Thursday 8 May 2008

Toilets at Savannah's Molly MacPherson's Scottish Pub as Cozy and Comfortable as the Rest of the Place

Molly MacPherson's Scottish Pub & Grill
311 West Congress Street
Savannah, GA USA
www.macphersonspub.com

Where is it?

The place has a familiar British pub setup, with distinct areas for the bar, dining area and games (darts, etc.).

To find the bathrooms from the entrance, walk to the rear of the establishment, keeping the bar on your left and the dining area on your right. When you near the back wall, you'll see a small hallway open on your right. Go down there to find the toilets. The men's room is labeled "Lads," the women's "Lassies."

What's it like?

This friendly tavern, located across the street from Savannah's popular City Market, boasts one of the best Scotch selections I've seen in an American pub and an impressive assortment of bottled beers. The pub grub is also pretty top-notch, featuring plenty of well-prepared standards and some more modern alternatives (ahi tuna, pasta primavera, etc.). The staff is friendly and the atmosphere down-to-earth and boisterous enough to keep the place humming but not chaotic.

The decor is that of a classic pub -- warm colors, lots of wood, low lighting. Conversations tend to bounce off the walls here in a way that adds a sense of activity and liveliness to the place but doesn't rule out quieter discussions either. It's a warm place and a fun, affordable spot to grab a drink or meal after walking around the historic district sites for an afternoon.

The toilets are equally cozy -- small one-bagger WCs with dark-colored walls and plenty of beer and liquor signs on the walls. Warm surroundings and somewhat removed from the main action of the dining room and bar to offer you a sense of privacy. Not totally, mind you, but enough.

Unfortunately, when the bar is busy, that hallway leading to the bathrooms often fills up with people waiting to use the loos, and in that case the noise factor can be a problem and make you feel more hurried than you'd like. In situations like these, I suggest holding it in (if you can) until the line dissipates. (I noticed it comes and goes in waves here.)

On the plus side, it's a clean environment. So clean in fact that I found a bottle of Clorox spray cleaner waiting to be used on the sink when I walked in. (Naturally, this immediately reminded me of lonesome bottle of Windex I found waiting on the vanity at Super Orient Buffet in Orlando -- only here, it looks like the Clorox does more than just sit on the counter like an ornament. That buffet wasn't exactly the cleanest of places to visit.) The toilet and sink were standard white porcelain but well kept and spotless, as was the rest of the place.

If I have to complain about anything (other than the on-again-off-again noise factor), it would be that the decor is a little predictable. Granted, it's a pub, and you want your pub toilets to be pub-like, but at the same time the place could take it to another step, like what the Pig n Whistle does, particularly in the way it uses that familiar decor items to create an offbeat, kitschy setting for the visitor. Then again, looking at the other pub toilets reviewed on this site, many of which hold low ratings, perhaps asking for more isn't the best idea at the moment, but here it felt like the place could actually try to take things to the next level but in the end chose to play it safe.

Also worth mentioning was the funny label atop the toilet tank, asking people to hold the handle while flushing. Perhaps the items weren't in tip top shape after all, eh?

Marks out of 10:

7. Almost an 8, were it not for that on-again-off-again noise factor.

Comments to the Management:

Putting the Clorox bottle away would be a good step (even if it's just on the floor beneath the sink). Also, consider what I said about adding a little more imagination to the decor.

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