Torquay Hotel
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Torquay Hotel

Located in the heart of the seaside town, Torquay Hotel is the place to be this summer. Just a short walk from the beach, it’s the ideal place for a drink, a delicious meal, and even a place to catch some great live bands! Forté chat to Torquay Hotel’s Andrew Routley.

Hey Andrew, thanks for chatting with us. How are you and what are you up to at the moment?
Hi, I’m great. Very busy with The Rubens, Schoolies arriving this week and the launch of our new Summer menu.

With such a great central location, what are you expecting for the upcoming summer?
Torquay seems to get busier every year with the population exploding and Melbs seemingly getting closer all the time. The weather now needs to behave.

You guys get some great live music bands which is a great thing for Torquay. What have been some of the highlights and do you have any bands upcoming?
We are fortunate to have a venue that can host a variety of bands and audiences in several different spaces. We are also fortunate to have a strong base of people eager to see these acts.
We have hosted some big names over the years that’s for sure. Acts such as Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly and James Reyne have been highlights as well as guys like Pete Murray, Donavon Frankenreiter and Tim Rogers. A great memory is of 600 people singing along to ‘Horses’ with Daryl Braithwaite!

How would you describe your venue? What sort of crowd do you guys try to attract?
The pub is multi-faceted with appeal to locals and tourists alike. Our food trade is strong all year round – I’d love to know how many Parmi’s we have served up in my 16 years here! Obviously different bands attract different audiences, so we try and cater for many genres.
I enjoyed seeing Credence Clearwater Revival the other week, and the mix of young and old singing and dancing along to some classic tunes.

The outdoor deck area is another awesome part of the venue. Tell us a bit about that?
The beer garden area is a nice big space that hosts our afternoon Sunday Summer Sessions.
I have James Reyne playing on January 8th this year out on the deck, and Absolute 80’s on the 22nd which has become one of our biggest days of the year.
Corona have got involved this year and have some great plans to brighten things up out there!

The weekly specials are a major draw card with your venue (burger night, pot and parma). Will these stay the same over the summer. In your opinion, why do you think weekly specials work well?
The weekly specials in our Bistro have become very popular. Eating out isn’t cheap! Unfortunately food prices are rising all the time but we have tried to offer affordable options during the week and the response has been fantastic. A Porterhouse Steak with a glass of wine for $18 on a Wednesday night is real value and people certainly vote with their feet!

Thanks for giving up the time to have a chat, do you have anything else you would like to share with readers?
We are looking forward to the Summer season, and wish everyone a safe and happy festive season.

Where: 36 Bell St, Torquay
Ph: (03) 5261 2001
Site: www.torquayhotel.com.au