Your next favourite selfie spot could be a restaurant's washroom

Across India, the dining landscape’s latest offering is weird and wonderful washrooms. “I wanted to give a whimsical spin to the washrooms. The idea was to create a wacky zone to make the guest think, ‘Am I still in Mokai?’" says owner Karreena Bulchandani.

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Her inspiration was The Breakfast Club on Artillery Lane in London, which has a secret entrance, and the bar, The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town, which one enters through a fridge door. Bulchandani wanted to create a similar impact with a vending-machine door that you push to enter a washroom with oakwood air fresheners and tampons and sanitary napkins in a basket on the sink next to a clutch of lollipops and chewing gum. “These are essentials for a good customer experience. Washrooms in Japan boast hairdryers too," she adds.

The cosy “home away from home" Sienna Café in Kolkata brings organic quirk to the washrooms with strands of fresh jasmine wrapped around the taps, wispy agarbattis by the window and newspaper-wrapped toilet rolls of upcycled paper suspended in a corner. “We love to design every little corner of our space, including the loo, which has ceramic sculptures made by local artists," says founder Shuli Ghosh.

The idea is to make every inch of the restaurant experience memorable. Bengaluru’s Neon Market has, perhaps, one of the wildest washrooms in India, with shimmying oversized disco balls winking in gigantic pentagon mirrors. The psychedelic space is studded with gleaming black tiles overlaid with shiny, grinning cats. The pee zone then becomes an accidental inclusion with techno music setting the mood for a party.

Kolkata’s Mexican restaurant Mehico has pops of neon on the ceilings, lighting up the loo like a Las Vegas strip. The glitzy-glam quirky shoutouts like “Hey you! Don’t text your ex!" blazing across the ceiling hog your attention in psychedelic blues and pinks. “The idea was to go off the template of a conventional washroom and make the space visually interactive," says Nivedita Agarwal, founder of Nivedita Agarwal Designs, who designed the space. “People often end up hanging out, chatting in the washrooms. The ceiling scrawls are a sure conversation starter and a perfect backdrop for pictures. Also, the entire restaurant has been designed as a Mexican cantina, so the neon blues and pinks are an extension of that theme. Since Mehico’s opening, we’ve seen it become just that—a space for everyone to click selfies," she says.

“I find that female restroom designs worldwide prioritise aesthetics and feature mirrors, lighting and inviting atmospheres conducive to socialising and photo opportunities. But the men’s restrooms often lack these thoughtful elements," says Karan Nohria, founder of Silly, a café in Khar, Mumbai. “I took it upon myself to create something truly distinctive for men—a space where they could feel liberated, especially during moments of post-drink relief. Thus, the idea of incorporating a bathtub in the men’s loo was born."

It has an outlandish bathtub filled with ice cubes. “The ice technology eliminates odours and also streamlines cleaning processes due to its fluid nature, minimising pee-swirls and reducing maintenance efforts," he explains. “Typically, we refresh the ice every 4-6 hours, ensuring continuous freshness throughout the day. Honestly, the cost is minimal compared to the buzz it creates."

With washrooms in cafés and restaurants going beyond the usual smart toilets with tornado flush, warm hip-seaters and air deodorisers, you could find yourself planning an evening out around a unique loo experience.

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Shilpi Madan is a Mumbai-based writer. She posts @ShilpiMadan.