Simplicity

Last night my awesome husband and I had a very nice date. We were extremely excited to bet going out and spending a little bit of money as we have been existing on a tight budget thanks to my unemployment. The perfect opportunity arose with Restaurant Week! Restaurant Week is an excellent way to feel like you are living it up on a budget!
We arrived promptly at 6:45 pm to Mercato, a small corner restaurant on Spruce St. The hostess told us our reservation was actually for 7 p.m. Well,you see, I am fairly certain I did not mishear 6:45 being that is sounds quite different from 7 p.m.... Oh well! That is ok, we went down the street a block to one of the Tria's in Philly to have a glass of wine before dinner. Here is where basic simplicity becomes my issue of the evening.
Tria is a lovely restaurant with excellent beer and wine choices. The decor is simple and extremely tasteful. With nice soft lighting it all comes together to create quite a relaxing experience. That is until you have to use the restroom. After settling in I excused myself to do so. This is a small place, as most city restaurants are, so I figured that even though I had never been there it should be no problem to locate the bathroom. After a moment, I realized I was wrong. I found two different unmarked doors, one on each level of the restaurant as the dining room is set a few steps above the bar. So I paused on the stairs and saw a waitress behind me. She told me the bathroom was to my right in a somewhat rushed yet polite tone. Now, I am CERTAIN she has answered this question about a thousand times. So Why on God's Green Earth would you not label your restroom??? I suppose it is something that doesn't fit with the decor? It can't merely be an oversight as my husband suggested. This makes me absolutely crazy! You are asking your customers to feel foolish, bumbling around in your way as you try to serve appetizers to the seated patrons. This is not hospitable. If you think it is tacky to write Restroom on the darkly painted doorway in the dining room, then do what Mercato did, and use another language like "el bano" or "la toilette" or even the adorably small word "loo." Want even less on your door? Simply put WC on the door. Heck, you could even paint those letters the same color as the door and it would still be better then a blank door. I almost walked into your kitchen, Tria, and in my opinion that would NOT have been my fault.
On a non-ranty note, we tried two excellent glasses of wine at Tria and then had a fantastic meal at Mercato. Overall, a wonderful evening.