Afternoon tea has become a treat staple across Northern Ireland, with all sorts of delicious dainties up for sampling.
From 5-star hotels to country clubs, seaside cafes and even Airbnbs, plenty of places are now offering the personalised parties, catering for all sorts of groups.
But now one cafe in Co Derry has taken the next natural step to make family members and friends feel spoiled by introducing afternoon tea for dogs.
It’s the idea of partners Richard Stewart and Niall Brown who own Molly Brown’s Tea Room in Portstewart.
Richard said: “We are mad about dogs and we decided that we wanted our cafe to cater for all the family - and for us that had to include dogs.
“The summer was hectic thanks to the good weather and so many people staycationing.
"And when we told customers that we welcomed dogs into Molly Brown’s we discovered regular customers visited it more and new customers became regulars, plus of course the holiday makers who brought their pets with them and come for a treat and plan their return.
“So we have a menu for adults and one for children, another for customers with special dietary needs, we cater for vegetarians and vegans and now we’ve added our dog menu too.
“Dogs are family for so many people and we treat them with the same love and respect and that includes ensuring they are catered for like everyone else.
“All the dog choices on the afternoon tea are specially made with dogs in mind and our customers have reacted with great enthusiasm.
"We love to be able to do this and we hoped it would be a success, but it has been more than that, it has now become the norm for us, so we’re delighted and very grateful to all the people who trust us to look after them.”
The afternoon tea doggie spread at Molly Brown’s offers a selection of drinks and nibbles including luxury puppuccinos, peanut butter pupcakes, Pedigree sandwiches and frozen yoghurt paws.
Each is served to the customer at their table using fine china and with a cost of £4.50 per pup, the cafe is finding it is booking out fast.
Richard said: “The idea is so popular we're now taking doggie afternoon tea bookings into October and many customers are adding it to their take away orders too.
“For Niall and I, for all of our staff, loving dogs and catering for them is natural and we’re proud to be leading the way in the area.”
For the latest daily news, fun and frolics about dogs visit our dedicated Team Dogs website by clicking here.
