Raise the Woof: Canine Cocktails at Hotel Indigo

No need to leave your best friend at home when you head out for happy hour. Beginning April 7 through June 2, you can bring your dog along to “Canine Cocktails” at every Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m.

“A lot of our neighbors would walk by with their dogs,” said Gabriele Webster, general manager. “They were hesitant to come in, but we’re extremely pet friendly!” Canine Cocktails launched in 2005 to help get the word out.

The popular event is back for its seventh season and will take place sooner rather than later. “We’ve decided it’s better in spring and fall when it’s a little cooler rather than in the summer heat,” Webster said. “We’re looking forward to starting. There’s a lot of interest from the community and hotel guests.”

Held on Hotel Indigo’s big patio facing Peachtree Street, Canine Cocktails offers a diverse assortment of tasty treats for humans and their furry friends.

Complimentary offerings for pups include chewable treats in traditional, diabetic, vegan and organic varieties, as well as tap water. A special menu for pampered pooches also offers gourmet steak and chicken to chomp on plus bottled Fiji or Voss water to lap up. A specialty doggie dessert recipe is currently being developed.

People can enjoy cocktails and bites from Hotel Indigo’s 683 Midtown Bar & Bistro. Order any of the three canine-themed specialty cocktails—Greyhound (vodka and grapefruit juice), Salty Dog (gin and grapefruit juice) and Yellow Lab (Galliano and white cranberry juice) — and one dollar benefits the .

A new menu of “upscale bar food” includes several “shareable items,” said Brian Myler, food and beverage director, with temptations like “spinach and artichoke dip, apricot and prosciutto crostini and flatbread pizzas.” The Southern-influenced menu also showcases local and regional ingredients in dishes like “a shrimp cake with shrimp sourced from Savannah and a Farmers Market salad sourced from local farms," Myler said. Several specialty cocktails convey a Southern theme with names like The General Lee and Scarlet’s Bloody Mary Martini.

Some dogs available for adoption will attend Canine Cocktails with staff members from the Atlanta Humane Society. “We’ve gotten several dogs adopted,” said Scott Petrine, director of sales and marketing. “We also have a lot of repeat guests who plan their trips around Canine Cocktails because they like to attend. It gets the neighborhood together with our hotel, makes our hotel more a part of the community.”

Canine Cocktails is hosted by Indie, a six-and-a-half-year-old Jack Russell terrior who was adopted from the Atlanta Humane Society and who now serves as the hotel’s mascot and doggie ambassador.

Canine guests are required to wear a leash, stay out of the bar area and keep paws off the tables and chairs -- except when posing for photos in the signature Hotel Indigo chair.

is located across the street from the at 683 Peachtree St. NE. The hotel has a very liberal pet policy and a floor designated for guests with pets; there are no animal weight restrictions, security deposit or fees required. For more details, call 404-874-9200.