Dirty Toilets In Restaurants

[loong]

When I eat out in Thailand (well, anywhere actually) and find that the toilets haven't been cleaned for some time it definitely puts me off eating there again

A friend runs an eating place with his wife and I have told him that the toilet desperately needs a good clean, but he thinks that I'm exaggerating.

I believe that this quite possibly puts Farang off and that they could be losing customers, so I'm interested in how you Farangs on TV feel about this. Maybe I'm just too fussy!

[Mighty Mouse]

If the cook is the restaurant owner and he couldn't be bothered to keep the toilets clean, how dirty would his kitchen be?

In fact, how dirty would his hands be after visiting his dirty toilet?

How many of his germs are covering the food you have just ordered?

In Thailand, I have found many kitchens are right alongside the toilets. I have seen some kitchen staff take their cooking water from taps inside the toilet room.

Yuk !!!

[aughie]

Someone ought to do restaurant reviews and post pics of the bog just to let people know.

[jingjoe]

I recall spotting a worker in a local chinese restaurant here in oz, sitting on the toilet, with door open , peeling spuds.

[tutsiwarrior]

depends on the establishment...inna restaurant in a 4 star hotel a clean toilet comes as part of the cost of the meal...inna place frequented by drunks and other disreputables dirty toilets are part ob the landscape...

I could describe the most famously filthy toilet in a shithole bar in Bolivia (the toilet wouldn't flush but folks kept on using it anyway) but you don't wanna know...

inna small family restaurant in Beijing there was no indoor plumbing and you had to go down the street to the public toilet where there was also no plumbing...just sum planks put over a trough. People laughing and chatting and exchanging neighborhood news...if the food hadn't have been so good (crispy duck...yum) I woulda barfed...

[Upcountry]

Many take-out and maybe small eateries in the Boston area do not offer restrooms to their patrons - they're told to go down the street.

I wonder what the new clean toilet campaign will do to change this problem with dirty or unsanitary toilets, not just in restaurants, but also doctor's offices, etc. I went to a dentist in a shopping district upcountry here, and the toilet in the rented office was a standard squat thing, no sink. It wasn't filthy, just not as sanitary as you'd expect.

Mai pen rai, right?

I was told this is because the dentist rents the space, so he can't modify the toilet.

Edited December 26, 2006 by Upcountry

[ilyushin]

If this were a worry, I wouldn't have a place to eat.

You in Asia?

[terry57]

ive travelled all over india 3 times and have travelled through china earlier this year.

some of the dunnies in india you just dont want to know about and i actually chucked up in one of them.

public chinese toilets have to be seen to be believed as well and everybody is there having a great old chat.

quite funny actually.

ive never seen anything in los that matches these toilets so it never worrys me.

there was only one time in los that made me puke when some scanky backpacker crapped in the water basin.

cricky's punters,

i remember the thai girl had to clean it out and she was going absolutely beserck as it was a real shocker.

[tutsiwarrior]

ive travelled all over india 3 times and have travelled through china earlier this year.

some of the dunnies in india you just dont want to know about and i actually chucked up in one of them.

public chinese toilets have to be seen to be believed as well and everybody is there having a great old chat.

quite funny actually.

ive never seen anything in los that matches these toilets so it never worrys me.

there was only one time in los that made me puke when some scanky backpacker crapped in the water basin. cricky's punters,

i remember the thai girl had to clean it out and she was going absolutely beserck as it was a real shocker.

he soulda shit in the hallway...fewer people would notice...

[brahmburgers]

...and soap in the washbasin. In my town of Chiang Rai, of the hundreds of restaurants I've been to, perhaps 2% have soap at the W.C. basin. Of those 2%, less than a half dozen have soap larger than a slivered almond. Perhaps noteworthy; muslim places tend to have soap handy, because they attach importance to washing up.

Perhaps most disturbing, is the Thai propensity for wiping with their fingers after a B.M. ....then returning to eat or cook food without properly washing up. Of my three favorite restaurants in town (each has meals for 30 baht) - two have soap in the restroom - a Muslim and a Taiwanese run place. The third is a Chinese place, ...oh well, 66% is pretty good odds.

