Virgin Mary, mystical mermaids and fountains to rival Rome…The TikTok trend taking over Manchester’s restaurants
The Cut & Craft also boasts glamourous subterranean bathrooms (Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
I can’t help but wonder if the Victorian plumber credited with the creation of the modern day toilet could ever have foreseen a day when patrons would spend more time in a restaurant’s bathroom than in the actual restaurant itself.
But if you thought we had gone off the deep end in terms of oversharing, look no further than your TikTok or Instagram feed. Here, rather than reviews of the food served in Manchester’s best restaurants, your screen will be flooded with video after video dedicated to these dining spot’s incredible bathrooms.
The only thing is, the word bathroom or toilet doesn’t quite suffice. Like miniature art galleries, entering these spaces feels like tumbling down the rabbit hole, walking onto a film set or quite simply taking a wrong turn.
When exactly did a trip to the humble toilet become so glamorous?
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Swarovski-encrusted walls, golden seashell faucets, and walls lined with golden-hued mirrors perfect for snapping that all important Instagram story has become de rigueur in Manchester’s restaurant scene.
No self-respecting new restaurant will pass the test without at least some thought given to the bathroom experience.
The glamorous toilets inside Sexy Fish Manchester (Image: Manchester Evening News)
The ritual of visiting the bathroom or public restroom is not new, in fact the term ‘powder room’ originated in the 17th century . These spaces would be for well-to-do citizens to powder or freshen their opulent wigs.
Over the next couple of centuries the term would evolve to encompass spaces where women would go to touch up their makeup, in particular to apply face powder.
In the later half of the twentieth century to the early noughties these spaces would be utilised for a different kind of powder – but also places just to have a good gossip or catch-up.
Toilets at Sexy Fish have been described as the “main event” online (Image: TikTok)
Fast forward to present today and they have become one of the most covetable spots for capturing the perfect selfie and posting it to social media.
In Manchester, the likes of The Ivy, Iberica, Australasia and Cloud 23 paved the way, but in the last few years, the trend has gone into overdrive.
So popular in fact, one of Manchester’s swankiest new restaurants with the “best loos” in the city had to issue a plea to customers using its toilets.
The impressive ladies toilets at The Cut & Craft(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
The Cut & Craft, a luxurious steak and champagne restaurant opened in the historic former Manchester and Salford Bank building on Mosley Street in April this year after a major £3.5million makeover.
As well as boasting a spectacular dining space in the former bank hall, the bank vaults in the basement were transformed with lavish toilets.
The ladies loos include a huge mirror perfect for selfies, central basin dripping in gold and a beautifying area with make-up stools and perfectly-lit mirrors.
The “Polite Sign” requesting women spend no more than five minutes in the lavish loos at The Cut and Craft restaurant in Manchester city centre.(Image: MEN)
But the restrooms have become so popular, that bosses have now taken the measure of issuing a five minute time limit – to ask women to speed up in the toilets.
The restaurant’s toilet’s have amassed countless videos on social media with one TikToker declaring: “It’s giving classy chamber of secrets.”
For others it’s like “something out of a Disney movie’, and the restaurant has even jumped on the bandwagon, recently sharing a video of the bathroom on Instagram with the message: “AT THIS POINT, WE’RE THINKING OF ADDING THE BATHROOM TO THE MENU…”
Stars out at Cut & Craft launch pictured Bethany Georgia Smith (on the right)(Image: Instagram/ @Beth G Smith)
For some this might be all just a bit too much though, but its speaks to the role of third spaces and the impact of social media on how we interact in public.
Like others, I probably wouldn’t even bat an eye at someone taking a selfie in a restaurant toilet because in truth it has become part of the experience.
It’s a way of showing off a lifestyle, a look and, as far as social media is concerned keeping up with online trends.
Treating the trend with some kindness though, these spaces, especially those with seating and vanity areas, have become places for a good old natter, which for centuries has been part and parcel of nipping to the ladies room – whether you’re in a bejewelled bathroom or grotty nightclub.
