Which episode opens with the hotel sign reading WARTY TOWELS?

Gourmet Night is the Fawlty Towers episode that opens with the hotel sign reading “WARTY TOWELS.” The sign gag turns the hotel's name into a comic near-anagram, immediately signalling that the evening will not go smoothly.

In the episode, Basil organises an elaborate gourmet dinner to attract wealthy and socially prestigious guests. His ambitions collapse when the chef becomes too drunk to cook, forcing Basil to improvise. He also struggles with a faulty car, a difficult menu and the pressure of maintaining the hotel's reputation.

The sign variations are a recurring visual joke in Fawlty Towers. Other episodes use formations such as FAWLTY TOWERS, WATERY FOWLS and FLOWERY TWATS. The lettering is not always a perfect anagram, and “WARTY TOWELS” is associated specifically with the fifth episode, Gourmet Night.

Gourmet Night was the fifth episode of the first series and was followed by The Germans. It is also remembered for Basil's furious attack on his car with a tree branch, one of the series' most recognisable physical-comedy scenes.