[brahmburgers]

How about a donation campaign along the lines: Each time your at-home bar of soap gets too small to be convenient, donate a bag of 'em (incognito, whatever) to your local restaurant. You could donate a toilet brush and tile cleaning soap also. So what if it might embarass the manager - sometimes that's the way people learn.

Another idea: get some stickers printed up. Could have a picture of a sparkly clean toilet , perhaps underlined with an arrow pointing in one direction. Post the sticker alongside the establishment.

[Sing_Sling]

If this were a worry, I wouldn't have a place to eat.

You in Asia?

Sad, but true.

[Rinrada]

cant believe that 11 punters actually ENJOY eating in Sh*t holes...makes ye wonder

Would also avoid dumps ...shops resturants etc that stink of cigarette smoke as well.

Good news that here in Blighty it will be banned this summer so in future life should be "sweet"...

Looking forward to having a meal in a pub....(first time in about 25 years... )...argggggggg

[Dupont]

cant believe that 11 punters actually ENJOY eating in Sh*t holes...makes ye wonder

Would also avoid dumps ...shops resturants etc that stink of cigarette smoke as well.

Good news that here in Blighty it will be banned this summer so in future life should be "sweet"...

Looking forward to having a meal in a pub....(first time in about 25 years... )...argggggggg

Thinks you are a tad to sensitive for Asia! Living in Thailand you get used to it and tend to notice only if they are not dirty, dark and dangerous.

If your life is to be cheered by a smoking ban, I suggest you look at a new life for 2007. Lighten up for fox sake.

Anyway, who makes em dirty?

[Rinrada]

cant believe that 11 punters actually ENJOY eating in Sh*t holes...makes ye wonder

Would also avoid dumps ...shops resturants etc that stink of cigarette smoke as well.

Good news that here in Blighty it will be banned this summer so in future life should be "sweet"...

Looking forward to having a meal in a pub....(first time in about 25 years... )...argggggggg

Thinks you are a tad to sensitive for Asia! Living in Thailand you get used to it and tend to notice only if they are not dirty, dark and dangerous.

If your life is to be cheered by a smoking ban, I suggest you look at a new life for 2007. Lighten up for fox sake.

Anyway, who makes em dirty?

Jesu Cristu.......................Make that 12 Punters......

[Mighty Mouse]

I recall spotting a worker in a local chinese restaurant here in oz, sitting on the toilet, with door open , peeling spuds.

That wouldn't worry me too much.....I can't think of any Chinese dish that has spuds.

What does worry me with Chinese restaurants is when I can't see any cats roaming around the local area.

[terry57]

cant believe that 11 punters actually ENJOY eating in Sh*t holes...makes ye wonder

Would also avoid dumps ...shops resturants etc that stink of cigarette smoke as well.

Good news that here in Blighty it will be banned this summer so in future life should be "sweet"...

Looking forward to having a meal in a pub....(first time in about 25 years... )...argggggggg

Thinks you are a tad to sensitive for Asia! Living in Thailand you get used to it and tend to notice only if they are not dirty, dark and dangerous.

If your life is to be cheered by a smoking ban, I suggest you look at a new life for 2007. Lighten up for fox sake.

Anyway, who makes em dirty?

maybe a bit sensitive for asia for sure.

after all the travelling ive done through many country's in asia its got to be very hard core for me to even notice anything in los.

i think everybody should backpack india and then you know the meaning of dirty revolting toilets and hygene in general.

funny thing was, i never got sick, lost around 5 kilo and felt brilliant by the time we hit nepal.

the other 2 trips, i was ok as well.

my mate was vegetarian and he was the one that got sick.

go figure. ?

4 months in india will cure anybody of dirt phobia, if you survive it.

[Grover]

I notice in some thai public toilets they have a sign in Thai "please do not urinate in the hand washing basin" <deleted>

[Donz]

Ive seen a sh1t in the sink a few years ago in a public toilet in sydney darling harbour.

I dont think I have ever been to a cheapy resturant with a good toilet, they always were filthy here in Sydney.

But All the upper class resturants have had great ones.

[Grover]

I dont think I have ever been to a cheapy resturant with a good toilet, they always were filthy here in Sydney.

Probably clean before you arrived and did the damage.

