Toilet seat dining in Taiwan’s Modern Toilet restaurant

Talk about quirky, talk about unusual, talk about funny, or talk about maybe just plain weird. One or all of the above certainly apply to a restaurant chain in Taipei, Taiwan that’s called the Modern Toilet. I came across this item on frostfirezoo.com, these eateries are so named because, and it had me reacting in two ways: one, laughter at the crazy ideas that people can come up with; and two, amazement that such crazy ideas can actually be a commercial success.

What’s so unusual about this restaurant? As the name suggests, it revolves around the theme of a bathroom or toilet. Not toiletries, mind you, but toilet furniture and furnishings. The chairs look like toilet bowls (I don’t know if they use the same in their commercial reception seating area); tables are glass-topped bathtubs; small plastic toilet bowls are used in place of plates; there are urinal sconces; and customers dab at their lips with paper from toilet rolls hanging above their tables.

The restaurants are owned by Wang Tzi-wei, who says he was inspired by a Japanese cartoon that had restroom images. It’s no surprise that his establishments are a hit among members of Taipei’s youth market who almost always bring their cameras to take photos of the unusual décor. Many of these customers come from universities located nearby. It seems sitting on a commode to eat a meal served in replica potty chairs or drink beverages held in mini-chamber pots do not take away customers’ appetites.

I guess Modern Toilet and other establishments that go all out in their use of furniture and décor, however weird the concept may be, will always grab attention and attract a following. Not everybody finds Modern Toilet to be a cool dining place, but many people are nevertheless attracted to it.