Foodilic North Street

Now up for review is Foodilic, a buffet restaurant on North St. in downtown Brighton. This is a two-floor establishment, and we sat in the very tight ground floor seating area, near the buffet, which is in the front window area. Everything was pretty good, with mostly vegetarian fare, although I wouldn’t say it was fantastic. Can’t beat the price, though, and the drinks menu was quite impressive, with lots of fresh juices and sparkling drinks on offer, plus coffees, teas, and the usual nonalcoholic stuff.

Bowel moving on… Foodilic has what appears to be a thrown-together single toilet in the corner of the room, so it’s a no-frills, self-contained, unisex sort of deal. It does have a door, though, so that was a relief.

After some second guessing of my points system last time, I have updated the values, so let’s see where that takes us.

Is it easy to find? (1/4)

I wasn’t really sure this place even had a restroom, as there was no indication on the ground floor. Major points deduction for having to ask an employee—she directed me up the ludicrously narrow staircase to the upper level seating area. Once up there, the toilet sign was in plain view. I didn't take a picture because of a lack of space--see below.

Does everything work (lights, toilets, sinks, hand dryer, etc.)? (10/10)

Everything that was in there did function, although I was disappointed to find no hand dryer available—more on that later.

Are the facilities in good repair (beyond everything functioning)? (7/8)

Everything in there seemed basically fine—some minor issues with chipped tiles and messy workmanship.

Are there enough supplies (toilet paper, paper towels, soap)? (2/10)

I was pretty irked to find that in addition to there being no hand dryer, there were also no paper towels, so I had to dry my hands on my jeans. To make the experience even worse, the toilet paper was damp—probably from people taking some of it with wet hands after washing. Toiletiquette, people!

Is it clean and dry? (7/10)

It was dry in there, but a bit dusty and grimy. The restaurant seems like it’s probably busy all the time, so I imagine the staff don’t have time to get in there to clean and replenish very often.

Does it smell okay? (8/8)

No smell! Huzzah!

Are there family and accessible facilities? (0/10)

I think anyone in a wheelchair or with a buggy would struggle to even get in the restaurant, let alone up the one-person-width staircase and into the little cubicle. This is definitely not a restroom for anyone with anything beyond the barest of standard personal need.

Are there enough toilets for the user population? (4/8)

As it happened, I didn’t have to wait in line for the toilet, but someone had to wait for me. In a busy, centrally located, affordable restaurant with a capacity of something like 50-60, I imagine there is a fair amount of waiting. People seated upstairs have the advantage of being able to keep an eye on the situation from their seats, however.

Is there somewhere to put jacket, bags, etc.? (0/8)

To my chagrin, there is no place to put any stuff. As this is a restaurant, most people could probably leave stuff at their table, but any woman needing to bring her bag into the toilet would struggle to find a clean and dry place to put it.

Are there trash cans? Are they full? (7/8)

There is one trash can with a cover in the room, and since I had nothing to throw away, I couldn’t tell if it was full. Probably not, considering the lack of towels. The size of the can seemed adequate for the room, but one of those sanitary trash cans for women would probably improve things.

How’s the décor? (3/6)

I was pretty surprised at the décor of this place, considering what an afterthought it seemed to be. The tiles are decent, and the wooden mirror is pretty cool. No other touches, however, and the rest of the room does look a bit shabby.

Is there a mirror? (4/4)

The mirror provided is quite large considering the space. No missing it.

Is the stall spacious? (1/3)

You can definitely get in here and do what you need to do without much fuss, but if you have anything with you, you’re out of luck. It was hard to even get photos of the place, really.

Are there vending machines? (0/1)

Someone pointed out to me that even if vending machines look dumb and are expensive, they can be helpful, especially if you’re a woman who needs a tampon or pad. So I’ve allotted a point for this category. But there are no vending machines in this one.

Are the water and dryer temperatures okay? (1/1)

Although the sink doesn’t include a hot water tap, the restaurant has added a water heater, which is a pretty stand-up thing to do. So you can make sure the water temp is to your liking. Party.