Edited December 26, 2006 by Grover

[Mighty Mouse]

I dont think I have ever been to a cheapy resturant with a good toilet, they always were filthy here in Sydney.

Probably clean before you arrived and did the damage.

:D

Donz really needs to talk to McDonalds management about the state of their toilets. It's no wonder his girlfriend would rather eat at home.

[taxexile]

think everybody should backpack india and then you know the meaning of dirty revolting toilets and hygene in general.

too true.

compared with india , thailand is heaven , most people who have spent any time travelling in india have a good toilet tale.

heres mine.

one guest house in ladakh , the toilet was on the first floor above a barn where pigs were kept , the toilet was just a big square hole in the floor and you had to excrete through it , the pigs would wait expectantly and come snuffling around the hole as soon as anyone entered the toilet , their snouts were about a foot below , but you could feel their breath on your backside.

[wilko]

Although it is essential that an establishment regularly cleans it's tiolets, it is perhaps worth rememberinfg that the degree and speed at which they get dirty is down to the (FARANG) customers.

What is it with some people when they use the loo? Animals!...no worse.... even my rabbit can shit in one corner! and my cat.....

[taxexile]

and speed at which they get dirty is down to the (FARANG) customers.

i have never seen a "farang only" toilet in any retaurant or establishment in thailand.

[lingyai]

I generally try not to complain about thailand as there is enough of that already...but (of course there is a but)...yeah the toliets in many places are pretty bad.

What bugs me the most is the lack of soap. Ok so the bathroom is dirty but at least that is understandable, it takes work to clean a bathroom but no soap? It's just stupid not to have. Soap is cheap and it takes no work to put in a bathroom.

I remember MBK used to have no soap in their bathrooms. It was just unbelievable, it's not like they couldn’t afford it. Some times I will complain nicely to the management of places when there is no soap.

I encourage everybody to do this. Let us fill LOS bathrooms with soap!!!

[wilko]

If you can't see my point maybe you are one of those unfortunates who can't see the porcelain either...

[Mighty Mouse]

If there is no soap in the toilet you can rest assured that the owner of the business is English.

What gets me is that little rag they hang up on a nail in the wall and call a hand towel. It looks like a mechanics oil rag and finding a dry spot on it is impossible.

[farang prince]

think everybody should backpack india and then you know the meaning of dirty revolting toilets and hygene in general.

too true.

compared with india , thailand is heaven , most people who have spent any time travelling in india have a good toilet tale.

heres mine.

one guest house in ladakh , the toilet was on the first floor above a barn where pigs were kept , the toilet was just a big square hole in the floor and you had to excrete through it , the pigs would wait expectantly and come snuffling around the hole as soon as anyone entered the toilet , their snouts were about a foot below , but you could feel their breath on your backside.

Sounds like that might have solved the toilet paper problem too.

[toptuan]

My first exposure to SE Asia was Cambodia where I was shocked that a dog ran through the outdoor restaurant as I was waiting for my order. Now, at a favorite outdoor Thai restaurant, a mangy old dog keeps my feet warm on cold nights when I dine.

Like others, I judge a restaurant's standard of sanitation by its restrooms as well. I recently went 4-5 times to the fanciest newer restaurant in our town, where prices are about three times higher than surrounding establishments. The decor is spectacular (dramatically-lit Khmer sculptures on the walls, wood paneling, leather sofas in the lounge, etc.) The food really is tasty, and is served elegantly. It was worth it.

Until I visited its restroom last week.

I went for an unusually late 2:30pm lunch, and was the only customer there. After eating the tastiest vegetable & pork omelette I've ever had, I visited the men's restroom. There, about a half meter from the urinals were two plastic basins on the floor (wash and rinse)--yes, for the dirty dishes. The evidence was there--the dishes, too. The floor was still wet from the sloshing around, and the washer had apparently stepped out for a few minutes. It'll be my last visit.

The other thing I can't handle is a cook with a long cigarette (long on the ash-part) hanging out of his mouth as he woks your dinner. Observed once in New York City (Chinatown), and once in Thailand (last visit to those restaurants too).

Edited December 27, 2006 by toptuan

[toptuan]

P.S. Is Thailand the only country were toilet paper can only be found on your restaurant table rather than in the restroom?