Reykjavík Grapevine - 18.07.2014, Síða 38

38 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 10 — 2014HYGIENE
When writing these reviews, I went to
some of Reykjavík’s most popular cafés
to check out their bathroom facilities: Did
they have soap and toilet paper? Was the
number of the toilets sufficient consider-
ing the place’s size and popularity? Was
it clean and did it smell nice? Note: The
bathrooms were visited sometime during
the day between 12:00 and 18:00 and the
reviews reflect on the bathroom’s situation
as it was when visited.
When visited:
12:00–18:00
Legend:
There is soap
There is toilet paper
You don’t have to wait long
It's Clean
It smells good
The rating system goes from one to three
stars, unless the bathroom is really shitty.
In that case, the rating will be denoted by
a pile of shit.
Café Babalú
Skólavörðustígur 22
Babalú has an upstairs and downstairs
bathroom. The upstairs one was nice and
cosy—so cosy that I actually wouldn’t have
minded working there on my computer
instead of from my seat in the actual sit-
ting area. They even had a table in front
of the toilet, which seemed perfect for a
laptop. The downstairs bathroom was also
great. It has an ‘80s feel to it and the walls
are adorned by characters from Star Wars
(which is clever, although slightly uncom-
fortable as they watch you pee).
Peeing at Babalú makes your day a little bit
better.
Stofan
Vesturgata 3
Stofan has recently reopened where an
antique store called Fríða Frænka once
stood. The café has retained its cosy,
low-key, ‘50s living room atmosphere. It
features a few bathrooms upstairs and
downstairs, which are all in keeping with
this theme. Unfortunately, the upstairs
stalls are quite small and the doors open
in, which makes it difficult to get in and
out. The bins could probably have been
changed a couple hours before I visited.
However, they made up for this sloppiness
with vanilla scented candles. The down-
stairs bathrooms are more spacious, and
one is wheelchair accessible. It’s of little
use though, as you have to go down a
flight of stairs to get to it.

Small and cosy bathroom stalls in need of
a little cleaning.
Prikið
Bankastræti 12
This is the kind of coffeehouse you go to
for food, music and atmosphere, but you
try not to order too many drinks so that
you can avoid using their awful excuse for
bathrooms. After waiting in line for way
too long, it was my turn to relieve myself of
that wonderful Swiss Mocha I had ordered
two hours earlier. I found it surprising, and
newsworthy enough to write here, that the
soap dispenser wasn’t empty! I don’t re-
member that ever being the case. Howev-
er, that didn’t make up for the waiting, the
stink of urine mixed with cigarette smoke,
the extremely small space and the lack of
toilet paper. The men’s bathroom was only
slightly better since there was no line for
it. A festival porta-potty after a three-day
festival is probably cleaner and more ap-
pealing.

Two small and smelly bathrooms, which
were very dirty and lacking almost every-
thing you need in a public bathroom.
Hressingarskálinn
Austurstræti 20
The bathrooms at Hressingarskálinn, or
Hressó, as the natives call it, are located
around the corner from the bar. At first
sight these bathrooms didn’t look too nice.
There was toilet paper on the wet, icky
floor and the walls were dirty and sticky,
even. The bigger of the two was spacious
enough to be identified as an accessible
toilet, which should of course be in ev-
ery coffeehouse. The toilet itself was very
clean, and it didn’t smell bad (but note that
the regulars never sit near the toilets as
the place tends to stink up if anyone drops
a number two).

All the necessities were there, but it could
have been a lot cleaner.
Kaffibrennslan
Laugavegur 21
This bathroom was squeaky clean, cleaner
than any other public bathroom I’ve seen
and probably cleaner than some hospitals.
They even had a changing table acces-
sible to both women and men, which is
rarely the case (mostly changing tables
can be found in the women’s bathroom).
The only downside is that the bathrooms
are on the second floor with no wheelchair
access. Nonetheless, this place gets a full
house.

This is definitely one of the cleanest places
in Reykjavík (not just counting bathrooms).
It’s perfect for daddies with babies in tow.
Caffé Mezzo
Lækjargata 2a
I had high hopes for these bathrooms be-
cause you have to ask for a key to access
them. However, the key was for a door that
leads you into a room with a few stalls, op-
posed to direct access to one bathroom.
This meant that people were queuing
up when they didn’t have to, out of fear
of walking in on someone’s private mo-
ment. Apart from the fact that there was
a lot of water on the floor, the bathroom
seemed fairly neat. I thought I could safely
sit down on the toilet, but I was in for a
rude surprise, as my thighs were met by a
disgusting, wet sensation. When I went to
wash my hands in the sink located in the
stall, I discovered why the floor was wet.
The water pressure was way too high. The
water went all over the toilet and my pants.
I looked like I had peed myself, but at least
I knew I hadn’t sat in piss.

A few fairly clean stalls hiding behind a
locked door. Be careful, the tap water has
high pressure.
Something that always seems to be missing in reviews of restaurants, bars, cafés and what-
not, is the bathroom. Perhaps it is a taboo subject? But when you think about it, the flowery
potpourri smell in the bathroom might make up for a mediocre cup of coffee or a semi-flat
beer and stumbling upon a clogged toilet could make you forget about all the great food
and service you just got. What good is a good soup if your dining experience is shadowed
by a dirty bathroom?
Words by Esther Þorvaldsdóttir
Photos Magnús Andersen
Searching For
The Best Public
Bathroom
The Daytime Edition