I am local to Tenby and used to visit this pub regularly, particularly when it was under previous management, however I started avoiding it after I was rather smugly informed by my ex (after the fact) that I would have been denied entry on NYE as he was in there and at the time the police had placed a DVPO on him for my protection, preventing him from contacting me and meaning that he would have had to leave if I had been there. As it was, fortunately, I noticed he was there on passing and made my own decision not to enter, so was spared the humiliation of being barred at the door in front of my friends, but it was horrible to think that I could have been persecuted/punished for something awful that was done to me. I didn't expect to meet someone who, whilst knowing very little of the situation, would favour the persecutor over the victim of domestic violence, but I've found it in the manageress of this pub, Kelly.
Some months later I reluctantly agreed to return as I was with a group of friends who wanted to go there, and got into a (non-aggressive) disagreement with my same ex (the order against him having by this point been lifted), which resulted in him storming off the premises. Following this, the same manager, who seems to have quite a liking for him, oddly followed my friends and me into the toilets; nothing was said at the time but I was later informed by word of mouth that I had been permanently banned for causing unspecified 'damage' (which no-one I know can actually believe, as at 39 years old I have never been banned from anywhere else, and am certainly not the type of person to go around causing damage to anything!). On questioning this with the management I was met with vague comments about flowers/toilet roll, and basically transpires that the excuse being used is that a friend of mine (not me) removed a fake flower from a display in the toilet area, then devolving to a statement of the fact that they can ban who they choose, which of course is their right, but I don't know why they would wish to lose the custom of respectable local people!
All boils down to the fact that this establishment has become very cliquey, with managers abusing of their power to action personal grudges, so that if you aren't in with their 'gang' then you can expect to be barred for no reason. This is also backed up by the introduction of a strangely limited 'loyalty card' scheme, with discounts formally given to the management's cronies only, whereas other pubs in Tenby with a similar offering open it to all regular pub-going locals.
On a separate note, whilst I have attended The Five Arches Tavern for drinks on many occasions, I have only eaten here once, for their Wednesday curry deal. I was part of a fairly large group and every one of us sent our food back in the first instance as it came out cold (for which we were compensated with a free round of drinks), then on the second attempt I was served the blandest chicken tikka masala I have ever had; it literally tasted of nothing at all! My companions were equally unimpressed and I don't believe that any of us have returned for food since.
With an abundance of pubs to choose from in Tenby, you can very easily find a better option for customer service, atmosphere and food quality. It's a shame as the building is nice and they provide a good live music offering, but unfortunately the management direction here has taken a turn for the bizarre. AVOID! read more