Restaurant Bathrooms Worth Visiting
Lavatories prove to be an art form in these 10 memorable examples
Though hidden away in corners, badly marked, or even secreted down a musty stairway, bathrooms in restaurants often seem like afterthoughts. Yet, a great restaurant bathroom can often create a memory that makes you want to go there again. Here are some restaurant bathrooms I was moved to photograph over the last few months.
Makina, 46-11 Skillman Ave, Sunnyside
Portraits of women in tribal headdress look down upon you, some smiling. Despite making you feel like an exhibitionist as you use the facilities, the bathroom is guaranteed to put you in a congenial mood.
Bungalow, 24 First Avenue, East Village
This contrasting juxtaposition of botanical studies and crazed marble may persuade you to stay for a closer examination — or go fast and get out the door.
Catsuneko Shokudo, 518 Ninth Avenue, Hell’s Kitchen
Sometimes a bathroom where the decor is a little off is a more enjoyable one, as the restroom at this cat-themed Japanese restaurant suggests.
Corner Bistro East, 94 Avenue A, East Village
This delightful bathroom makes you feel like you are relieving yourself in the middle of the street with Midtown skyscrapers looking down.
Gogyo, 45 East 20th Street, Gramercy Park
This wonderfully effete ramen parlor puts gold leaf on its noodles, with attention-grabbing bathroom fixtures to match.
Tipsy Shanghai, 104 Second Avenue, East Village
This mini-chain claims to have originated in China a century ago, but who knows? The bathroom, truly frightening, looks like Salvador Dali might have had a hand in designing it.
Carnitas Ramirez, 210 East 3rd Street, East Village
The playful assemblage of pigs reminds one of the taco fillings this taqueria provides in abundance, and you can’t go wrong with pink where both pigs and bathrooms are concerned. Note that the baseball-playing pig’s hat reads “Do Do.”
Kanoyama, 175 Second Avenue, East Village
Simple but florid expresses the theme of this perfect sushi-joint bathroom, which makes do (or maybe makes do-do) with a very narrow space.
Heroes, 357 West Broadway, Soho
This sadly defunct restaurant, featuring a rare ADA-compliant restroom, sports a grab bar that distracts somewhat from the impression that you are going to the bathroom right next to your doppelganger.
Sultan Mediterranean Cuisine, 791 Lexington Avenue, Upper East Side
A cheerful city skyline with brass bands and pedestrians in the foreground is not a bad idea, but what are those red blotches exploding in the air at this Turkish restaurant?
Arturo’s - only resto bathroom with a full tub in Manhattan??
How about impressive urinals? I’ll offer PJ Clarke’s and Donahue’s as examples