303088 Tue Apr 11 01:14:00 -0700 2006 28 29 Not About Food 0 1701830 Anyone ever wonder why most (if not all) restaurant reviews make no mention of the restroom facilities? Aren't restrooms just as important as decor, silverware, ambience, service in making or breaking a culinary experience? Consider: *Most people who dine at a restaurant will probably use the restroom at least once, if not more. *The sanitary condition of the restroom is often (and best?) tell-tale sign of the cleanliness, and attention to cleanliness, of the restuarant as a whole. *The restroom is one of two areas where the customer has access to and gets to use the same facilities as the restaurant staff (the kitchen being the other). Any thoughts? Tue Apr 11 01:14:00 -0700 2006 0 ipse dixit 1 1701831 Hmm... I guess my bladder is larger than most; I rarely see the inside of the restroom at a restaurant. Then again, I guess I should start reviewing the parking situation, though. Tue Apr 11 01:21:45 -0700 2006 1701830 0 oc climber 1 1701832 Bunrab.com linked below ends each wonderful review w/ a quickie bathroom rating and photo. Check it out... Link: http://www.bunrab.com/yummychow/Reviews/SFReviewsFrameset.html Tue Apr 11 02:41:41 -0700 2006 1701830 0 Carb Lover 2 1701941 I confess I think have read each and every bunrab review if for no other reason than to see if any bathroom wins their top mention: Wow! Forget the table, I'll eat in here! I haven't found one yet. Wed Apr 12 18:20:40 -0700 2006 1701832 0 Frosty Melon 1 1701833 Usually it's just because I forget. If there isn't anything particularly noteworthy about the restroom (it's clean, properly lighted, well stocked, et cetera) then I don't really feel a need to tell anyone about it; it's sort of like telling people that the table didn't wobble. If there's something different about it, then I'll let people know that they really need to check out the restroom while they're there (a Mexican restaurant that turned the restroom into something of a shrine to a couple of Mucha Lucha wrestlers including Rey Mysterio Jr springs to mind), and if the restroom is exceptionally bad then I'll warn people not to go to that restaurant. Link: http://thecosmicjester.blogspot.com Tue Apr 11 03:51:54 -0700 2006 1701830 0 JK Grence (the Cosmic Jester) 1 1701837 Actually, I don't see any reason to say anything about the restrooms unless they are so gross as to be a negative for the place, or so wonderful as to have to be mentioned. It isn't as important as the service, food, or even the glassware. It is just a place to do what you have to do. Tue Apr 11 08:23:22 -0700 2006 1701830 0 dinwiddie 1 1701840 "Aren't restrooms just as important as decor, silverware, ambience, service in making or breaking a culinary experience?" Not even in parking lot outside the ballpark, AFAIC, it's not like you're eating in there or wiping your hands off on the walls... I've only been in one that was so disgusting I would've mentioned it, but the place, a diner which no longer there, was so thoroughly mediocre-to-bad that I would never have thought to mention it anyway, and no one ever asked about it. Tue Apr 11 08:47:06 -0700 2006 1701830 0 MikeG 1 1701845 I'd say I visit the bathroom only once out of every 8 times I go to a restaurant and unless it looks like the bathroom at the beginning of Desperado or Trainspotting I pretty much dont recall what it looks like. Tue Apr 11 09:51:19 -0700 2006 1701830 0 Evan 1 1701846 i tend to agree that unless there's something exceptional (bad or good) it isn't worth mentioning. the only time i can recall noting anything relative to the restroom was at a place in detroit where you had to take your shoes off before entering the dining room. this meant that, due to the layout, if you went to the bathroom, you were in your socks (or worse, bare) feet. knowing how men often treat public bathrooms, it just kinda grossed me out. because of the amount of time we spent there, and the quantity we drank, the bathroom was a necessity. luckily, i was wearing socks, but my cousin, who was wearing sandals, was in his bare feet (we didn't know ahead of time that the restaurant was shoe-free). Tue Apr 11 09:54:37 -0700 2006 1701830 0 mark 2 1701858 there's a japanese bar b que place here in nyc called yakiniku west where you take your shoes off before you sit and eat. they have sandals for you to wear when you have to go to the bathroom. Tue Apr 11 12:24:35 -0700 2006 1701846 0 jon 2 1701943 I don't really care one way or another re: over-cleanliness of restaurant bathrooms, but that would really gross me out (even in socks). Wed Apr 12 18:29:29 -0700 2006 1701846 0 Frosty Melon 3 1701955 yeah, if i were inclined to go back, i would either make absolutely sure that i wouldn't need the restroom, or verify ahead of time that they had somehow remedied the situation. the bathroom did have one of those carpeted mats that a service changes regularly, but still... Thu Apr 13 08:30:50 -0700 2006 1701943 0 mark 1 1701853 I guess I am in the minority here, but I agree with you. It IS an important part of the overall dining experience to me, I nearly always visit the bathroom, often do mention it in my reviews on the Florida board. Cleanliness the obvious issue, but I also prefer restaurants with bathrooms that are of sufficient size, easily reached without stairs, and updated