Weymouth restaurant wins gold at South West Tourism Awards
It follows their award for best restaurant in Dorset
Weymouth's Pier Bandstand eatery have won Gold, for Restaurant of the Year in the South West Tourism Awards.
Al Molo on The Esplanade came first out of four nominated for the award sponsored by St Austell Brewery.
The other three were:
Silver: The Angel - Taste of Devon
Bronze: Cove24 Restaurant and Bar, Cornwall and Moose Kitchen, Dorset.
This has followed on from the Dorset version of the award, which Al Molo also won Gold for.
Co-Owners Tim Newton and Giuseppe Vannucci said:
"We were shocked when we won the Dorset one as we thought the other nominees were more community based and we didn't think we were as vocal, so we were absolutely surprised.
"This award, we thought the one in Cornwall going to win, so when we were announced, we were absolutely stunned. I mean what an achievement to be nominated and win restaurant of the year out of the whole region.
They said after the year the restaurant has had it's been uplifting to receive the award:
"Last year we were open in the summer, had to close in November and then in December was a disappointment as all the Christmas parties were cancelled and the one household rule put a stop to bookings.
"And then being closed from January, it's nearly been five months. But this, it's really brilliant having it under our belts ready for reopening.
"We actually had a report card back from our last one on how it was judged, online presence, social media coverage, being prominent on FB, Twitter, Instagram, the food, location and service and how we cope last year and how safe people felt in the restaurant.
"We did really well in all of those areas but the food, location and service is what we pride ourselves on."
Tim said they plan on celebrating the award when they can reopen again:
"We will have a little celebration at some point, especially to thank the staff for their hard work but it will be after the summer.
"When May 17th comes it's going to be as we've got so many bookings already."
ABOUT THE AWARDS
The awards were presented online on 22nd April, there were 76 winners that came from Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Bath, Devon and Cornwall.
Accommodation, food and drink, attractions, events and experiences all had their winners, along with those recognised for innovation, new businesses, sustainable tourism and accessibility.
Twenty five winners took the top Gold accolade, including a special Outstanding Contribution award to the members of the Great South West Tourism Partnership, who have dedicated so much of their time over the last year to lobbying for and supporting the industry during the most difficult of times.
There was also a special award for water efficiency, recognised as being of increasing importance both to business operations and the climate.
Jo Ecroyd, Customer Service Director of headline sponsors South West Water, said:
"We're delighted to be headline sponsors of this year's South West Tourism Awards. As a top FTSE business in the South West, we see it as our responsibility to promote and contribute to the regional economy, in which tourism plays such an important role. It has certainly been a challenging year for businesses, and we applaud all our winners for their perseverance in the face of the challenges from the pandemic over the past year."