to think that cafes could actually provide a toilet for the use of their customers?

[LadyBiscuit]

We have been on an elephant hunt today (there are 250 fibreglass elephants all over London) and I needed a wee when we arrived at Bond Street station. No loo there but I comforted myself with the fact that there were loads of cafes and coffee shops between there and Green Park and would be able to wee in one of them. No chance. Not a single one of them had a loo available for customer use, despite the fact that they served food and had plenty of customer seating.

So Pret, McDonalds, Starbucks, Katie's Sandwich Bar and Mount St Deli, shame on you all. It's rubbish not to provide toilets for paying customers (and I was desperate for a coffee but wasn't going to stop if there wasn't a loo - which I pointed out to everyone I asked so they didn't think I was going to wee and run).

I had to go all the way to Green Park tube where there are public loos and buy a really horrid coffee from the overpriced kiosk in the park. Which pretty much spoiled my afternoon to be honest

I thought all Mcdonalds had toilets

Didn't it used to be a legal requirement that places that sold food and drink had to have loos for customers? Or was that just in Scotland?

Depends on their classification, I thikn if the premises has A3 consent they need loos, otherwise not. Will check that tho, its been a long time since I needed to use my brain!

I thought places with sit in tables serving food & drink had to have loos?

No, it depends on the amount of seating. Plus there's the size issue; you cant have a toilet door straight onto a food area, it needs a lobhby area or big empty space around it I thikn.

Some of them were pretty big - McDs at Bond St is on 2 levels and the Pret at Berkeley Square has enough room for a loo. As does one at least one of the Starbucks. And Katies.

I couldn't go into a pub because I had DC with me and I didn't think it would be ok to do that. What are the rules with taking small kids into pubs here? I'm never sure unless I know it's somewhere where kids are welcome

I think most pubs are Ok with children these days, particularly in the daytime. Outrageous about such big places not having loos.

I'd really rather not take the DC into a pub. I wanted a coffee really and the ability to take it away once boredom had set in and pubs aren't really geared to that are they? I told every single one of them that we were going for coffee and cake elsewhere but actually we never did

Yes, I always thought that wherever food/drink was sold then toilets were a legal requirement..