Six Leicestershire cafés where wet dogs and dripping paws are the whole point, not tolerated.
At Leo's Coffee Shop in Whitwick, there's a dog bed built into the bench seating — tucked right under where you sit, so Murphy doesn't have to fight for the good spot or perch on cold flooring while you thaw your hands around a mug. That's the detail that made us start thinking about this list properly. Not which cafés let dogs in, because plenty do that grudgingly with a bowl by the door and a bit of a sigh. We wanted the ones that have actually built the whole thing around a dog turning up soaked, muddy and thoroughly pleased with itself. What ties these six together is that none of them treat the dog menu as an afterthought. Bark and Brew in Mountsorrel is, by its own logic, a dog café that happens to let humans in. The Stables at Staunton Harold has a Full Hound breakfast with Murphy's name basically on it. Grounds Café at Snibston Colliery has a Paws of Fame wall and a furry friends menu with pork liver sprinkles on the pawpuccino. These aren't places doing the bare minimum — they're places that have decided the dog is a customer too. Autumn is when this actually matters. A dry café with a filled water bowl and a puppachino on the way is a very different proposition in November than it is in June, and several of these are either part of the walk itself or close enough to one that you can plan the whole outing around the stop-off. The Stables sits right by the Staunton Harold grounds. Grounds Café is on-site at Snibston Colliery. This is a list for the days when the walk was the excuse and the café was always the point. All six have been visited, all six have been fed a puppachino to Murphy, and all six passed judgement accordingly — some more enthusiastically than others, but none of them faked it.
Leo's Coffee Shop in Whitwick has dog beds built directly into the bench seating, so your dog has somewhere warm and dry to settle rather than perching on the floor. It also does fifty pence puppachinos and complimentary treats by the till.
Bark and Brew in Mountsorrel is described as having the best puppachino in Leicestershire, alongside furniture dogs are actively encouraged to get on and other dogs happy to share treats. Murphy called it his possible spiritual home.
Yes — The Stables sits right by the Staunton Harold grounds, making it a natural stop before or after exploring them, and Grounds Café is on-site at Snibston Colliery, so both work as part of the walk rather than a separate trip.
The Stables has 'The Full Hound' — sausage, bacon and scrambled egg. Grounds Café at Snibston Colliery has a furry friends menu with a pawpuccino topped in pork liver sprinkles, and The Pavilion also offers a canine menu alongside treats at the bar.
Leo's Coffee Shop — confirmed by Murphy & Me during our visits.
Yes — every venue in this round-up has confirmed puppachinos, confirmed in person at every one.
Yes — every venue in this round-up has confirmed dog treats, checked first-hand on our visits.