Reflections Cabaret: Halifax, Nova Scotia

My first review will be of the only no-labels bar in Halifax: Reflections Cabaret. This is easily one of my favourite bars in the city. However, it is also one of the biggest dives.

The same can be said about their bathrooms.

The bathrooms are located in the back at the left hand side of the bar. One thing that becomes apparent is that there is no real clear indication as to whether or not either door is male or female. However, after a close inspection, there are little signs that say so. The doors being open at all times don’t help. In this particular bar because it’s a “no-labels” bar, the lack of men’s and women’s signs aren’t a huge deal as there are often those of the opposite sex in any given bathroom.

I have taken advantage of this lack of restrictions and have been in the men’s as well as the women’s. So this review is going to be about both the men and women’s bathrooms.

First off, the men’s:

The great thing about the men’s bathroom in Reflections is that not only do they have 6 urinals, but they also offer 4 stalls. These stalls however, have seen better days. Repainted time and time again (which is currently black), these stalls have a significant amount of graffiti and sport quite a number of bumps and dents in the walls.

The toilet paper is not much better. Sporting the really big rolls of toilet paper, it offers a lot, but not in quality. The toilet paper is cheap one-ply; probably to cut down on costs. Also the fixtures holding the paper on the walls are falling apart. I put my wallet on the fixture and it fell off the wall under the weight.

The men’s bathroom also has ceiling to sink windows that are remarkably ding free. The bathroom has 4 sinks with two soap dispensers spaced evenly among the sinks. The biggest issue I have with the sinks is the lack of cold water. The taps have been purposely removed. When asking the cleaner, it is apparently to stop people drinking the cold water instead of buying it. So generally, when you wash your hands after using the bathroom, your hands are scalded.

The men’s bathroom has sort of a pungy smell to it. There is a constant smell of stale piss but also a smell of old alcohol. Not something I like.

The only really great thing about the men’s is that it is bright. But, the decor is something to be desired. With its purple ceilings, and broken tile floor it isn’t exactly the more gorgeous bathroom in the world.

The women’s bathroom sports exactly the same things decor wise with the same amount of sinks with no cold taps.
The biggest issue I have with the women’s bathroom is that it has 4 stalls, but one stall doesn’t have a door. So realistically you can’t use it. So not only do women have to sit down to pee, and it only has 4 stalls, one stall is out of commission. Therefore line-ups are out the door and can be upwards of 10 minutes.

Same pungy smell, same crappy toilet paper.

The only great thing about the bathrooms here is that they are serviced on a regular basis. There is a man that stands between the two doors, and checks on the toilet paper levels and washes the floors, sinks, counters and mirrors in both bathrooms every hour. He stays there if there in case someone reports broken glass or vomit and is quick to clean it. So although the bathrooms aren’t the most beautiful, at least they are clean.

Final Grade: C-