Sardi's

Saturday, 12/22/07, 5:30 pm - Midtown

The restroom in this New York City staple looks about as old as the restaurant itself. It's bright and sort of pastel colored. I expected there to be more than three stalls. But it was incredibly clean. However, it did have one those annoying attendants who turns on the faucet for you and hands you a paper towel. She didn't squirt the soap on your hands and there weren't mints or hairspray or anything so I guess it wasn't too over the top.

If you're interested in Sardi's.

Houston's

Wednesday, 12/19/07, 11 pm - Midtown East

I would have thought the bathroom here would be really nice. But like the service, I was a little let down. The decor was well-done and sleek -- dark, marble-looking floor and sinks. The stall doors go all the way to the floor, but don't remain open, so it's really hard to know if someone's in them. When I got into the stall, it was a mess (despite the two employees chatting it up in the restroom).

The hooks on the back of the dark wood slotted door didn't seem to make too much sense to me. One was about waste high, which I guess is good for your purse. The other hook is at the top of the door, way out of my reach. The sinks area was also messy - water all over the place.

Here's more on Houston's.

Tarallucci e Vino

Sunday, 12/16/07, 12:30 pm - Union Square

I wasn't expecting much from the bathroom in this stripped down Italian eatery, but I was pleasantly surprised. The bare wood matched the restaurant's interior. There was a simple toilet and a cute sink with lovely hand soap and hand lotion. I definitely approve.

Here's more on Tarallucci e Vino.

Le Zie

Sunday, 12/9/07, 7:30 pm - Chelsea

I had the chance to use both of the single stalls in this Italian restaurant. They were both clean, in design and sanitation. Small white titles lined the walls, and both had mirrors with ornate gold frames and sleek, stainless steal garbage cans. One had a glass shelf above the sink holding paper towels.

Here's more on Le Zie.

Tai Thai

Wednesday, 12/5/07, 10:30 pm - East Village

This restaurant doesn't look like much. But the bathroom is surprising. Heading down the stairs, you come to a frosted-glass door with a male and female caricature on it. Behind there is a huge single stall, clean and modern. There's a slate floor and a raised-bowl sink, with a sleek faucet. The one thing that did stand out to me was a sign that told you not to flush paper towels down the toilet, but there aren't paper towels in the bathroom -- just a hand dryer. I guess they remedied that situation easily.

They don't have a website, but here's the menupages profile.

Le Singe Vert

Sunday, 11/18/07, 12:30 pm - Chelsea

The restroom is odd. It's a single stall and you think you can see in. But once you get inside, it's the long hallway ends with a sink. To your right is the toilet in a room that should look like it's has a door, but it doesn't. I'm not really sure what to make of the layout.

It was morning when I was there and they were out of soap in the bathroom. You would think that would be one of the first things they do in the morning.

Here's more on the restaurant, Le Singe Vert.

Regional Thai

Saturday, 11/10/07, 9:30 pm - Chelsea

The door to the women's room doesn't do justice to what's behind it. This small room is packed with a lot of flavor. The walls are painted a deep turquoise. There's a large wooden duck and other accessories on the ledge next to the toilet. The toilet and sink were kind of unremarkable, but clean. The hand dryer is scented (though it does dim the lights when used -- a little worrisome), which is definitely a nice touch.

The restaurant doesn't appear to have its own website so here's the menupages listing for Regional Thai.

Cafe Mozart - New York, N.Y.

Thursday, 11/1/07, 10 pm - Upper West Side

There are two single unisex stalls here. I only saw one. Painted a bright, orangey-red color, it also had an antique-looking mirror and walling hangings. The wall (the part that wasn't obstructed by high chairs and a closet) opposite the sink was filled with a full length mirror. I did think the toilet seemed oddly small. The waste basket had a lid, but there didn't seem to be a foot pedal to open it. Overall it was pretty clean, and the few touches made sense for this cute cafe.

Here's more on Cafe Mozart.

CAMAJE - New York, N.Y.

Saturday, 10/20/07, 9:30 pm - West Village

For this post, a special treat -- pictures. I happened to have my camera with me, so I thought I'd add some dimension to this review (can't promise it'll happen all the time). Little did I know this location wouldn't actually lend itself to pictures.

It seems that the restroom was an after thought in this small bistro. It's literally just a toilet and a sink. There was a rectangular mirror with a gold frame. There are pale tiles halfway up the wall and the upper portion is painted red. In this case, the waste basket was also overflowing. Perhaps it's meant to not distract from the food, but definitely doesn't enhance it.

Here's more on CAMAJE.

Penelope - New York, N.Y.

