The Rendezvous

So you first walk in and you realize this place isn’t like most. It’s a little funky and non-​traditional but it is amazing. The food is ridiculously good. It catches you a bit off guard how good! The macaroni and cheese is HUGE and probably the best out there. They have a grilled PBJ which is awesome (who knew?). But they have amazing salads and paninis also. This one is going to become a regular for our whole family. Reasonable prices, groovy atmosphere, and out of this world food. Locals call it «the voo.»

This has become my own personal version of a «Cheers» bar… only better. The Vous has a wonderful menu loaded with local products and super healthy food. I am particularly fond of the «house Margarita. I have agreed to be given the moniker of a «Margarita Snob», always ordering a Margarita wherever I go. I’ve tried dozens and very, very few come even close to the Rendezvous’ Margarita. I suppose some people take issue with the Vous ambiance, but it is basically a bar that happens to have good food. It’s got the feel of a hometown hangout; the servers and bartenders are super friendly.

We came here for lunch on a Saturday afternoon, it’s a clean dive bar with great food. The reason there is such a low review is because the service was terrible. The waitress was also the bartender, there were only about 6 patrons in the whole place not including my party of 4. The bartender was preoccupied loudly talking to her two friends, to whom she shared, «I came to work with the flu and got the whole town sick» which definitely made us lose our appetites.
We were not the only unhappy patrons with the service, someone at the bar ordered a beer and was ignored many times while the bartender/​waitress was talking to her friends, or cleaning the mirror or decorating the cash register area. We waited 15mins for our water, which never came and I had to go to the bar and ask for it.
Once we needed refills, we went to the bar and asked her for them and she said we could pour them our selfs from the pitcher… WOW…
It was OBVIOUS she was not worried about service. I WOULD NOT recommend coming here if you want to have a good experience with service but I will say the food is great.

Something’s always happening here: live music, bingo night, quiz night, karaōke, you name it. And even on a quiet night, there’s always Ms. Pacman!
Diverse menu. Friendly staff. Come here for a good time and good eats and you won’t be disappointed!

In to meet a friend, and grab a lunch. Not hugely impressed.
For one thing, the dive look (however allegedly intentional) doesn’t fill me with enthusiasm. Tables and chairs seem as if they were obtained at bankruptcy auctions and tag sales (seriously, they probably were), and if the crowd was made up of 50-​somethings in blue jeans drinking JD and boilermakers, no one would be claiming how «hip» it all looked. I appreciate clean places with furniture that doesn’t look like it was saved from the dump heap.
Looking over the menu, I see that a burger is $ 10. Never mind — I can get them cheaper at the Black Cow Burger Bar, which *specializes* in such things. (Heck, I know hip taverns in CAMBRIDGE where I can get great cow for cheaper.)
So I pop for a steak and cheese quesadilla, which sounds OK. Except what I get isn’t anything of the sort: it’s a steak-​and-​cheese mini-​sandwich, between soft pieces of bread reminiscent of hot dog rolls, with onions grilled to sloppy-​joe consistency. It doesn’t taste BAD, but I’d really like a quesadilla if the menu purports to offer quesadillas, and if they’d rather serve me a steak-​and-​cheese sandwich, CALL it that. Pretty damn tiny for $ 7, too, although it came with some inoffensive potato wedges, however much they’re about 2″ long. I suppose part of the «hip» comes in serving the food on those 8″ wide square white plates beloved of Food Network shows and tony Manhattan bistros.
After that, we don’t see the waitress again until we’re visibly getting up to leave — she spent just about all the rest of the time chatting with three people at the bar (it looked like she was doing double duty as barkeep). A glance around the room every now and then to see if anyone was trying to get her attention would’ve been nice.
Sure, the lighting is dim but not too dim, it didn’t take us long to get our food, I was waited on reasonably promptly when I arrived, and the music was louder than I’d prefer but not so loud as to be unable to carry on conversation. My friend reports that they don’t hassle you for nursing a drink and a bite in the early afternoons, and she’s wont to park there for the WiFi while doing school work … her hometown, in rural western Massachusetts, isn’t hooked up for Internet. (Other than us, at 2:30 PM on a Friday, there were a half-​dozen other patrons.)
Still, downtown Turners is full of taverns serving good food at reasonable prices. This experience doesn’t provoke me to recommend the Rendezvous over other options.

