In Rome there is a place where dogs and humans can enjoy a good dinner together. This is Fiuto, the first restaurant in Italy where owners and their pets can now sit at the same table and enjoy a menu designed for both.
Fiuto (smell, in Spanish) has just opened its doors in the north of the capital, in the Ponte Milvio neighborhood, to offer a "gourmet menu" for "four-legged friends" and their owners.
The format is simple. Next to the conventional tables, small beds have been placed so that the dogs feel as comfortable as their human companions and in front of which they are served their food, with a plate worthy of a luxury restaurant.
The opening of this establishment, in one of the most lively areas of the capital of Italy, has caused great curiosity among Romans and visitors.
"People have even come from South Korea and Brazil," the restaurant's manager, Marco Durano, told EFE, stating that this restaurant is "the first to have a second kitchen just for dogs."
The menu for the animals has been prepared by a veterinary nutritionist based above all on the breed and size of each of the canine clients who come to the establishment every weekend.
Luca Grammatico is a dog trainer who, after 25 years of professional career, has moved his workplace from the street to the kitchen to act as chef for the dogs that arrive at the restaurant, also being in charge of welcoming them.
"They have baptized me as the 'chef dog'," he congratulates himself as he prepares the 'mise en plase' of the dishes that he will later prepare for the dogs.
Before preparing the food, Grammatico is responsible for knowing the usual diet of canines as well as possible allergies and intolerances that, he said, they also present like humans.
After knowing the client's preferences, the canine chef cooks the dish chosen from a menu composed of meals based on fish, chicken, meat or vegetables, prepared according to the weight of the dog and that includes options such as chicken with vegetables or hake with cheese 'ricotta'.
In "Fiuto" they even serve drinks for dogs, such as natural green apple or watermelon juices or bottled water because dogs "are served the same quality as humans," he said.
To also avoid possible conflicts between canine customers, the restaurant is equipped with a system of screens so that they cannot see each other, and, furthermore, males are never brought together with females to avoid other problems.
The owners, who have made a "significant" investment for an opening that has not been free of bureaucratic problems, did not expect such a "positive" reception from the public.
"I have received a lot of feedback, although it is all positive," said Durano, adding that "the dogs are treated like another member of the family" and the clients "like" that.
Francesco, who came to celebrate his dog's third birthday with his wife and eight-month-old daughter, discovered this restaurant "looking at Instagram and articles in newspapers", something that is not surprising, since, since its opening on the 21st October, it quickly went viral on social networks.
The restaurant also has a photography service to immortalize from the arrival of the dogs to the presentation of the dishes, in what is a pioneering experience in Italy and that is "possibly" unique in the world, according to Durano.
