Grub Street

As far as restrooms go, Keith McNally’s are the gold standard. The man has pissed away a great deal of money importing gigantic urinals and sinks (as Schiller’s barkeep Corey Lima told us, boozed-up patrons often mistake one for the other), and his restroom lounges are bigger (and have nicer furniture) than certain apartments we’ve lived in. When he built the bathrooms at his new venture Morandi, he must’ve known everyone was watching. Did he suffer from performance anxiety?

Theme: Four doors of unfinished pine, electric candle sconces, and wreaths in the waiting hallway exude a Little Red Riding Hood vibe.

Privacy: It’s unnerving to see spectre-like shadows move in the frosted-glass windows. The doors close noisily.

Amenities: A wicker wastebasket; a couple of candles sit on top of the paper-towel dispenser.

Drawbacks: One of the doors in the claustrophobic waiting hallway is marked WC but is actually a coat closet. Plus — smallest sinks ever.

Strategy: Take your tablecloth into the loo with you; you’ll need to use it as an apron to avoid sink splash.

Rating: [No stars]
— Daniel Maurer