Occasionally you’ll walk into the washroom at a restaurant or café and think to yourself, “What in the world? How did they ever come up with that?” Or perhaps you’ll exclaim, “Why do they still have that in here?” Sometimes bathroom artwork will make you chuckle with delight; sometimes it’ll leave you curious and confused. The distinct bathroom displays at these Vancouver spots are sure to stick with you.
If you can endure the loud hip-hop (personally I kind of love it when I’m in the mood) and sometimes seemingly absentminded servers, The Foundation in Mount Pleasant boasts great vegetarian fare, filling platters of nachos, and delicious pitchers of sangria. The washrooms feature customers’ own hand-drawn graffiti, which includes empowering speeches, Internet handles, callouts, back and forth conversations, and much more. These anonymous scrawls can be funny, sad, heartfelt, angering and everything in between.
This space offers everything you need for a delicious brunch or Happy Hour drinks Located in Railtown’s historic Settlement Building, the unique multipurpose spot serves a variety of Urban Winery wines and beer on tap from in-house microbrewery Postmark Brewing, as well as a full menu of delicious food from Belgard Kitchen. Their washrooms have a classic and elegant feel with tongue-in-cheek paintings of celebrities such as Tom Selleck and Leonardo DiCaprio in full military regalia.
This vegetarian Mexican restaurant is a great place for lunch on the go or late night snacks. It offers burritos, tacos, and more, as well as beer on tap, cider and simple margaritas. Staff refresh the bathroom walls every few months with visually unique designs such as Jackson Pollack-esque paint splatters or rows of playing cards, to name a few examples.
This East Side eatery tends to remind people of their favourite bar back home. It has a comfortable and casual atmosphere with low lighting and easygoing staff. The walls leading up to the washrooms are wallpapered with tickets and posters from someone’s favourite metal shows, all pasted up with care. Similarly, the bathrooms are covered with a mod-podge display of cat and dog photographs cut out from magazines. Some of the animals have human heads, some have human bodies, but they’re all amazing.
Feeling creative? The bathroom at this Commercial Drive restaurant has a full chalkboard wall and a cup of chalk just waiting for imaginative visitors. Pick up a piece of chalk and feel free to draw a silly doodle or craft a poignant message to share with the world. The Tangent Café kitchen makes a great brunch and can keep the Caesars coming in either single or double form. If you visit in the evenings, you might be treated to live music.