DeLux - Boston, MA

DeLux - 4.6

DeLux is in Boston's South End, right of Clarendon St. at 100 Chandler. This classy dive is only a few blocks from Copley Square and offers food and cocktails that have no right being as good as they are for the price. Entrees on the ever-changing menu top out at $12, and it's hard to argue DeLux doesn't offer Boston's best Grilled Cheese.

Location: Once inside this narrow space, just head straight to the back past the bar and kitchen. Men's on the left, Lady's on the right. Couldn't be easier.
Grade: 9 out of 10

Accessibility: The only trouble you might encounter would be on a busy night. DeLux is long and slim and the area in front of the bar tends to get crowded. You might have to push through a few groups to get to the back and the bathroom. If it's a quieter time, you'll have no problem walking straight back.
Grade: 6 out of 10

Number of Stalls: The bathroom becomes the stall. The stall becomes the bathroom. This is it. Once you go through that door you're in and you're alone. There is a urinal but it was out of order on this night, covered with a heavy-duty garbage bag. Beware of a wet seat.
Grade: 3 out of 10


Stall Quality: Since the stall is the bathroom, you've got plenty of room to stretch out a bit. Further, the door lock works, so you won't get any uninvited company.
Grade: 6 out of 10


Toiler Paper: There was a fresh roll available during inspection, but it was unprotected and sitting on the toilet tank. This opens up the possibility that others have been handling the paper that you're going to use, or even worse that the roll has been on the floor. We like our TP safely encased behind metallic or plastic, on something we can just give a tug at when we need a few sheets. No good.
Grade: 2 out of 10

Cleanliness: This bathroom is not clean.
Grade: 1 out of 10

Scent: Nothing overwhelming in the olfactory department. That's not to say there was anything particularly good going on either. A little air freshener would have been nice.
Grade: 4 out of 10

Flush: We found a surprising amount of horsepower with this flush. We'd have no hesitations if it came to pulling the trigger on a big load.
Grade: 8 out of 10

Aesthetics: While having nearly every surface in the room covered in amusing graffiti does detract from the overall cleanliness, it also offers plenty of amusing reading material. That's something this critic always cherishes. Add that to the comic book pages used as wallpaper on a few of the walls and we're feeling even better.
Grade: 7 out of 10

Extra Credit:
The sink is located outside of the bathroom, next to the waitress station. -3

The Bottom Line: If you really have to make some room for the meatloaf special, this isn't the worst place to do it. More attention to cleanliness wouldn't be wasted and a toilet paper enclosure would really put us at ease about where that roll has been.

contributed by: Inspecteur de Toilette