Il Fornello, Grazie, Scaccia, Toronto

The bathroom signs of several Italian restaurants share the common theme of classical nudes.

Il Fornello
214 King St W, Toronto
Many other locations

Grazie is home to my favourite pasta dish – their "Tasca" is a lasagna made with fresh pasta filled with ricotta, spinach, mushrooms & brie baked in a creamy tomato porcini sauce.

Grazie
2373 Yonge St, Toronto

Scaccia
55 Bloor St W, Toronto

Café la Gaffe, Toronto

Café la Gaffe is a French bistro on the eclectic Baldwin St. that offers lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.

Café la Gaffe
24 Baldwin St, Toronto

Bell Lightbox, Toronto

Malaparte, the 6th floor event space at the TIFF Bell Lightbox run by Oliver and Bonacini, has beautiful floor to ceiling mosaic tile images of what looks like a young Robert Deniro and Meryl Streep at the entrance of their washrooms–the perfect bathroom signs to reflect this cinephile's mecca.

Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square,
350 King Street West, Toronto

Rahier Patiserrie, Toronto

The French patisserie Rahier is one of our favourite places to go for cakes and pastries.  My favourite cake is the Dumas, made with  hazelnut mousseline, dark chocolate mousse and hazelnut dacquoise. 



Rahier Patisserie

1586 Bayview Ave, Toronto

Bishop and Belcher, Queen Mother Café, Queen and Beaver Toronto

Photos of British royalty seem to be a popular choice for bathroom signs, although the use in some restaurants make more sense than in others.

The Bishop and Belcher is a traditional English pub serving typical fare such as bangers and mash, fish and chips, liver, bacon and onions, and even Indian curries, which is what you actually find in London pubs.  Therefore having a portrait of King Edward VII as the male bathroom sign and one of Queen Elizabeth II as the female sign seems completely apropos.

On the other hand, the most British things about the Queen Mother Café are its name and its bathroom signs that depict King George VI and his wife, the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Duchess of York, and not its menu, which is more Asian fusion.

The restaurant which you would think definitely should have portraits of British royalty as its bathroom signs is the Queen and Beaver, whose walls are filled with images of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II.  But for some inexplicable reason, the bathroom signs are merely the letters "M" for male and "L" for "ladies", abeit very stylish letters covered with sleek, red leather.  At least the mens' urinal has a sense of fun and whimsy.

Bishop and Belcher
175 Bloor St E, Toronto

Queen Mother Café
 208 Queen St W, Toronto

Queen and Beaver
 35 Elm St, Toronto

Fuzz Box, Toronto

The hippyish, slightly irreverent terms of "dudes" and "chicks" on the washrooms of The Fuzz Box seem a bit out of place for a vendor of Nova Scotia styled donairs.  I would expect to see such signs in a dive bar rather than in a place that sports a Nova Scotian flag in its front window.  But the donairs are really good, so who cares!

Fuzz Box

1246 Danforth Ave,Toronto

Coffee - Balzac's, Second Cup, Toronto

The Balzac's Coffee location in the Distillery District seems to always have long lineups, sometimes out the door.  They have a great second floor space that displays rotating art and serve a delicious café frappé.

Balzac's Coffee Roasters
Distillery District, 1 Trinity St. and many other locations

The coffee chain Second Cup uses their company logo as the basis for their bathroom signs, again reinforcing the company brand.

Second Cup
1560 Yonge St.
Many other locations

By contrast, the boring generic bathroom signs of some of Second Cup's competitors do nothing for their corporate brands.