Is there a separate area for makeup, waiting, or other activities? (0/1)

Sadly, there’s barely enough room to toilet and wash, let alone do anything else. This is less applicable in a one-room bathroom without stalls, but I’m including the area outside the door in this assessment. There’s not even really any room to wait in line without getting in the way of staff members.

How’s the soap? (no bonus)

This is one of those places that for some reason provides both a wall dispenser and a bottle of liquid soap. But neither was anything special, aw.

Are there freebies? (no bonus)

As if!

Is there advertising? (no deduction)

No advertising.

Is there an attendant? (no deduction)

Saved from the horrors of human interaction!

Okay, so this wasn’t the greatest bathroom in the world. If I were giving it an offhand star rating, I’d say it would get something like just over two out five. Let’s see if my tweaking of last week’s point values was successful. The total is just as much a surprise to me as it is to you, BTW, since I rate as I write.

Total: 55/100

Okay, so that’s a bit more accurate than my last rating, I think. Almost three stars. Because this was slightly less than adequate in terms of facilities, but had a couple of nicer touches, I guess that puts it slightly above the 2.5 stars mark.

So in summary, if you need to use the toilet at Foodilic, it’s pretty much fine, but nothing to write home on damp toilet paper about.

Coming up next: Komedia’s unisex lobby toilet, w00t.

Pooedbye for now!

Wahaca North St/New Rd

Today I'll be looking at the women's restroom in Wahaca in downtown Brighton. They do Mexican street food, but you're sitting at tables, usually inside, for some reason. Before I get to the loo review, however, I would just like to make a big recommendation for the restaurant itself. Not only is the food good and reasonably priced, but the company makes great effort at sustainable practices, they donate a portion of each special's price to charity, and you can pay your bill on the Wahaca app. Find more info at www.wahaca.co.uk.

Now to the toilet. I will say that I've already changed the criteria slightly since my last post, and this is likely to be a repeating occurrence--like some trips to the bathroom, ba dum tssh. So let's see what the powdering experience is like for women at Wahaca.

Is it easy to find? (3/3)

I had no trouble finding the place, although I will admit that I could see the Toilets sign on the wall from my seat. I think the layout of the place would make it reasonably obvious from any table where you should generally go. The labels in the restroom area are in keeping with the Mexican theme, using skulls in the images on the doors.

Does everything work (lights, toilets, sinks, hand dryer, etc.)? (15/15)

Everything functioned optimally, as far as I could tell.

Are there enough supplies (toilet paper, paper towels, soap)? (15/15, +1 bonus)

Not only were there enough supplies, there was even extra toilet paper in a neato hammock in the stall. Bonus!

Is it clean and dry? (10/10)

Impeccable! 

Does it smell okay? (5/5)

No smell, which means no deduction. For future reference, I might deduct even when there is some kind of air freshener, depending on what kind of rank flowers and booze smell it gives out.

Are there family and accessible facilities? (12/12)

My first assumption was that there were none of these, as I had to go downstairs to the restrooms (no elevator) and there were no changing facilities in the restroom I used. Upon calling the restaurant later, however, I can confirm that they do in fact have both wheelchair-accessible toilet and baby-changing facilities. I cannot review them, but as they don’t apply to the women’s restroom, I make no point deduction.

Are there enough facilities for the user population? (8/10)

The women’s room had something like five stalls and the place was empty when I went in, at peak lunchtime on a Saturday. So I think it’s fair to say that there are enough toilets. There were four taps in two large sinks, as well, but only one hand dryer. Thus although it’s unlikely that anyone has to wait to wash her hands, there is probably sometimes a wait to use the dryer, since there are no paper towels.

Is there somewhere to put jacket, bags, etc.? (7/8)

There was a good double hook in the stall for hanging a coat and/or bag on, but there was only one tiny shelf to put my bag by the sink (see the trash can picture below). Because this is a restaurant, it’s likely that most people aren’t bringing coats in there with them, and I’d estimate about half might be bringing a handbag, so the deduction is minor in this context.

