Rendezvous

I can here for a music video shoot for tai Shan stubborn girls song and my experience was pretty awesome I’ve been here in the past and it’s a very classic Belltown club lots of local artists have played here over the years and it’s an OK little set up drinks are too expensive but the crowd I was with was fun

Used to hang out here years ago. Dodi was one of the bartenders (she had a bar in Frisco once-​whole other bunch of stories there). She would make you VERY strong drinks and then warn you if you couldn’t hold your liquor she would throw your ass out. Other bartender was a near idiot and an asshole. Forgot his name, but he may have never had one. Anyhow, used to have a blast here. Big hangout for merchant sailors and hookers with the Jewel Box Theater filled with grunges next door. Dense with cig smoke. Went a bunch of years later after new ownership and a remodel (Dodi now long gone). Still a lot of fun. Better than the 5-​Point.

Four stars for the theater venue and one star for the drinks.
I cannot believe the price I paid tonight for weak rum and diets from the well. It was $ 12 per double (which feels high to me, but I guess is the going rate in the area), but there was no way there were two shots in these drinks. I kept ordering them thinking I was just getting a single tall and thus would receive single tall prices.
My experience tonight will make me reconsider attending future events here. At the very least, I will not purchase any more drinks here.

Cool bartenders, and some of the best food around. Try the tomato soup with mini rice balls.
Live music is also a plus

Stopped in for drinks and a show.
The drinks were tasty and strong, pricing on par with downtown Seattle prices. Our bartender was attentive, even though the bar was pretty crowded.
The theater was tiny, but pretty cool. It had that intimate feel that you lose in those bigger venues.
After the show we hung out in one of the large booth in the restaurant section. I heard the food was decent, but the wait could be long, so we opted to stick with drinks and camaraderie instead.
I really enjoyed this spot, I’m looking forward to coming back again.

Disclaimer: Review for the bar only, since I haven’t seen a show here. Will update review accordingly, if I do.
Good ambiance, friendly people. Didn’t run into a single rude person, and this place seems like it’s got plenty of regulars that mingle and unwind for a casual, laidback sort of evening. The décor looks a bit fancy, but don’t let that fool you. This is an easygoing place.
Thing is, the food was a bit of a let-​down. My friends and I ordered two different dishes (the taquitos and the mac n cheese), and both of us agreed the flavor was «weird». The textures of both, and the chosen ingredients were unexpected. I suppose it’s a good choice if you’re easily bored with normal food, and if you like bacon. It seemed like half the menu had some bits of bacon in it. (Which I’m fine with, but the small, hard bacon bits in the macaroni felt slightly off). The prices for the food weren’t excellent, either, so I wasn’t entirely willing to order a second dish to try and see if I liked something else better. (The menu’s not very large, anyway.) The sliders looked better than what we had, though. I’d recommend trying those.
Drinks were good, but strong. A few drinks in (of the gin cocktails), my friend and I looked at each other and asked, «When did we get drunk?» Basically went from sober to Whoa a bit faster than we’d expected. So, ya know. Pace yourself. None of the drinks were that sweet, if you prefer sweet cocktails. More bitter, subtle accents. Good stuff.

Cool place. The bar has a good tasting beer selection and my friends liked their cocktails. The food I haven’t eat. I heard the devil eggs were good but the menu just doesn’t seem to have anything I would want to actually eat at a bar.
The theater/​band space is great. I will say you should see a show there.

Attended a performance at the Jewel Box Theatre a while back. It’s a small, intimate space in the Rendezvous with a stage. A bit worn, but they let you have beer and food inside the theatre, which is great! The space is a bit smaller, making it more intimate. Planning on going back later this month.

Cool place — probably the best service we’ve encountered in Seattle thus far on top of that! The bartender was willing to make the drink creations we requested at a really decent price — definitely going to make an attempt to stop back here before the end of our stay in Belltown.

This review is primarily for the Jewel Box Theatre venue, where we attended a concert featuring Wild Wants.
Room for 60 – 70 people with decent atmospherics. Not fancy, but well-​worn and comfortable. Mostly standing, with a few cushioned bench seats at the rear.
We bought a beer at the well-​used bar. Service was 4.0: immediate.
The ceiling above the bar is antique pressed-​tin.
Took a look at the eating area. Not someplace I’d go for a romantic dinner. Seemed good for small groups cruising the clubs. Very loud if a band is playing in the Jewel Box Theatre in the next room.
Bathrooms were cleaner than expected, though out of towels.

Ok, I must preface this review with the fact that this used to be my FAVORITE restaurant in Seattle. Seriously. I used to love it here so, so much. The food was so good, and the lighting was so dim. It was literally the best. I would always bring out-​of-​town guests here for a delicious drink and food (ooh, and, they make French 75’s, which not all bars do). The previous Mac and cheese defies description, but it was so good I would have walked miles to eat it. My mouth is watering thinking about it.
Anyway, I guess we haven’t had guest for a while, but the time came that we were taking a friend out, and I suggested Rendezvous!
We get there and it had changed. It was way brighter than usual (who wants to see other people when they eat!!!). There was some new décor, which is cool. Service was really slow, but this was always pretty typical, so whatever. We noticed that the menu was different, but Mac and cheese was still there, so we were relieved. Our friend ordered the beef stew. Oh my god. The new macaroni was so disgusting! It was made with undercooked pasta, and gigantic hunks of leeks. There was so much Cajun spicing dumped on there, and it was so salty as a result, that we literally did not eat it. My friend’s beef stew was, I think, supposed to be «deconstructed,» and was a giant hunk of shredded beef on top of puréed carrot and kale. She also didn’t eat. So, we spent $ 50 on food we didn’t eat. It sucked.
The waitress was super nice about everything, but our dinner was a disaster and I felt so embarrassed to have suggested it. We ended up taking her to Dick’s so she at least had something to eat.
We love seeing shows here, so we will come back for that. However, and I never thought I would say this, we will sadly never eat here again. RIP delicious Rendezvous! How we loved thee!

