As we emerge, bleary eyed and shell-shocked, from our isolation, it does the heart and soul good to sit at an outdoor table, hopefully safer than dining inside — especially if you have a housebound pooch in tow. And we are blessed with a fine assortment of reopened restaurants, with comfortable dog-friendly patios. But do remember to use lots of hand sanitizer, before and after, and always keep your face mask near.

Enjoy your food, and the sun, and the gentle breezes, and the company of Fido. But do it consciously. And do note that as dog-friendly as our patio restaurants may be, they don’t hold a candle to what you’ll find abroad.

Before the pandemic, I was visiting London — back when you could do things like that with ease. I was strolling down Kensington High Street when I came upon an affable café with this sign in front: “We are 100 percent dog friendly…we love having your pups as guests…we have dog beds, water bowls and treats inside.” That’s a sign you’d never see here in Southern California. There are cafes where you can bring Fido. But inside? With dog beds, bowls and treats? Never! All I can say is…Rule Britannia! (Now, if they’d only serve their ale colder, life would be perfect.)

My dog is a labradoodle named George. George is my best friend, though when we go out to restaurants, he never picks up the check. But that’s alright. His company is so appreciated, so enjoyed, that I’m willing for him to skate. And anyway, he never orders anything from the menu — though he has had meals in several restaurants. It’s simply because the sight of his fluffy head and body, a bit like a plush toy, makes locals melt. They can’t resist feeding George.

Local laws being what they are, I cannot take George to all restaurants. But the law is somewhat murky here in California. One legal guide defined “dog friendly” as allowing “restaurant owners to decide if they will allow dogs in outdoor dining areas. The establishment must provide an outdoor entrance to the patio and ‘food and water provided to dogs shall only be in single-use disposable containers.’”

In some cases, restaurant owners insist the pups sit adjacent to the patio, gazing in with a doleful countenance. In others, the pooches are more than welcome on the patio — but the owners are responsible for their pet’s behavior.

The problem I have with dear George is that after awhile, his natural curiosity, and affability, lead him to walk around, visiting other tables, and sniffing other dogs. Which mostly works well. But there have been moments. There was also a memorable time when the chef, intrigued by having such a fluff in the restaurant, came out to visit, asked if George liked chicken and barley — and brought him a bowl of just that. Which disappeared in an instant. I do believe George still dreams of that meal.

So, we dog owners have a bit of a conundrum here. We can only bring our dogs to restaurants that are dog friendly — which in one online list included Dairy Queen, In-n-Out and Sonic Drive-In. Starbucks too.

That’s great, but is it possible to eat a bit more, let us say, upscale with your furry friend? There are several places that fit the bill. Some favorites follow, though prior to visiting confirm that the restaurant’s rules haven’t changed when it comes to bringing your four-legged pal.

Gus, an English bulldog, gets a drink of water while his owner chats with the waiter. (File photo by Kevin Sullivan/Orange County Register/SCNG)

No need to leave your best furry friend at home when he can join you for lunch on a restaurant patio, as Bob Gomez did with rescue dog Dolce. (File photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

In some cases, restaurant owners insist pups sit adjacent to the patio, while others allow pooches on the patio, with owners responsible for their pet’s behavior. (Shutterstock)

Bone appetite! Some restaurants have a limited menu — kibble, a bowl of water and such — for dogs accompanying their owners for a meal on the patio. Lucky dogs get a bonus treat, including a grilled hamburger patty with brown rice that Guy, a 14-year-old rat terrier rescue, received from a diner. (File photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Blue Dog Beer Tavern

Well, of course you should bring your doggo to Blue Dog Beer Tavern, even if your pup isn’t blue. (Are any dogs actually blue? Or is that just a made-up thing?) And even if your pooch doesn’t drink beer.

There are actually several beer menus at the Blue Dog. There’s a menu of Permanent Bottles & Cans. There’s a menu of Permanent Tap Beers. There’s a menu of Rotating Bottles & Cans. And then, there are what I guess are best called “Guest Beers,” posted on a blackboard — recently, “On Tap Today: Founder’s Breakfast Stout…The Last Keg Available in LA Until Next Season!”

This cheerful “little tavern” (as the Blue Dog refers to itself on the beer menu) claims to have offered “over 1,200 different brews” since opening in 2009, “as our commitment to total beer excellence.” And those beers are broken down into some fairly whimsical categories that make me think the owners are fans of “Star Trek.” There’s Light Speed, All Galaxy and The Dark Side, along with Cali-Favorites — and a section of beers from Weihenstephaner (“the oldest brewery in the world, est. 1070 A.D…”) This is where beer drinkers go for bottles of Delirium Tremens and Old Speckled Hen. And, I assume, for beer floats — a handful of industrial strength beers with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I understand Michelada, but beer floats do befuddle me.