Been a while, service today was ambivalent. Specifically asked to have the soup first and then have the sandwiched made. Both arrived at the same time. So disppointed to have, what should have been a leisurely late lunch, feel rushed. Waitress offered to put the sandwich «under foil». For the first time I felt the need to leave a 15% tip and actually considered to not leave one at all! Won’t be back until I can sit on the patio. Very Very Disappointed.

I have no idea how people giving good reviews about this restaurant.
That’s why We expected to get good quality of service and food but got somewhat disappointed — poor service, bland food.

I want to just update my last post. I received an email from the owner apologizing for the bad service I received on my last visit. That meant a lot and goes along way with me. Thanks Chris for following up and taking care of that I’ll see you soon.

So, the first thing you need to know about this place is that it is basically a bar. The atmosphere has an authentically grunge feel. It’s not dirty but not exactly clean either. It’s a bit too forced hipster, not quite hitting the mark by trying too hard. There is some very cool artwork for sale on the walls which does help add a nice touch.
The menu is impressive, with many of the options offered with a vegetarian substitute at no extra charge. The nachos were solid, offering a nice pico de gallo and fresh black beans; the homemade guac was okay but then, I’m a bit of a guac snob so others might be more appreciative. The veggie burger was absolutely delicious — the bit of panko breading to hold it together was a nice touch. The potato wedges were so yummy — I could have eaten just a plate of those. My dining companion had the tofu steak which was a really nice option — he liked it but I thought it was a bit bland. A die hard tofu lover will enjoy it but it’s not for the occasional vegetarian. There were lots of other creative options that I would love to return to try.
The drink menu, alcoholic and non-​alcoholic alike, was rather extensive with creative options offered.
The Rendezvous isn’t exactly kid friendly. No kids menu with chicken fingers on it but many of the menu items are kid friendly and the staff certainly welcomed my kids.

Cool atmosphere. Get the pear and smoked cheddar plate, the asian slaw, and the not-​so-​dark and stormy. They have a great non-​alcoholic drink menu. The almond biscotti is also pretty good.

Whoa, am I in Brooklyn or Turner Falls? Stepping into this cool bar/​restaurant/​event space made me feel like I was strolling into a place by the Gowanus Canal in hipster-​haven Brooklyn! It was like a holo-​deck on «Star Trek»…I really felt like I could have been in Bushwick or some place like that.
The place had a low key vibe with mis-​matched furntiure and eclectic art on the wall. The staff was sufficiently pierced and inked and the service was kind but slow and forgetful. There was an extensive cocktail menu (I liked my Turner Falls Manhattan), plenty of local beers on tap and a pretty decent selection of food. And of course there were board games and such to entertain you while you were waiting for your food.
The pretzel was just okay but the roasted potatoes with the aioli sauce were excellent. My buddy’s veggie burger was spicy and tasty (although the spiciness was a surprise because it wasn’t advertised that way). My chorizo, garlic and flatbread was pretty good. It was a very generous portion. I think a little bit thinner crust and a little less cheese would have stepped it up a notch, but it was still good and I couldn’t finish it.
What made me realize that I was NOT in Brooklyn were the very agreeable prices. $ 8 for a great cocktail??? Thank you very much, I’ll take that. I think entry level for cocktails in the 718 is about $ 15 now so I was very happy.

This place is great! I love the atmosphere in this place, the lighting is always spot on, the music selection is the same. I usually get the chorizo burger that’s on the menu but I’ve recently been branching out in terms of what I pick here and let me just say that I have never been disappointed.
I highly recommend this establishment, in the short time that I have been living in the area I’ve become somewhat of a regular here. I’d like to visit more often, however my minuscule eat-​out budget will not allow it. Not that I have anything to say about the prices, they are very fair, I could just eat here every night if I made enough.

Yummy comfort food with a twist. the bartenders are pretty funny and they make me giggle all the time.
My only gripe: the bartenders won’t give me change for my laundry today and I’m very upset about it

This was a really good place to get food. My Voo burger was delicious and so was my drink. Beer selection was a little thin. They were out of quite a few varieties. The lighting was dimmed and comfortable, music was reasonable and not distracting. Good place to eat, drink and even bring a laptop if you’re into that.

