For anyone without a washer and dryer at home, laundry day can be unbearably painful—a surreal universe defined by fluorescent lights, never-ending spin cycles, and a perpetual lack of quarters. Enter the laundrobar , a laundry/bar/restaurant hybrid that rescues laundry-goers from fabric-softener-induced hell.

These genius establishments let customers pass the time in cozy booths sipping cappuccinos or craft beers and eating killer food—a definite upgrade from those hard plastic chairs and empty vending machines in a typical laundromat. Free Wi-Fi is de rigueur , and some laundrobars double as live music or event venues. Popular across Western Europe and a few enlightened cities in the States, they transform Sunday afternoon laundry from a chore into a food and booze-fueled pleasure.