And speaking of industrial strength, though there are certainly salads on the menu, and very substantial salads at that, the dishes that properly define the cuisine at Blue Dog are built around substantial quantities of cheese; this may be the most cheese-intensive menu in town.

You like your fries — no worries, aside from garlic fries, and garlic-parmesan fries, there’s are Shore Fries (with jalapeño cheese sauce), chili-cheese fries, loaded chili-cheese fries, Irish Fries (with bacon, sour cream and cheese sauce), pulled pork fries (with cheddar and spicy sour cream), nacho fries — and a creation for four to six hungry sorts called The Works, with pretty much everything on it.

There’s a spicy mac and cheese, and cheesesteak nachos. And then, there are the burgers, 12 in all, each heavily cheese based — except for The Saugus, which is the house vegan burger. And I think you can request cheese as an add-on if you want. Bacon too — which might do wonders for a vegan burger.

The Good Karma Burgers comes with not one, but “TWO layers of cheddar.” This is cheerful overkill — but the right food for the beer.

Blu Jam Café

And speaking of “blue,” you eat breakfast and lunch only at the several branches of Blu Jam Café, and it’s hard not to wonder what dinner would be like. Of course, all you can do is wonder, because they only serve breakfast and lunch at Blu Jam. But each of those meals is packed with dishes so substantial — and so crazy delicious — that dinner may well be a non-necessity.

Just consider the Argentinean Brunch Steak. For those of us who think of brunch as a fine time to kill a couple of bagels, some cream cheese and lox, this is a crazy big meal. It’s a grilled beef tenderloin, of considerable heft, with grilled spuds and grilled veggies, topped with an egg done sunny-side up (which is to say, perfect), with a house-made chimichurri sauce flavorful enough to drink as a beverage. Chimichurri with vodka? Why not?

Perhaps even more substantial is Kamil’s Breakfast, which allows you to begin your day with a platter of pan-roasted macaroni and cheddar, with scrambled eggs, bacon, ham and garlic. Put another way, it’s a breakfast (or lunch) of mac and cheese with scrambled eggs and pig meat. I need to take a Lipitor just thinking about it. And I have no doubt I’d finish every bite.

I certainly did when confronted with the Morning Hash — which instead of traditional corned beef is made of Black Forest ham, onions, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, grilled potatoes and mozzarella to hold it all together. With scrambled eggs. Crazy — and crazy good.

The Fat Dog

And speaking of dogs, of course you can bring your hound to The Fat Dog — especially appropriate if it’s a fat dog. This is a jolly place, a gastropub to go to when you’re in need of a modicum of mood enhancement. And not just from the mixology — though goodness knows, there’s plenty of it. Actually, though the food may not have waggish names, the mixed drinks sure do — I guess that’s a given. There’s Furry Old Fashioned, Off the Leash, The Mutt, Walk in the Park and more.

As ever, the names have precious little to do with the ingredients. And the Italian Greyhound, rather than being the traditional, is a Fat Dog variation. It’s made with “sprouts.” At least, that’s what it says. There are sufficiently many craft beers as well, most on tap, which is good; at between $6 and $8 a beer, you can’t go too wrong. Show up between 3 and 7 in the afternoon, Monday through Friday, and you’ll find a couple of those beers at $3, even better, with a nice selection of happy hour dishes — Swedish meatballs and barbecue pork belly sandwiches anyone?

Show up for lunch or dinner, and you’ll find a menu that’s every bit as casual — and even more appealing. Deviled eggs are one of the hallmarks of gastropub dining — and these deviled eggs are a world apart from the potentially lethal dish made by our Midwestern aunts, and left too long in the sun.

The deviled eggs at Fat Dog come in a wondrous little carrier that I have to assume was made just for them. The yolk was mixed with crème fraiche, which gives it a fluffiness, and with horseradish, which gives it bite. There are bits of bacon for texture. The dish isn’t so much eaten, as it’s inhaled. A pity there are just two eggs in an order.

The potato skins (remember potato skins?) are filled with brie, crab meat and bacon. Hummus is made from white beans, rather than garbanzos. The burger (called “The Burger”) is cheesed with tasty manchego. Even the Brussels sprouts come with a twist — they’re flavored with herb-flavored yogurt, apples and walnuts.

But probably the dish that made me happiest — simply because it went so well with beer or wine — was the big bowl of chorizo and clams. The clams were steamed in a garden full of herbs and white wine, the chorizo is chunky and rough, there are fried garbanzo beans in the broth — a fun scavenger hunt! And the whole dish is topped with a grilled, olive oiled hunk of ciabatta bread, which I wanted to just nibble on — and then gulped down the whole thing. It made me feel satiated and happy and, well, just like a Fat Dog. In this case, not a bad thing to be.

