Frenchie Café at Café Sobar

After Pugs and Dachshunds, it was about time for the French Bulldogs to show Nottingham’s Café Sobar how it’s done. Being the animal lovers that we are here at Visit Nottinghamshire, we wouldn’t let this event go by quietly. So off we popped to the pop-up Frenchie Café on a sunny Sunday morning, and let’s be honest, being surrounded by adorable Frenchies is always a good way to spend a day out the office!

Now, to say these little creatures are excitable would be an understatement. As they stood outside the doors of the café - waiting to be led inside by their owners - they couldn’t contain their excitement while meeting other Frenchies and making new friends. From cheerful pups to sporty Frenchies wrapped in little Adidas hoodies, they were all super eager to get to know each other.

After a short wait, a lovely chap came outside and told us that we’d soon be going inside, and the session was lead-free, so the pooches could run around to their hearts’ desires and spend time playing with their new pals. We were also told those of us that didn’t have Frenchies (brilliantly, fans of this fab breed were able to attend, not just owners) would be given a little bag of treats to help us make friends with the pooches.

Once everyone was inside, and the doors had been closed so owners didn’t need to worry that their Frenchies might try and make a quick exit, it was leads off! Straight away, the excitable pups were tottering around getting to know each other, much to the owners’ delight. It was a total joy to watch them all playing.

There were lots of cute little areas for the Frenchies to be photographed by their owners (and me and Ananda!) such as a miniature chaise longue (too cute!) and a fab platform complete with floral backdrop and ‘FRENCHIE CAFÉ’ sign where each letter was hung separately, which rather amusingly a couple of cheeky pooches in particular kept knocking off while playing with their new chums!

As you entered Café Sobar – which really lends itself to events like this, with plenty of seating but still enough floor space for doggies to roam free and play – Rudi’s The Doggy Bakery had a pop-up stall with the most pawfect treats for owners to purchase for their dogs. Goodies available included freshly-baked PUPcakes, DOGnuts, PAW-ty Rings and PAWbons, all of which went down a storm with the Frenchies.

Ananda and I, along with many of the Frenchie owners took advantage of the amazing choice of hot and soft drinks available, lovely cakes and breakfast rolls being served at the café. We opted for a honeycomb and chocolate slice and a piece of millionaire’s shortbread – deeeelicious!

Our four-legged friends weren’t left out though! Each got to enjoy a puppaccino, courtesy of Pug Café, the event organisers. The pups wasted no time in devouring their sweet drinks!

Time absolutely flew by and we had the best morning. It was great to see the Frenchie owners sharing tips and stories with each other, as well as their pets having a blast. There’s set to be more pop-up pooch cafes in Nottingham later this year and hopefully next year too – we’ll be sure to share details on our website and on social media so keep your eyes peeled!

Were you at the Frenchie Café? Share your pictures with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #lovenotts!

You can also follow Pug Cafe on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or check out their website here!

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This blog was written by Alex Broughton, Marketing & Communications Manager at Visit Nottinghamshire