Are there trash cans? Are they full? (7/8)

    

There was one large trash can in the sink area, plus a receptacle for sanitary products in the stall. Neither appeared full. There wasn’t an additional small trash can in the stall, which would be ideal, so a minor deduction there.

    

Are the facilities in good repair (beyond everything functioning)? (5/5)

Everything looked in really good shape. No complaints.

How’s the décor? (3/3)

I was super impressed by the décor of this bathroom. Considering how bright and colorful the rest of the restaurant is, it could easily have been a loud rainbow fest in there. But I found it pleasantly sleek and low-key.

Is the stall spacious? (3/3)

There is definitely room to move around and do Your Duty in the stalls. You might even be able to fit a small roller suitcase in there with you. If this were the only restroom available for people in wheelchairs or people with buggies to push around, I would have deducted a point or two, but since those facilities are available elsewhere in the restaurant, there is no penalty.

Is there a mirror? (3/3)

There are two very large mirrors over the sinks, which have lights above them (as seen above). It would be preferable in a restroom to have access to a mirror that isn’t by the sinks, so you can do makeup, hair, etc. without getting in the way of hands-washers. But the mirrors are so large and the room so spacious that I suspect in a pinch someone could stand well away from one of the mirrors and still use it.

How’s the soap? (bonus only)

Okay, so I’m a huge fan of nice soap. I used to hold my pee before going shopping in Japan so I could use the bathroom on the ground floor of Amu Plaza—that bathroom was right near the Body Shop, and they used to stock the sinks with posh Body Shop soaps, on that floor only. I freaking loved it.

Anyway, I know that not everyone cares too much about soap, so I don’t deduct as long as there is some available and it’s not grody.

In this case, the soap was presented in nice bottles, but it was just normal no-smell soap, so no bonus here. Booo-urns.

Are there freebies? (bonus only)

Sometimes restrooms shockingly supply freebies, such as sanitary products, lotion (not to take away, though. Jeez.), or mouthwash. I’m a big fan.

No freebies at Wahaca, though. Sad.

Is there a separate area for makeup, waiting, or other activities? (bonus only)

Plenty of space in the restroom and outside the door, but nothing to merit any extra points.

Are there vending machines? (neutral or deduction only)

I find that vending machines tend to only detract from le lieu des toilettes. They look dumb, and even if they sell something useful, it’s wicked expensive, amirite?

None of that nonsense today. No deduction.

Is there advertising? (neutral or deduction only)

Again, advertising can ruin the ambience, but I would never oppose advertising for social services like domestic abuse or suicide hotlines; similarly at a bar it can be helpful to advertise for taxi services or similar.

In any case, Wahaca’s women’s room was free from ads, maintaining the tranquil visual atmosphere (I say nothing about the audible atmosphere at a Mexican restaurant, hyuk).

Are the water and dryer temperatures okay? (deduction only)

I came out blessedly free from burns and ice-hands.

Is there an attendant? (deduction only)

I can’t even tell you how much I hate it when there’s some asshole in the bathroom trying to hand me a towel. If there’s a legit cleaner in there, no problem. Good sign. But anyway, no attendant of any kind in there when I was using it. No deduction.

So that’s my review of Wahaca Brighton’s ladies’ room. Do stop by the place, have some food and drink, czech out the toilet. I imagine the men’s room is similar.

OH MY GOD I ALMOST FORGOT TO TALLY UP THE TOTAL SCORE!!!

It’s cool, though. I remembered. The total is…

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97/100

That’s pretty amazing. I really liked that bathroom, but I’m wondering if I wasn’t too generous with the scoring, or if my criteria and points values need tweaking. Feel free to comment with ideas.

BTW if you were expecting a damnass laughfest out of this blog and only got a couple scoffs or snickers, let me just remind you that this is Serious BUSINESS, bruh.

Next up for review: Foodilic buffet restaurant.

Smell you later!