What the scheme changes

Until now, Hong Kong’s food hygiene rules kept dogs (other than guide and working dogs) out of restaurants. The scheme creates a route for licensed restaurants to opt in and legally admit pet dogs, subject to a set of licensing conditions designed to protect food safety.

It is an opt-in scheme. A restaurant being licensed does not mean dogs are welcome — only premises that have been specifically approved may admit them.

How restaurants joined

Restaurants applied to take part, and because demand exceeded the initial number of places, FEHD ran a ballot to decide which premises would be approved in the first round. Each applicant was given a sequence number and either allocated a place or put on a waiting list.

Approved restaurants take on extra licensing conditions covering signage, hygiene, where dogs may go, and how dog waste is handled. Breaching those conditions can put a restaurant’s licence at risk.

How to tell an approved restaurant

Every approved restaurant must display an official A3-sized approval sign at each main customer entrance, clearly visible before you enter. The sign must stay up at all times — even if the restaurant only welcomes dogs on certain days or during certain hours.

If you do not see the official sign, the restaurant is not approved to admit dogs, regardless of what any other notice says.

Days, hours and house rules still apply

Approval is permission, not obligation. A restaurant can limit dog admission to particular days or times, cap the number of dogs, or set its own house rules. Always check before you travel, and call ahead if you are unsure.

Using this map

This map plots every restaurant in the scheme and shows whether each one was allocated a place or is on the waiting list. You can search by district and get walking directions. For the official rules and the authoritative list, always refer to FEHD, and confirm a venue’s current policy with the restaurant itself.