Harbwr Brewery Tap & Kitchen — Restaurant in Wales

The Buccaneer used to always be our go-to eatery with our young family for our annual Summer holiday to Tenby. We loved it there. They used to offer a vast menu of home-cooked food at reasonable prices, with a buzzing vibe. As such, we were excited to see what the rebranded Harbwr Brewery Tap & Kitchen had to offer. Unfortunately, its completely lost it's pull factor as Tenby's best eating and drinking joint. Here's why...

Mid-afternoon, on Monday 16th August, shortly after arriving in Tenby, I stepped through the front door with my six-year-old son, while my fiancée waiting outside with our four-year-old and nine-month-old. On entering, we waited to be seated, as instructed to do so. "I'll be with you in a sec", said the Landlord. At the time, there were only five tables occupied. 15 minutes later, we still weren't seated, despite being reassured a further three times that we'd be seated soon. 20 minutes had passed. Still, we stood there waiting. The staff couldn't have been anymore disinterested in seating us. They couldn't maintain eye contact for a start, so they knew they were ignoring us. At that point, I decided to give up waiting and walk out, as indeed the young family behind me swiftly did, too.

Four days later, on the very last day of our holiday, we thought we'd give them a second chance. As such, we queued up at 11.40am - 20 minutes prior to opening - to join the queue outside, which already had two families waiting in front of us. At 12.05pm, we were seated and directed to our table. Our drinks orders were taken promptly by the waitress through a tablet-based ordering system, yet took 10-15 minutes to arrive.

45 minutes after our food orders were taken, there was still no sign of any meals. As such, my mother-in-law politely pointed this out to a surly young lady, who didn't take too kindly to this, despite stressing that my daughter was Autistic. And if by magic, our food then arrived! The pie was stone cold, the batter on the cod was rock solid, and the beef burgers were severely undercooked. At this point, my partner and I ate our respective meals regardless, knowing it would take a day and an age for them to prepare our meals again to a piping hot standard. My mother-in-law, however, wasn't prepared to let it go unnoticed that her £14 pie was stone cold. Again, said server with the attitude problem couldn't have been any less apologetic. "We've only got three chefs in". And?

30 minutes later, no sign of the pie that we simply asked to be reheated. Yet again, we're left with no choice but to ask, where it is. This time, the Landlord comes over and says that he has no idea what's happened with it, or why it's still not yet been bought back over. Instead, he offers to make one up from fresh, and take it off the bill. My mother-in-law only asked for it to be reheated originally, and by this point, she wasn't interested in eating the original pie or a freshly-cooked one, given all the faffing about we'd already had to endure.

At this point, the table behind us we're also complaining about a meal that was missing from their order.

Seriously, this lot couldn't organise a p*ss up in a brewery, despite actually being a brewery!

My advice? Go elsewhere. Especially, if you used to enjoy visiting when it was The Buccaneer. The staff have no customer experience skills. The menu is severely limited compared to what used to be available, and somewhat overpriced in my opinion, too. I felt like telling the long queue of customers outside waiting in the pouring rain, not to waste their time waiting, or indeed their hard-earned money. There are plenty of other independents in Tenby far more-deserving of it. Seems to meet like this place has got too big for its boots. It's a shade of its former glory. I dread to think how bad it is at a weekend.

Watch out for the the aggregated review rating, too. That's inclusive of the reviews from back when this was The...

HARBWR Brewery and Taproom is a craft beer lover's haven.

There was an absolutely huge selection of golden ales, pale ales and IPAs. All of these were available for purchase from the bottle, but only about 8 were being served on draught. The ones that I tried, however, were superb. Nuanced flavours served perfectly with just the right amount of smoothness.

The only food we tried was their chicken curry (I think this was one of their specials), and this was tasty and well-spiced (which is high praise coming from someone of Indian origin). It exceeded our expectations.

Staff here were generally friendly. One gentleman was very helpful in aiding my drink selection for the evening, and my eventual purchase of bottles to take away.

The seating area was sprawled out over two rooms and a central outdoor area. There were some neat curiosities dotted around, and HARBWR bottles completed the decoration. HARBWR had an excellent town-centre location, which was helpful when we felt the urge for a pre- or post-dinner pint.

The prices were, I felt, higher than average compared to recent brewery tap room-style places I have been to recently - e.g. £2.50 for a half pint from the draught, and £4.00 per single bottle to take out (which reduces if bought as a multipack). However, I thought that all the drinks I sampled were of high quality, so was willing to pay.

This place was a real gem as someone who is a fan of craft beer. The beers were superb, the vibe fun, and the location extremely easy to get to. Highly recommended to all...

This used be by far my favourite bar/restaurant to come to in Tenby. We have eaten/drank here multiple times a year for many years. Twice we have come here this holiday and both times we were met by unwelcoming, unprofessional staff with the most terrible customer service I've ever experienced (I have worked in customer service myself). There was one younger lady working (long brown hair) who was very friendly. She really stood out as being the only good waitress, which is just not how it should be. Simply put, we felt like a burden being there. Also, their new rule of ‘table service only’ is ridiculous. I wouldn't mind so much, if you actually got served at your table. Both times we sat for 20 minutes and had to go up to the bar to ask about ordering drinks, only to be told to sit back down and wait. I've never been to a brewery where you can't go up and order your drinks. I think all of the staff need to undergo proper training on how to work in a customer facing role. I saw one staff member roll her eyes as she walked away from an older lady who asked if she could see the menu for a second time having ordered and it been taken away. On top of all of this, the prices have gone up and the food is no where near as good as it used to be. I have seen other reviews where people have said exactly the same as me, so please listen to your customers and change the way things are. I have never left a negative review before but felt too strongly not to in this case. I will not be returning for the...