Gasolina Café

Gasolina Café is the sort of small, casual, laidback eatery you might expect to find on a side street in Barcelona, just off the The Ramblas, within a short stroll from the amazing market called La Boqueria. But on Ventura Boulevard in the West Valley, it comes as a surprise. A very pleasant surprise, thank you. But a surprise nonetheless.

It’s simply a storefront with a counter where you order, some stools at high tables, and more seats outside on the street. Despite the café’s Spanish style, it’s become a much-loved neighborhood destination; on a Sunday morning, all the outdoor tables were taken up by families, including lots of kids, and lots of pups, who were having a fine time eating the churros con chocolate, and the Spanish toast called torrija. Think dessert for breakfast — kiddie heaven.

The bread here is exceptional — worth every bite, no matter that you’ve sworn off carbs till you get your bikini body back. There’s pan con tomate, crispy toasted bread spread with a tomato paste; and pan con chocolate, which is exactly what it sounds like. The bread also arrives spread with membrillo (quince paste) and manchego (Spain’s glorious sheep’s milk cheese), and with tomato, olive oil and 18-month-old serrano ham, which is the sort of dish served daily at Madrid’s chain of fast-food eateries called Museo de Jamon — yup, “Museum of Ham.”

The patatas bravas are a wonder, easily one of the best dishes at Gasolina — crispy home fries with chorizo, jamon and an egg served sunny-side up (exactly the way I like it). The yolk spills all over the spuds when you cut into it. Expect to lick the plate clean. There’s a goat cheese, mushroom, fava bean and pea tendril omelette as well, along with a scramble of shrimp, garlic and asparagus.

And lest I give the impression that Gasolina is all breakfast, all the time, lunch dishes appear at nine in the morning — a chicken sandwich with the dynamic duo of romesco (a thick sauce of almonds an red peppers) and aioli (garlic mayonnaise); sandwiches of goat cheese and chorizo, manchego and tomato, portobello mushrooms and avocado.

There’s a shrimp and avocado salad, an arugula and manchego salad, and a baby kale and fennel salad (local zoning restrictions insist there be kale on every menu!). And for those who need even more, there’s a daily empanada, a lamb burger with romesco and aioli, and a beef burger with mahon cheese and onion marmalade. And some of the best cappuccino in town, good barista stuff, without the fuss and bother. Café con leche too.

Maybe someday, there’ll be paella — but not here. A paella pan would take up the whole kitchen.

The Nook

What is it about so many dog-friendly hot spots that make them serve breakfast and lunch only? And as with The Nook, breakfast tends to be the meal that totally dominates. Consider: this affable, wildly popular Encino eatery offers 19 pancakes, six crepes, seven waffles, 10 French toasts, nine scrambles, 11 omelettes, eight Benedicts, 10 breakfast favorites, six egg combinations and seven breakfast “Extra Extras”!

There are salads, burgers, sandwiches and pasta as well. Someday, my pooch and I may get around to them. But the notion of beginning my day with the King Kong Omelette — buttermilk cakes with bananas and chocolate chips stuffed inside, topped with peanut butter and whipped cream — outdoes even the spicy tuna wrap or the tango shrimp salad. Wonderful dishes. But bananas, choco chips, peanut butter and whipped cream.

After eating that one, I didn’t have the energy to walk my fuzzy by to the corner. I just wanted to take a nap.

The Stand

17000 Ventura Blvd., Encino, 818-788-2700; 19600 Plummer St., Northridge, 818-709-3820; Parkway Calabasas Shopping Center, 23683 Calabasas Road, Calabasas, 818-206-6363; 5780 Canoga Ave., Woodland Hills, 818-710-0400; www.thestand.com

It’s easy to think of The Stand with its many outdoor tables, and spacious dog-friendly patio, as a place to go for burgers, and burgers only. And, of course, the burgers are a fine accomplishment. But let us not give short shrift to the “Standwiches,” the Stand Salads, and the Stand Dog and Sausage Creations.

It’s all washed down with craft beers and wines. But let us not run past the burgers so fast. For I do agree that they’re the triumph of the place. Or at least, one of the triumphs. The choices are many, hundreds in fact. There are 11 basic forms for the burgers — as in The Big Blue and The Ultimate Egg, with a choice for each of six proteins, and four bun options.

The smell of the beef burgers alone will probably drive your sniffer friend to distraction. Toss your best friend a bite — if diet allows. Which it doesn’t always. Bring chew toys to distract. It’s only fair.