Frida, Toronto

The high-end Mexican restaurant Frida is named after and inspired by Mexican artist Frida Khalo, with examples of her art decorating the walls throughout.  It is therefore aptly appropriate that the bathroom signs should be two iconic self-protraits which she painted, including one where she had cut off all her hair and dressed herself like a man in a suit.  While the images are more than sufficent, the signs are labelled with the Spanish terms "Hombres" for "men" and "Mujeres" for "women.

Frida
999 Eglinton Ave W, Toronto

Bahn Mi Boys, Toronto

The bathroom signs at Vietnamese sandwich shop Bahn Mi Boys (the original one on Queen St), reflect the youthful, hip, manga vibe that the restaurant itself exudes.  Bahn Mi Boys has elevated the traditional Vietnamese sandwich to the next level with their trendy gourmet offerings.

Bahn Mi Boys
392 Queen St. West
399 Yonge St.

C'est What, Toronto

It's a good thing that the gender symbols on the bathroom signs for trendy brewpub C'est What are accompanied by the text denoting "Men" vs "Women" since I always get those symbols mixed up.  In a recent survey of local pubs, C'est What was one of the few found to pour an full 20oz pint of beer.

C'est What
67 Front St E, Toronto

Bymark, Toronto

The bathroom indicators at Bymark were a challenge to photograph because they were large figures painted down the entire length of the washroom doors, situated down a narrow hallway where you could not get far enough back to get the whole image in the frame.  Mark McEwan's high-end "business-man's expense account" restaurant in the financial district is home to one of Toronto's most expensive burgers–the 8oz P.E.I. grass-fed burger with brie, porcini mushrooms and crispy onion rings or fries for $35!

Bymark
66 Wellington St W, Toronto

Bathroom Sign Collection - The Red Tomato, Toronto

For a long time now, I've been fascinated with the interesting and creative ways that restaurants and other establishments depict men versus women on their bathroom signs.  So I've made a hobby of collecting photos of unique signs from washroom doors mostly found in my home city of Toronto, Canada, but also from my travels around the world.  I've also got friends and family on the lookout for me and they often send me photos of a good "bathroom opportunity" as I like to call it.   My bathroom sign photo collection spans back multiple years so unfortunately some of my best finds are now obsolete as the restaurants have since closed.  But new restaurants always open, and it is like a fun treasure hunt to be on the lookout for the next great discovery.

The hobby of bathroom sign photography is more challenging and even danger-prone than one might think.  Many washrooms are located in dark narrow hallways where it is difficult to get at the right angle or achieve the proper lighting for a good photo.  Using flash often makes it worse since you get a big glare spot that obscures part of the photo.  And you want to be quick about it or else you get weird looks from the waiters or other patrons, especially if you catch one of them coming out of the washroom as you snap the photo.

A well-thought-out set of bathroom signs not only add charm and whimsy to an establishment, but can also be used to promote the company brand.  The brilliant images from the washroom doors of the Italian restaurant The Red Tomato visually reinforces the name of the restaurant, and doesn't even need words to differentiate the "men" vs "women".

The Red Tomato
321 King St W, Toronto

I will be adding my current collection to this blog and then will continue to add more as I find them.  If anyone has some cute examples that they would like me to include in my blog, please send them to retiredat48book@gmail.com with details of what establishment and city it came from.