The Horse and Jockey with Betty the Poodle:
Have you been to The Horse and Jockey in Chorlton, Manchester? If not, this is definitely one to add to your dog-friendly dining list. What a lovely pub and restaurant, and, more importantly, what a lovely place for dogs!
After a three-mile walk along the River Mersey earlier in the day, we were more than ready for some food and a drink. Luckily, we’d already booked a table for 6pm because the restaurant was really busy, and after our evening there, I can see exactly why.
We were shown to our table by a lovely lady called Megan who was super friendly and immediately made a fuss of Betty. Then Chris took over as our waiter for the evening, and he was fantastic. He arrived with a dog bowl, blanket and treats for Betty, who by this point had decided that this establishment was looking very promising indeed. In fact, I think she was already mentally booking her next visit.
Chris talked us through the specials and helped us choose because, quite frankly, we were spoilt for choice. We eventually settled on prawn cocktail and pâté to start, followed by chicken pie and duck casserole for our mains.
The chicken pie was gorgeous, but the duck casserole was next level. Seriously tasty and probably one of those meals you think about having again the next day! They also have a dog food menu but Betty can be quite fussy so we left it.
We ordered a bottle of red wine to go with our dinner and Chris recommended an excellent one. It was rich, velvety and went perfectly with the meal. Obviously, we couldn’t possibly leave it there, so we finished with a couple of liqueur coffees before asking for the bill.
Just before we left, Chris brought us a couple of scratch cards. We were very happy to discover that we’d won £30 off our next visit, as long as we return before 12 October. Fortunately, that shouldn’t be too difficult, we’ll definitely be using it!
For Betty, however, the grand finale was still to come. Just before we left, a couple of the staff came over to take her picture. She was absolutely in her element with all the attention and was more than happy to demonstrate her dancing skills for them.
By this point, I think she’d decided she was no longer a customer and was actually part of the team.
All in all, we had a fabulous evening - great food, great wine and, most importantly, fantastic staff who genuinely made Betty feel welcome.
Betty definitely approves and has added The Horse and Jockey to her ever-growing list of restaurants she feels we should return to. That list seems to be getting longer…