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The Rema in Siman 178 brings the Halacha of Berachot when a person goes to the bathroom in the middle of a meal. He rules that when he comes back, he does not have to make new Berachot.
The Mishna Berura (Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin, 1839-1933) understands this ruling to refer to a case where the person was eating bread. He views this case as an application of the general Halacha of Shinui Makom: When a person left his location while eating a meal with bread, he does not have to repeat the Beracha when he returns. Going to the bathroom follows the same rule as any other leaving his place. Therefore, if one ate fruit, going to the bathroom would constitute a change in location and require new Berachot when he returned. All this would apply in the olden days, when going to the bathroom entailed leaving one’s house. Therefore, nowadays that we have indoor plumbing, going to the bathroom is not a Shinui Makom and does not require making new Berachot, even when eating fruit and the like.
However, the Halachot Gedolot rules that even when eating bread, going to the bathroom constitutes an interruption, even if the bathroom is in the same house. Since one may not recite Berachot in the bathroom, entering that space severs the connection to the original Berachot, and one must recite new Berachot when he returns.
At the other extreme, Rabbi Ya’akob Castro (1525-1610, Egypt) rules that going to the bathroom never constitutes an interruption, even when using facilities outside the house. The change in location is considered a natural part of the meal since doing so is a natural and necessary bodily function.
This difference of opinion creates a Safek Berachot, an uncertainty with regard to making a Beracha. In such cases, the general Halachic principle dictates to be lenient and refrain from making a Beracha upon returning to a meal after using the bathroom.
SUMMARY
One should not make a new Beracha when returning to eat after using the bathroom.
