A foodie tour of LA with Popeye the Instagram dog

Lunch time on a scorching-hot Tuesday in Los Angeles, and a crowd is gathering at Monty’s Good Burger, one of the city’s hottest new vegan burger joints. The owner walks outside, his arms aching under the weight of tots, sauces and glistening plant-based parcels. He presents the food to the week’s VIP celebrity customer, who barely glances at the gloriousness before him. Instead he shifts into position, eyes up the camera lens, and strikes a pose.

Welcome to the world of LA’s hottest furry food influencer. While our social media platforms are inundated with faceless foodies proffering same-y close-ups of wings, bacon and pancakes, and dog accounts posting snaps of cute canine adventures, Popeye the Foodie’s Instagram feed is a happy hybrid of the two: a small, cream-coloured mongrel touring LA’s best restaurants.

I first came across Popeye a few years ago when he popped up in my Instagram news grid. His hair was perfectly coiffed, his paper hat expertly balanced on his giant ears. And his meal? A tray of In-N-Out burgers, of course. Since then, I have been obsessed. I have lost entire Saturday nights to scrolling through Popeye’s feed – not only for the cute pics of Popeye peering out over a huge pizza, but to plan my Los Angeles food itinerary. Whenever Popeye posts, my likes quickly follow. Wherever he eats, I vow to go.

And I’m not the only one. Not by a long way. “The In-N-Out post is when Popeye really got big,” his “momager”, Ivy, tells me, when we meet outside Monty’s in LA. At the time he had around 20,000 followers; today he has 350,000 and counting – and is regularly stopped in the street by fawning fans. This is Los Angeles, after all.

I am in full fangirl mode. After years following his escapades online, I’m finally holding LA’s hottest hound – his fur silky and fruit-scented, his legs a little longer than I imagined (he’s only ever sitting in pictures) and his bark? A tad aggro, but nevertheless sweet.

But Popeye hasn’t always lived such a charmed life. The five-year-old cross – I’d guess at a yorkie and maltese – was found on the street by Ivy when he was just one year old. His fur was matted, he had no collar or chip and he didn’t even know how to play with toys. Ivy tried to find a home for him, but after a fruitless search decided to keep him as part of her family, which already consisted of an elderly pug and chihuahua.

“We always loved eating out and taking pictures of our meals,” Ivy says, “and we soon realised how good Popeye was around food. He never begs, he barely even notices it.”

This is true. While Popeye’s owners and I munch through our burgers, Popeye relaxes in the sunshine, only nibbling a chip when Ivy’s husband, Nickson, holds it out for him. I’ve never seen a dog behave so obediently around food: no begging, no plaintive eyes, no “gimme a bite of that” yap.

Hundreds of pictures later (from me – Ivy captures the shot in seconds) and we are strolling down the street to our next restaurant, Cafe Bora. An outfit change follows. “I research the food in the restaurant in advance, so Popeye can be coordinated,” Ivy says. His cool and casual bandana is swapped for a smart purple check shirt – one that will complement the lavender-hued desserts we are about to sample.

Ivy pulls up a chair, places Popeye in his carry bag (the bottom is padded so his head is just above table height) and styles the food in front of her – the teapot here, the teapot there, the teapot removed from the shot. Then Nickson gets Popeye’s attention with a dog treat, and Popeye gives the camera that familiar look – the sparkly eye, the hint of a smile, one ear pricked up, the other flapped down. The money shot.

Although Popeye’s owners are a little hazy about the details, I can’t help but think that Popeye must be bringing in some handy cash. And rightly so – this dog works it, and when he’s not working it he’s being ferried around in his carry bag because the Los Angeles pavements get too hot for his paws.

When he’s not touring LA’s restaurants you’re likely to catch him kitted out in a bathrobe and enjoying room service at the Four Seasons Hotel, partnering up with Fiat or attending PetCon – the world’s biggest social media convention for Insta-famous dogs.

“Popeye is starting to branch out into travel and fashion,” Ivy tells me. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Travel essentials

Getting there

British Airways, Norwegian, Virgin Atlantic, United and American Airlines fly to Los Angeles from the UK.

More information

Visit Discover Los Angeles for more information about holidays to LA.