Given that restaurants are spaces primarily concerned with eating, you wouldn’t think that bathrooms would be so top of mind when choosing where to dine. Yet in recent years, it seems as though they’ve become as much of a talking point as the bread basket or the beverage program: Instagram accounts rate toilets. We seek refuge in restaurant restrooms. We select our fast food according to the corresponding commode. And underpinning all of this is the official award for America’s Best Restroom, an annual contest by Cintas that rewards excellence in bathroom design. Is it any surprise that among this year’s 10 nationwide finalists, five of them are located in restaurants?
From now through August 11, anyone can see pictures of the finalist bathrooms and vote on their favorites. Any publicly available restroom is eligible to apply for consideration each year, and finalists are those that demonstrate that they are “immaculate, inviting and, most of all, memorable.”
“Cintas is on a mission to locate America’s porcelain pioneers who are taking dramatic steps to create unforgettable facilities,” reads the website in part.
In the past 10 years of winners, only one restaurant has received the honor: Two Cities Pizza Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, which took the title of Best Restroom in 2021 for its facilities that perfectly mimic the New York City Subway system, complete with graffiti and a speaker playing authentic train station recordings. But not all winners are quite so gimmicky; others are simply elegant, stylish dedications to the call of nature.
This year, the five restaurants in the running couldn’t look more different from each other, but each one boasts fixtures you’d love to add to your Instagram grid. Here’s a rundown of the finalists.
