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…
…
…
…
…
…
...
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!
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