Standby

Standby is Detroit doing a cocktail bar at full volume. Tucked down The Belt, the mural-covered alley off Gratiot, it's a dim, intimate spot that treats its bar like a lab — a deep, ambitious cocktail list, a James Beard-semifinalist bar program, and lately a food menu from Matty Matheson of The Bear fame. Reviewers rave about the creative drinks, big pours, and friendly bartenders, and as a night out it's one of downtown's easiest recommendations.

Now, the restrooms. The running joke in the reviews is how far away they are. The bar sits on one level, but getting to the bathroom means a hallway, a flight of stairs, then another hallway — one reviewer called the distance "quite comical," and anyone who can't do stairs should know that's the only way down. Nobody's trashing the restrooms themselves, but nobody's praising them either, and after a couple of those lab-grade cocktails, a multi-leg expedition is not what you want. Don't expect a quick in-and-out, and don't expect step-free access.

Great bar, inconvenient plumbing logistics — that's a coin flip. Standby lands at a 5/10 on Shooki.