 1 single table). It can get crowded really fast when a number of big doggie customers and their companions drop in.

This is the view from the corner. There are refrigerated muffins, desserts and beverages on display. On another rack are the all-natural doggie treats that the kitchen offers. 

Love this colourful board that hangs on one of the walls. Written on it are the specials and bestsellers, complete with cute drawings and artful text.

You can see more of the colourful text and graphics when you’re at the cashier.

These are some of the homemade, all-natural, vet tested, vet-approved treats for our fur-pals that the shop offers.

Mu-mu-muffins! 🙂

Whole Pet Kitchen also offers celebration cakes for our furry friends! What a nice gift to give our pets on their birthdays! It’s all the birthday yumminess and fun, minus the unwanted sugar and salt that human cakes are known for. Whew for that! Their cakes are priced at P680 – P2,098, depending on the size.

Okay, enough of the tour, we’re ready to order. Their simple menu consists of only 2 pages, one for the pet lover and one for the dogs. Here’s the pet lover’s. 

And here’s the one for the dogs. There are 3 savoury delights to choose from:

1. Jacks’s Lasagna (P88) Semolina lasagna sheets, organic VCO, pork liver, beef, carrots, homemade yogurt, swamp cabbage, tomatoes, basil, cheese
2. Grain Free Veggie and Beef Balls (P78) Sweet potato, beef, carrots, green beans, moringa oleifera, organic VCO, turmeric
3. Doggie Risotto of the Month (P78) Brown rice, vegetables, organic VCO, moringa oleifera, homemade lowfat yogurt & turmeric

This is Buster’s (and owner’s) hungry look. :p

While waiting, we met Chef Giannina’s pet Golden Retriever, Jack (from where the name Jack’s Lasagna came from).

Here comes Buster’s food! We ordered the Jack’s Lasagna for him.

Looks yummy!

Nom nom nom!

And he gobbled it all up! It was gone in 60 seconds (or even less!). So we ordered another set for him…

And this is how the human’s food looked. This is the Truffles’ Egg Salad Sammie.

And this is the Lalalasagna.

We had fun watching the other dogs munch their chow too! 🙂 They ordered the Veggie and Beef Balls. Look how dainty the Chih was eating off a spoon! 🙂

With a hungry pet like Buster, it wasn’t long before he wanted more food and was tempted to bite off CP’s sandwich!

Awww, priceless! 🙂

Buster’s second round of Jack’s Lasagna finally came. We sat him on the couch this time and tried to get him to savour his food slowly by giving it from a spoon.

Happy owner and happy dog! 🙂

Trying to savour every piece of that yummy lasagna!

That’s mine! 🙂

Can’t get enough of that yummy goodness!

While we were there, a media man from the European RT Ruptly News Network was also there to catch some videos and do interviews. Wow! International News! Here, DP gets interviewed on how the whole experience at Whole Pet Kitchen was. His answer, it was unique, cool and fun! 

Why?

Because it’s a place for our pets. For a change, they’re not lying on the cold floor eating their food while we eat ours. They get to lounge on the comfy couches too.

Because here, they get the quality food that they deserve but we oftentimes find too troublesome to prepare.

Because here, they meet new friends, just like how their owners meet new ones as well.

Because here, pet owners and their pets get to bond over great food and cozy atmosphere.

Going to Whole Pet Kitchen Dog Cafe truly is a unique and fun experience, not to mention healthy, for pets and pet owners to try. Do be mindful of these reminders though if you are going:

• Pet must be fully vaccinated and free of fleas/parasites
• Pets must not be in heat
• Should pets get aggressive, keep them close to you at all times
• Keep pets on a leash if you are not sure if they are well socialized
• Pets should not pee and poo in the store. Be ready with pick-up bags or diapers.
• Cleaning materials are available at the counter though, use them wisely.
• Do not leave children and pets unattended
• Know your pets’ sensitivities and medical history

P.S. Found the RT Ruptly’s video feature, see it here.

Whole Pet Kitchen
349-D C. M. Recto Street
Barangay Addition Hills
San Juan
TUE-FRI 10AM-6PM
SAT-SUN 9AM-9PM
http://wholepetkitchen.com