Which Raw Bistro Recipes Get Our Best Ratings?

Raw Bistro Dog Food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.

The Raw Bistro product line includes the 5 frozen dog foods listed below.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile when available… Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Raw Bistro Chicken Entree was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.

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Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is ground chicken with bones. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.¹

Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life. The ground bone is an excellent source of natural calcium.

The second ingredient is chicken heart. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing to us humans, heart tissue is pure muscle — all meat. It’s naturally rich in quality protein, minerals and complex B vitamins, too.

The third ingredient is chicken liver, an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The next item includes eggs. Eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

The fifth ingredient is organic kale. Kale is a type of cabbage in which the central leaves do not form a head. This dark green vegetable is especially rich in beta-carotene, vitamins C, vitamin K and calcium.

And like broccoli, kale contains sulforaphane, a natural chemical believed to possess potent anti-cancer properties.

The sixth ingredient lists organic carrots, which are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The seventh item is spinach. Due to its exceptional vitamin and mineral content, spinach exhibits a remarkably high nutrient Completeness Score² of 91.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this raw product.

With 4 notable exceptions…

First, we find flaxseed, one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

Next, organic coconut oil is a natural oil rich in medium-chain fatty acids.

Medium-chain triglycerides have been shown to improve cognitive function in older dogs.³

Because of its proven safety⁴ as well as its potential to help in the treatment of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) and chronic skin disorders, MCT can be considered a positive addition to this recipe.

In addition, inulin is a starch-like compound made up of repeating units of carbohydrates and typically sourced from chicory root.

Not only is inulin a natural source of soluble dietary fiber, it’s also a prebiotic used to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in a dog’s digestive tract.

And lastly, this food contains chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Raw Bistro Dog Food looks like an above-average raw product that also incorporates many organic items.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 48%, a fat level of 30% and estimated carbohydrates of about 14%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 50% and a mean fat level of 33%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 10% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 67%.

Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical raw dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the flaxseed, this still looks like the profile of a raw dog food containing an abundance of meat.

However, with 54% of the total calories in our example coming from fat versus just 36% from protein, some recipes may not be suitable for pets on a low fat diet.

Our Rating of Raw Bistro Dog Food

Raw Bistro is a grain-free raw dog food using a generous amount of named meats and organs as its primary source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.

Enthusiastically recommended.

Please note certain recipes are sometimes given a higher or lower rating based upon our estimate of their total meat content and (when appropriate) their fat-to-protein ratios.

Raw Bistro Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Raw Bistro through November.

No recalls noted.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

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