How does Norm’s get away with it? I’d heard about the pub in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood that welcomes dogs, and today we went there for the first time. There are three or four outdoor tables, all occupied this afternoon by couples with dogs, but that was no surprise. What was surprising was walking inside and finding that nearly all the indoor tables had dogs sitting next to them too. They came in all sizes, ranging from a small fox terrier to a really massive German Shepherd stationed at the table by the front door. It was very odd, but very fun, to be eating a sandwich inside a restaurant with Chloe at our feet.

The German Shepherd touched noses politely with dogs entering and exiting the pub, and the fox terrier was a bit of a mooch, but the dogs were otherwise quiet and unobtrusive. The people at tables without dogs did not seem offended by the dogs at neighboring tables, and the pub in general was clean and smelled pleasantly of beer and burgers, nothing more.

We had been warned that the doggy decor was over the top, but it’s not. It’s really just a normal pub, with a few more dog statues on a shelf over the bar, and a few more photos of dogs on the walls, than you normally see. The beers were many and varied, and the food was good — not divine, but solidly good, and worth a repeat.

I don’t know how they get away with it, and I’m not going to try and find out. It’s a Never Never Land for dog owners, and I don’t want to sweep away the fairy dust.

Norm’s Eatery & Ale House
460 N. 36th Street
Seattle, WA 98103
T: 792-5572
Open everyday for lunch and dinner; breakfast on Sat. and Sun.