Once upon a time, there was a bartender named Dodi who poured stiff drinks at a union bar (Teamsters Local 8) called the Rendezvous. Bands like Pearl Jam rehearsed in the basement, Mudhoney shot a video here, and there was even a band called «Dodi» named in her honor. Eventually, Dodi left, and the bar was remodeled, but it’s still the closest thing in Belltown that evokes the early days of «grunge» in Seattle. Yes, it’s a dive bar, but in the best possible way. Drinks are strong and cheap, the food is solid, and there’s most likely a band or a show happening in the adorable Jewelbox Theater, located in the bar itself. If you’re looking for the real deal, look no further than the Rendezvous.

Performers were awesome here but this sound guy working here was very inappropriate kicking open the swinging door to the Jewel box theatre. Whether someone is standing too close to the door or not, you shouldn’t be showing anger outbursts kicking things when customers are around that could potentially cause injuries since someone could have been just walking past it. He was very unprofessional and was getting an attitude at the customers reacting to his outburst and looked like he was trying to start a fight with them. It seemed he had some issues with the sound people and was swearing alot and we could hear him complain and being angry. This place is chill and I would’ve definitely given it a higher rating– even 2 stars is a bit too generous for this guy’s attitude but I liked the performance going on so that’s why I’m giving an extra star. Hopefully he isn’t an actual worker at this bar and is just a temproary tech.

3.5 Why doesn’t Unilocal let us do halves?
The bar here is fine. I like the atmosphere, and the grotto downstairs is very fun (though this bar is pretty inaccessible for some disabilities).
The service is just slow as hell though! We came in with friends and wanted to eat before a show at the Jewelbox– which I love, see my previous review– and literally no one spoke to us. We ended up eating down the street, but came back for cocktails and the show.
Our drinks were not that strong, and for the price… well, they could have done better.
But again, the grotto is great. It’s a fun spot and a super place to gather your friends for a party. Room to dance, dim the lights, have a drink and get down get down!

A very average bar, with sub-​par service. I haven’t been to any of the shows here though. I might revisit the review after I do.

This is a weird little theater, man, but I like it. It was our last night in Seattle, and we wanted live music, and this place was really close to our hotel. So we figured, «all girl Ramones cover band it is!» Luckily, it turned out pretty good. The band was real solid and we hung out a little bit and they were nice.
But the opening acts were really awesome. Particularly the band called lazy animals. New buds, we chatted for most of the night, and really dug their sound. They were almost a mix of face-​to-​face and husker du. Melody and sincerity, and those aren’t things I usually celebrate in punk rock.
I guess I was supposed to review the club, but well you got what you got. Next time I go to Seattle, I’ll probably stop back.

This place is so hipster and chill! There’s like a performance area inside with a live band! Very nice! And good drinks!

I arrived 45 minutes early for a performance of an artist I was very much looking forward to hearing and, to meet-​up with some friends of mine. The $ 6 draft beer was normal and my conversation with the bar tender was helpful and fun so I gave him a $ 2 tip. I turned around and the other bar tender took another $ 2 from my stack of bills. That was very rude.
It got worse… the performer I purchased a ticket on-​line to hear at 9:00 pm, as advertised on their web site, wouldn’t be performing until 10:50 pm to 11:00 pm, 2 hours later than advertised. I learned from several of their regulars that the owner (s) typically did this to bring people into the bar to drink while they delayed them from hearing the performers just to make them more money at the bar. Again… how rude.
I will never go to this venue again. Bar tenders who steal money from the patrons… owners who have no respect for your time. Seattle has to many good music venues to visit. Avoid this one.

I am way too old for this shit.
My level of tolerance for disgruntled, tattooed from forehead to asshole, 28-​something people making alcoholic drinks as if it’s some unique talent like they’re shaking up ice while they’re dangling from the ceiling reciting Shakespeare is in the negatives.
These organs I have are the equivalent of a 90-​year-​old inpatient. I questioned that part for a while but things started to get real fast when I started craving cocktails of Metamucil, prune juice, and hot cereal as breakfast when I was in college.
I walked in already way past any desirable level of drunkenness and accompanied a friend to drink his Fireball. It’s hot in here and it’s cramped. I am surprised that with all of the noise around me I didn’t spontaneously crap all over the place. I think rolling in my own waste would have been a better use of time.
Rendezvous is completely not my jam but it could be yours if you’re in a dead-​end career, shed crocodile tears about not being able to hang out at bars every weekend, and walk out poorer every night buying drinks and condoms.

First time I’ve been here since their makeover 8 years ago. My what a change. I really like that the place kept their circus-​show-​Western-​bar feel to it. Kinda feels like May West will walk in at anytime, buy you a shot of whiskey, then attempt to get into your knickers. Also feels like David Bowie (from 1973) might attempt to do the same. It’s just got that kind feel to it. In fact, it should be rebranded: «Whiskey & Knickers», imo.
The back theater has a lot of pretty decent shows as well. Any given night there’s always something intriguing going on at the bar, outside or in the back theater.
Patrons here seem smart, savvy, fun to talk to and not arrogant. Getting to be bit of a rarity in Bell Town these days