Famed for its Quayside music events, Weymouth’s Rendezvous pub has once again made it through to the final of the Great British Pub Awards in the category ‘Best For Entertainment’.
The landmark pub on Weymouth’s quayside won the accolade in 2017 and was also a finalist in 2018, and manager Keith Treggiden and the team have everything crossed for another win this year.
With three floors offering a diverse range of entertainment across The Anchor (ground floor), main bar, Rendezvous, and Dao, the ultra-cool top floor bar, as well as The Royal Oak next door, the venue offers something for everyone, including sport, live music, quizzes, karaoke and much more.
The five annual Quayside festivals also continue to go from strength to strength. Running over nine days, Rendezvous now has over 4,000 visitors each festival weekend, increasing tourism in the area to such an extent that Rendezvous and Royal Oak recently won the Dorset Echo’s prestigious ‘Contribution to Tourism Award’ for 2019.
Keith and the team are constantly on the look-out for new talent to perform, both in the pub and at the festivals; many musicians have flourished after a performance at Rendezvous including The Voice’s Lauren Bannon whose first pub performance was at Rendezvous, a home she has returned to since her success on the hit TV show last year.
Keith said: “Since we started our quayside festivals twelve years ago, we have grown to almost maximum capacity. We never stop seeking out new talent and we’ve built a reputation over the years that has meant we’re an aspiration for emerging acts. The festivals offer so much more than just music, it’s an experience, capturing the essence of British music, with beer and cider, gins and great street food.”
Rendezvous beat dozens of worthy entrants to earn a place on the shortlist for 2019, not purely for the scale of events that most pubs could only dream of, but its diversity, from Vera Lynn style sing-a-longs in its Anchor bar, to karaoke, Battle of the Bands, sophisticated ‘Tinder’ nights, and late night modern-day club music in its top floor Dao bar.
“We have a huge building that we maximise to its full potential,” added Keith. “It’s thanks to the dedication of the entire team and the loyalty of the town that we have done so well. We’ll keep on rolling out new ideas to stay on top of our game.”
Ed Bedington, organiser of the Great British Pub Awards, said: “These awards are the most rigorous of their kind for the pub sector and it’s a real achievement to make it this far into the competition.”
Rendezvous is one of just six finalists in the Great British Pub Awards 2019’s ‘Best for Entertainment’ category. The winner will be announced at a glittering awards ceremony at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on September 5.
Rendezvous
49 St Thomas Street, Weymouth, DT4 8AW T: 01305 761 343