Shall we go to the bathroom before dessert?

Would you go to a restaurant just to see its bathroom? This question may seem strange, but in Barcelona some of these spaces have become authentic points of interest. In fact, there are more and more guides about the best places to take selfies in a city's restrooms, especially in New York or London. The reason why so many people want to share the time they spend in the WC ---the #Bathroomselfie hashtag has millions of posts--- is another mystery of the modern era.

Let's start with the so-called influencer restrooms: in this area, one of the most emblematic is that of Bocagrande. This space has dozens of mirrors that allow playing with perspective, which can generate many discussions if the inexperienced photographer does not get the right angle. Although its popularity began years ago, when it still had a DJ booth and an analog photo booth, this room next to the toilets is still a trendy place. Its success is no coincidence: everything Lázaro Rosa-Violán touches turns to gold.

The restroom at El Nacional is also a classic on social media, with white sinks and mirrors with circles of light that appear on Tripadvisor as if they were just another dish on the menu. This also happens with the recently reopened Jacqueline, where the vanity mirrors are surrounded by peacock feathers. The Grosso Napoletano on Casanova street, for its part, opts for the Kubrickian touch of red screens that are a guarantee for selfies.

More mischievous are the bathrooms at Bodega Molina. The life of Julio Iglesias is exposed through pages of gossip magazines, many of them recovered from the Encants Market. The women's room is marked with two photographs of Tamara Falcó as a child hugging a giant pink rabbit, while the men's room is distinguished by a tennis racket and signs warning that "Julio is watching you and you know it." The background music includes La vida sigue igual, of course.

And background music is a recurring theme in restrooms. We see it in Paradiso, where the sound of jungle birds is heard, or in Catalina Gavà Mar, where an audio with Eugenio's jokes about cannibal tribes is played. Laughter, for its part, is the most common sound in the WC at Casa Gracia. Located next to an old armored room, it is known for having a donkey sink with a surprising penis.

The WOW effect is another important aspect when it comes to evacuating. Pablo Peyra's Feroz immerses diners in tropical luxury, while Enigma evokes timelessness with metal, resin, ceramic, and glass in a work of art by RCR Arquitectes. The award-winning washbasin at Alkimia, equally enigmatic and gothic, was conceived by Chu Uroz and External Reference. Meanwhile, the one at Pur | Impur, by Ingrid Picanyol Studio and LaGranja Design, resembles a Flash Flash from the future.

We must not forget that Federico Correa and Alfonso Milá's Flash Flash was a pioneer in designer washbasins, with colors representing the white of purity in the room and the red of (physiological) emotions in the toilets. The architects also designed Il Giardinetto, with a WC that transports us to French chestnut forests. Croma by Flash, for its part, is Llamazares Pomés Arquitectura's response to that sixties spirit, with green, orange, red, and gray bathroom stalls alongside a photo of the Flash girl without her usual graphic treatment.

Sometimes, however, originality is found in other aspects, such as gender signage with forks, mustaches, or inverted glasses, which challenge the little figures created by British Rail in the middle of the last century. Notable examples include the aristocratic photographs at the Avenir restaurant or the Guapos and Guapas at Bodega Solera. In addition, washlets toilets are also starting to appear, which, like those at China Crown, heat the lid before sitting down and allow you to play music while in the middle of business. The future, perhaps, was this.