Thursday, 10/11/07, 8:30 pm - Murray Hill

The interior is country quaint. But efforts to extend this into the bathroom failed. The unfinished floor looks simply like that -- unfinished. While it could be part of the country facade, it really just looks like they forgot to tile it. It makes the whole room look dirty.

The rest is really unremarkable. The chair rail divides the lower white title from the deep-red upper portion. The toliet and sink are just plain white. Two mirrors had some etchings, personalizing the bathroom room somewhat.

Their website has little more than their address, but if you're interested, here's more on Penelope.

Casellula - New York, N.Y.

Saturday, 10/6/07, 10 pm - Midtown West

This is a small wine and cheese place so the single stall seems fine to service customers. It was clean and streamlined, white walls and white toilet and sink. Classy but not fancy. The one thing I do remember not liking is there was no place to hang your purse. I would recommend a hook on the back of the door.

Here's more on Casellula.

Kefi - New York, N.Y.

Saturday, 10/6/07, 8:30 pm - Upper West Side

This cozy Greek restaurant has two unisex stalls. The one I visited was quite a good size and clean. It fit in well with the rest of the establishment -- white and blue walls. The square sink was offset by a bronze square mirror. However the mirror was placed was too high. I consider myself average height (5'4") and I could only see half of my face.

Here's more information on Kefi.

Radio Perfecto - New York, N.Y.

Friday, 10/5/07, 8:00 pm - Morningside Heights

It's hard to decide whether to judge this place as a bar or as a restaurant, so I'll just tell you what I saw and let you decide. There are two unisex stalls and I've usually used the larger one but this time I got the smaller one. Very tight fit. Dark paneling. There was no soap in the dispenser and the metal garbage can didn't appear to open so paper towel were stacked on top. Not thrilled.

For more on Radio Perfecto, visit radioperfecto.com

Markt - New York, N.Y.

Thursday, 10/4/07, 8:45 pm - Chelsea

Don't be deceived -- there's only one stall behind this substantial wooden door. It is sparking white. The mirror and pedestal sink look like they're straight out of a Pottery Barn catalog and work well in the restaurant. The faucet is antique looking, but the stoilet and paper towel dispenser are both magic eye. On the wall is a washed-out, 1920s-looking framed picture of a woman. Overall it was very clean.

For more on this Belgium restaurant, visit www.marktrestaurant.com

Alice's Tea Cup - New York, N.Y.

Thursday, 10/4/07, 6:45 pm - Upper West Side

The hand-painted decor continues on into the single stall bathroom, which seemed right for this place. Aside from the seemingly random black and white checked floor, the rest of the room fits perfectly with the establishment. The sink looks hand painted too and the are cute reminders all over the walls (Flush with an arrow pointing down; turn light on, arrow up; turn light off, arrow down). In the corner sits an old sewing table. The trash can looked like it was missing it's top. But overall, very nice.

For more on Alice's Tea Cup, visit www.alicesteacup.com

Josie's Restaurant East - New York, N.Y.

Monday, 10/1/07, 8:15 pm - Murray Hill

I have been to Josie's on the west side and don't remember being impressed by their bathroom. The one in this location is better. The walls of the two-stalled bathroom are lined with yellow raised-dots panels.

The silver soap dispenser hovers directly in front of you above the sink. The geometric-looking faucet sits on the left side of the bowl -- interesting design. The magic-eye paper towel dispenser probably rolls out a bit too much paper for this envirnomental-friendly restaurant, but it is recycled paper.

For more information on Josie's, visit www.josiesnyc.com

Ardeo - Washington, D.C.

Saturday, 9/27/07, 8:30 pm - Cleveland Park

This restaurant is sleek, but not cold and the bathroom reflects that. Mostly black and white, the two black stalls work well. The toilet paper is dispensed from a holder on the back of the door. The one weird thing that stuck out at me was the only soap dispenser was a Method brand disposable one. But overall it was clean and well suited for the place.

For more information about Ardeo, visit www.ardeorestaurant.com

Thaiphoon - Washington, D.C.

Thursday, 9/20/07, 8:15 pm - Dupont Circle

This has a little bit for everyone. The walls are tiled mostly in brown. The raised-bowl, red glass sink fits in with the trendy decor of the restaurant (but probably not the color). However, the single black toliet sits inside a beaten-up boring old bathroom stall.

The use of space is poor, since the sink and unremarkable counter top occupy two-thirds the space of the entire bathroom. For that space, they could have put in two stalls. However, there wasn't a wait when I used it, so perhaps there's not a need.

It seemed pretty clean, although you never know what's hidden in the black toliet.

For more on the restaurant, visit, www.thaiphoon.com