as to decor. Nice music also a plus! There was an Italian restaurant in Santa Monica that had Italian language lessons piped into the very lovely bathrooms, funny and fun! Tue Apr 11 10:57:14 -0700 2006 1701830 0 Coyote 2 1701861 There was a restaurant in the Century City Shopping Center in L.A. that piped in Naval warfare battle sounds into the Mens bathroom. Strange but amuzing. Tue Apr 11 12:34:30 -0700 2006 1701853 0 JBC 3 1701884 Please share the names of these restaurants! Just the names, don't want to get too off topic here. tia Tue Apr 11 16:22:03 -0700 2006 1701861 0 nooodles 4 1701891 JBC might be referring to DIVE, the erstwhile Steven Spielberg submarine-themed restaurant that is now occupied by Gulfstream. Tue Apr 11 16:47:23 -0700 2006 1701884 0 ipse dixit 5 1701905 Good and logical guess but actually it was the mexican restaurant in that same space before Dive, maybe with Cabo in the name. I think Dive had some sort of submarine themed nosie pumped into the bathroom. BTW, have all Dive's gone under for the last time? Tue Apr 11 19:45:54 -0700 2006 1701891 0 JBC 1 1701859 If the restroom is not mentioned, you can assume it is adequate. Tue Apr 11 12:27:00 -0700 2006 1701830 0 Brian S 1 1701862 You should read Frank Bruni in the New York Times. The man is obsessed with restrooms. Tue Apr 11 12:38:30 -0700 2006 1701830 0 Frolic 1 1701877 I totally agree. And after a seriously broken leg put me in a wheelchair for a while last year, I think bathroom and even general handicapped accessibility deserves a mention. I know it's the law, but personal experience has taught me that there is a big difference between meeting the legal requirements and actually having easy access. Tue Apr 11 14:08:40 -0700 2006 1701830 0 jms 1 1701885 Man, you must be fun on a date... If I don't mention the restroom, then it's stocked adequately, there is no grafiti on the walls or scratched into the mirror, and the loo works. Why would I consider it "as important as decor, silverware, ambience, [sic and/or] service in making or breaking a culinary experience?" It's not even on par with the lowest ranked item in the overall dining experience. OTOH, if it's so bad as to permanently etch the scene into your mind's eye like an acid flashback, then the rest of the dining experience is moot. Tue Apr 11 16:27:38 -0700 2006 1701830 0 The Ranger 1 1701902 NO! Not everone needd to go to the restroom, and who cares what the restroom looks like! Tue Apr 11 19:12:27 -0700 2006 1701830 0 Restroom GUY 1 1701903 NO! Not everone needd to go to the restroom, and who cares what the restroom looks like! Tue Apr 11 19:12:42 -0700 2006 1701830 0 Restroom GUY 1 1701909 I think dining is always the central experience. However I always put restrooms up there with parking issues. It's really not central to the restaurant, but... let me just say I think an attentive manager would note such little inconveniences & deal with them in a timely fashion. Eg, valet parking & a quick check of the restrooms as part of the daily routine will go a long way with the customer's memory of the dining experience. Tue Apr 11 22:34:24 -0700 2006 1701830 0 strawberry girl 1 1701914 Restrooms are very important to me. I have some favorite ethnic restaurants where I have been very reluctant to even think about going to the restroom because if its bad, I won't be able to enjoy the food anymore. Every time I think about taking a bite of the food I will remember how they maintain the restroom for their guests. If the restroom is grimey with dirt on the floor and crevasses I just don't go there again. If there are towels on the floor and no soap..forget it. There are two popular sushi restaurants that I refuse to join friends at..sushi and grime and dirt are unappetizing together. I would feel the same way at someone's home. Picture a dinner party at someone's home and a filthy bathroom. How would you feel? Tue Apr 11 23:17:54 -0700 2006 1701830 0 Marie 2 1701931 My sentiments exactly. Wed Apr 12 13:07:56 -0700 2006 1701914 0 ipse dixit 1 1701952 My experience has been that I not encountered a sub-standard restroom in years. I live in NY and dine out very often. It really isn't a question that actually comes up. Thu Apr 13 04:24:29 -0700 2006 1701830 0 Fleur 1 1701977 Well, I figure we don't eat in the restroom...or anything in it for that matter...so unless int's omething exceptionally good, bad or unique, why mention it? Not sure I understand your point about access to the kitchen either...very few restaurants will allow customers access t the kitchen. On the other hand, many restaurants also have separate employee restroom facilities. Like someone else mentioned, to me the parking situation is more important to me than the restroom. Just keep 'em clean and stocked. Thu Apr 13 13:28:58 -0700 2006 1701830 0 RSMBob 1 1702087 Lack of sanitation certainly requires noting in a review. You'd think no decent popular restaurant would have a raunchy bathroom; however, I can think of several I won't go to anymore because management had the hot water valve turned off under the sink. To save money?? This is the same bathroom all the employees used. I always turn the hot water back on before I leave! If they're going to cut corners in basic health dep't sanitation rules, where else would they do this? Mon Apr 17 11:23:06 -0700 2006 1701830 0 toodie jane