Purina’s Fancy Feast expands into human cuisine, to open NYC restaurant

Meow-ma mia!

You’ll be licking your lips, paws and fur after this dinner.

Fancy Feast is expanding into human cuisine, with plans to open a pop-up Italian restaurant in New York City with upscale dishes inspired by its canned dinners of fish, chicken and beef.

The Purina cat food brand’s eatery will launch this month in downtown Manhattan, where it will serve feline-inspired Italian dishes to humans that “mirror the sensory experience of cats at mealtime,” the company said in a press release.

The pop-up restaurant — branded “Gatto Bianco,” Italian for “white cat” — is poised to serve dishes like Salmon con Pomodorini (salmon with cherry tomatoes), Brasato di Manzo (beef short ribs in red wine) and Lemon Panna Cotta for dessert, according to a menu on Purina’s site.

“The chefs will provide guests an inside look at the detail and expertise that goes into crafting each Fancy Feast recipe through a variety of delectable dishes and culinary exercises,” according to the press release from Purina.

The menu was developed by Fancy Feast’s in-house chef, Amanda Hassner, along with Michelin Star winning Italian chef and acclaimed New York restaurateur Cesare Casella. The pop-up will take dinner reservations for just two evenings on Aug. 11 and 12. Reservations open up on Aug. 4 at noon via OpenTable.

“The 16 lucky cat lovers will enjoy a complimentary tasting menu that will transport them to Italy for the evening, as Chef Casella shares his Italian heritage and passion for cooking with a menu of authentic, Tuscan dishes,” according to the release. 

While the trattoria’s specific location wasn’t revealed, it will be located on a trendy, upscale block “between the Far West Village and the Meatpacking District,” according to Nestle-owned Purina.

The idea is to promote the brand’s new line of canned food, “Fancy Feast Medleys.”

“Food has the power to connect us to others in meaningful ways and take us to places we have never been,” Hassner said in a statement. “The same is true for our cats. The dishes at Gatto Bianco are prepared in ways that help cat owners understand how their cats experience food – from flavor, to texture, to form – in a way that only Fancy Feast can.”

Last year, the pampered kitty brand released “Fancy Feast Petites Feast Cookbook,” for humans. The cookbook was also meant to draw attention to a new Fancy Feast line of pet food, Petites.