We have heard of weird-themed restaurants where you sat eating in a mental asylum and had nurses and doctors serving you food, or spooky dine-ins where one ate a meal in total darkness. But London-based chef Tom Seller decided to go a step ahead and opened his new restaurant, Story, in the place where once stood a public restroom! Yes, right at the spot!

The talented chef offers fancy dishes including a ten-course menu in his glitzy new eating joint. And he is not alone. Only last month, another public urinal saw a makeover when Peter Tomlinson decided to build it into a snack bar and thoughtfully named it ‘Attendant Café’.

It is not likely that passers-by will confuse it with the place they peed at the other day, because this urinal was built in the 19^th century. Yes, the Victorians endowed it with some historic…piss. And so, the owner decided to respect the immense historical value, and retained many of the period features. The biggest ‘retention’ being the (hold your breath) urinals. No, you don’t actually need to hold your breath; the place has been thoroughly disinfected and scented up. But you might lose some appetite sitting in a cubicle that was once a urinal, or having your plate rest on porcelain that has seen much more than coffee and sandwiches.

Why the pissing business: sky-high property rates, and space crunch in cities. It is being seen as a cost-effective and space-utilization method, especially in populated urban areas.

How’s it doing: One month into its opening, and it has already become popular with many. The place is being seen as an attractive tourist spot.  It does help that the preparations are said to be exquisite, and despite the old-public-toilet-look, the interiors are just enough cozy and quirky to attract foodies.  True they say, when you gotta go, you gotta go.