Doggie Treat at Tonic Mahalaxmi – Buddeez Day Out!

A Sunday, for many of us, is a day that is best spent with the family. Almost all major restaurants and hotels in the city try and capitalize on this and offer brunches and special deals combining food, activities and booze for a lovely family afternoon. However, to many of us, this afternoon, at times, is quite incomplete as we can’t take an integral part of our families – our pets, to these places.

I recently received a press release that spoke of a well-known restaurant in Lower Parel, conducting a special Buddeez day out where they welcome you to come down with your canine pets and enjoy the afternoon over food, booze and games. Without much ado, we decided to check it out last Sunday.

The event is organized by a group called Citizen K9 with the collaboration of Tonic Bar in Mahalaxmi. When we reached the location, we discovered that the small al fresco dining area of the restaurant had been converted into a small little flea market organized by the group where they had a picture booth, food products, t-shirts, aromatizors amongst many other interesting tid bits for pet lovers.

Once inside, I was happy to see that there were many pet owners along with their dogs in all shapes and sizes happily engaging in fun and games conducted by the organizers. What really impressed me was that, unlike some other pet-friendly places (which allow pets to enter their al fresco areas only), this place  allowed the pets and their owners to use the entire floor of the lounge for their activities.

Our tiny little dog, after getting over her initial discomfort of seeing herself surrounded with many other dogs, got really into the groove of  things and joined the others in the activities. It was very interesting to see the dogs playing  doggie musical chair,  doggie tic tac toe,  doggie water race amongst many other games. Every dog owner out there was trying to outdo the other by showing off their dog’s skills and get a one up on the other.

What I really enjoyed was the fact that, while these activities were going on, the bar and the kitchen of the restaurant was actively dishing out food and drinks as per the client’s orders. Though the array of pizzas, fries and other dishes was decent enough, the service was pathetically slow. I guess this is just a transitional lapse as they are still getting used to the idea of opening the restaurant for these kinds of special events.

Another thing that impressed me a lot was the fact that each activity was conducted by professionals who are well versed in behavioral science of animals and they made sure each one of the pets present was completely at ease and also had enough treats to munch on after each game.

Our little Motty, despite her age (she is 14 years old) was jumping up and down the place, enthusiastically participating in each activity; my family too, was equally excited to see her have so much fun and were thoroughly enjoying  by being a part of the activities themselves and encouraging her to perform better.

I must say that on this particular Sunday afternoon, we truly came together as one whole family and enjoyed the activities, the booze and the food. The smiles on everyone’s faces were enough reason why I would go back and enjoy this event all over again.

If you are a pet lover, I would highly recommend you to take part in this activity at least once and I am sure you will realize that a Sunday without the entire family, is no fun Sunday at all!

Address: Tonic, Famous Studio Lane, Mahalakshmi, Mumbai. | Tel: +91-9167999239/8 or +91-22-43472505/06

Timings: Restaurant: 4.00 pm – 1.00 am| Meal for two: ~1500/++ | Alcohol: Yes | Disabled Friendly: Yes

Disclaimer : This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgment and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review; however readers may exercise their own discretion.