I’ve missed coming here. It’s a great place to come mid-​day for work… quiet, good not annoying music, pots of tea, coffee, or booze as might be your preference. Great lunch menu. Lots of fun events here at night so be sure to check out the calendar!

We stopped here for lunch and were pleasantly surprised. Attentive and friendly staff, full drink menu, local beer, and fresh ingredients. I ordered the blackened fish chowder which was the soup of the day, and it was fantastic. There was very little fish in it, but they had told me they only had a bowl or so left, so I received the last of it. The flavors were bold and complex, with plenty of spice. If it had more fish, I would have put it in one of the best chowders I have had.
I ordered the Bahn-​mi Panini, which had grilled chicken, a Asian style slaw, and jalapenos on the side (which I gladly covered my sandwich). It was a generous sized portion of chicken, and filled with all fresh ingredients. Also the side salad was very fresh (no iceberg lettuce here) with a good mix which of local veggies.
The white buffalo chicken Panini was a buffalo style grilled chicken, with blue and ricotta cheese, lettuce and tomato. It was just spicy enough, and very good favors, with the chicken cooked perfectly.
We were very happy with our lunch, the service, and the atmosphere. It is a small, casual place, that has music events at night. We plan on coming back in the future to try dinner.

We stopped here for dinner after whitewater kayaking on the Deerfield river. We had the Gorgonzola flatbread which was absolutely yummy. I had the Meatloaf with Caribbean BBQ or something like that… TASTY. Barbara had chorizo and roasted red pepper panini, which was good, but she wanted more red peppers in it.
The music was cool, I found myself rapping to myself because the selection was a mix of sample songs used by Dre, Fresh Prince, Snoop, and other songs.
Cool vibe, good food, super nice waitress, good prices. If you are in the area you should go here.

THE GOOD: Came to this place with family and had a good BBQ Cheddar burger. Couldn’t really taste the cheese, but I understand that Chedder Jack cheese sometimes does that.
THE BAD: On a Friday night, there was a skeleton crew working here. The hostess was decent. The waitress? Not so much. She seemed really confused, nervous and stoned. She took our orders, and I thought she was going to die of fright. When she came later to ask how our meal was, only I heard her, and I said «good»… she still felt the need to yell it louder to get a response from everyone… the hell?
Finally as she was cleaning up and the birthday crew (more on that in a minute) was adjusting their lights, she starts going off on how the lights are freaking her out or something… seriously… lay off the pot. Then when I wanted to get the hell out of this place, it was woefully apparent that one waitress was not enough to handle this place, and most certainly not this waitress.
THE UGLY: This place is the DEFINITION of a local watering hole. If that’s your thing cheers. However, for a restaurant that feels they can get away with having one waitress on a Friday night, you can tell the size of the place. So, they rent the place out for some people to have a 50^th birthday party there… ummmm… I don’t want to have anything to do with this, but due to the small confines of the place, it’s basically thrust onto me. I have literally never felt so uncomfortable in my life, I couldn’t wait to pay the check and get the hell out of there.
I will never go back to this place. If however you the reader are interested, I would suggest doing your research ahead of time to make sure there’s no events going on to upset your dining experience. If you are looking for a new local watering hole «where everybody knows your name», you may love this place. When looking at their Facebook page, a lot of the people pictured on it I saw tonight, so they are clearly regulars. or work there.

Came into the Rendezvous today for the first time and was not disappointed in the slightest. The atmosphere was quiet, laid back and the waitress was really sweet and friendly. I bought a chicken veggie panini while my partner bought a burger, and both meals were delicious. Both of us were actually surprised at how great the food was.
The Rendezvous also had great music playing and seems as though it would be a great place to spend the afternoon with a group of friends. Not a place to miss if you are looking for a chill and low key place to hang out.

Came to this place because of the reviews and they were right this place is good. I had the cheeky tart highball with sour cherrys which was good, they have a full drink menu with cocktails, local beers and wines. For dinner i had the Voo Pork served with mashed potatoes and asparagus which i like because they put pears on the pork.