Look a little closer and behind the hand dryer you might also spot Finding Nemo too.(Image: Manchester Evening News)
My point is, that while it’s nice to find yourself in a beautifully designed toilet with mosaics plastered to every last inch of wall space, dazzling marble, statues of another Greek god or ancient philosopher, you can probably have the same conversation in a Spoons, albeit without the photo opportunities.
And beyond all that, it doesn’t really do any harm, that is unless you’ve almost wet yourself through having to wait so long on account of all those selfies being snapped.
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Love it or loathe it, these plush toilets are here to stay and they’re only getting bigger, bolder and more unbelievable.
Below, in ode to the rise of these jaw-dropping bathrooms I’ve rounded up some absolute gems and thrown in a wild card for good measure.
The Ivy
The stunning bathroom at The Ivy, Spinningfields
There’s not doubt about it, the Ivy Collection Restaurants take their interiors seriously, and no truer is the statement true than inside their Parisian-esque bathrooms.
An assortment of cream and soft pink petals scrunched up like posh loo roll adorn the ceiling while powder pink stools, well-lit mirrors and vanity spaces create the perfect conditions for that all-important shot.
A weary looking statue of no fixed name anchors the space, and is complemented by wallpaper featuring exotic birds, butterflies and wild flowers – all of which work in tandem to create one of the city’s best Instagram selfie.
20 Stories
A loo with a view at 20 Stories Manchester
I have a rule about using the facilities at great heights – simply don’t. My vertigo aside, I’ll make an exception for those found on the 19th floor of No.1 Spinningfields. 92 metres up in the air, with the people of Manchester looking like tiny ants below, sits 20 Stories, the boujee cocktail bar and restaurant that’s provided the backdrop to many a social media snap. Boasting stunning panoramic views of the city from almost every side of the building, these are the ultimate loos with a view.
Albert Schloss
The toilet blares out some absolute bangers at the push of a button(Image: MEN)
For women, going to the toilet, or sharing a toilet cubicle with your mate is a given on a night out. Usually, it’s a good chance for a mid-night catch-up, and just a little breather.
However, a couple of years back, Albert Schloss decided to carry on the party, creating a mini nightclub in their loos. Visitors to the Bavarian-style beer cellar can discover a rave in one of the stalls in the ladies washroom.
The stall is kitted out with rainbow disco lights as well a magical music button, which, when you press it, sends the loo into full disco mode, blaring out the likes of ABBA’s ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!’, ‘It’s Raining Men’ and ‘I’m Coming Out.’
It even has two cubicles so you can bring a mate, though in truth I’m not quite sure how I feel about sitting in close proximity for such matters.
Sexy Fish
The ocean-inspired toilets at Sexy Fish(Image: Manchester Evening News)
As well as Damien Hirst artworks, giant sea sculptures, mini waterfall and iconic fish lamps, the queue for the toilet at Sexy Fish, which opened in 2023 steadily grew as diners we’re drawn like moths to a brightly lit neon pink flame.
Drawing heavily on the ocean theme, the restrooms have been fitted out with bespoke, mosaic-tiled walls. Made up of tiny squares, the pink and purple murals depict mermaids, jellyfish and a coral reef. Look a little closer and behind the hand dryer you might also spot Finding Nemo too.
The luxurious design touches continue with a hand-carved pink onyx vanity and gold taps, as well as the 1940’s ‘Coquille’ shell wall lights, which add a touch of old-school glamour to the already impressive restrooms.
Wetherspoons – aka the wild card
The Waterhouse Wetherspoons in Manchester city centre (Image: TikTok)
Look, they’re not obviously on the scale of the above in terms of decor, but what they lack in luxury design details they make up for in quirkiness, furniture and sheer amount of space.
Wetherspoons are known for many things, but let the record show that they also know how to do toilets. My personal recommendation should you find yourself in the city centre anytime soon is The Waterhouse on Princess Street.
Two rooms to explore, red patchwork carpet that’s seen better days and full conference-style armchair and table setup for those crucial toilet chats. If only the walls could talk.