The Grove in Pembrokeshire

Booked a table for two via the website at 17.45 and duly received a confirmation text and email. Within twenty-minutes the table was cancelled by text and email without any apologies. On phoning to ask if there was the possibility of an earlier table the rude voice on the phone said they were booked up all night and there was no way I could have a table - no sign of remorse at all. When I explained that I’d booked on the website earlier and asked if they knew the website was taking bookings he denied it was. When I explained I had the evidence in the form of the emails and bookings, he said “we’re short staffed, and I can’t help you” and hung up the phone. At every stage in the conversation I was reasonable, even-voiced and courteous. All I got in return was exasperation, no apology or “I’m sorry you were let down. On behalf of the Grove can I apologise, we hope that you come and visit us another night”. I am local to St Davids - visit often when I work in the area and will be sure to tell everyone I meet about the attitude. Of course computers make mistakes and tables get double booked. How we in the public facing positions (as I am) handle them are the mark of the establishment. First, phone to apologise don’t send an automated text or email - after all you want to draw in customers not drive them away. Second, if a customer contacts you after a mistake has been made then listen courteously and not with exasperation. Thirdly, apologise on behalf of the restaurant (good customers know it’s unlikely to be your personal fault). Fourthly, try to offer a solution (can I book you in for another night, would you like me to recommend some other local eateries you could try). Finally REMEMBER you are the ambassador for that business at that moment - future business rests in your hands!

Stayed the night here. Lovely stay with our dog. Warm comfortable room. Lovely and rustic with a fire, stone wall. Comfy bed with soft white bedding. Really pleasant staff here who are so welcoming. We had dinner here on two nights with two friends and three dogs. Good food and good gluten free options. Would love to stay again. Great choices for a reasonably priced breakfast. Many thanks to the friendly staff

I haven't lived in South Wales for a while, so this was my first visit to a Brains pub post the Marstons takeover. I was aware that the Grove had been a flagship Brains hotel, so I was intrigued to see it. I have no idea what is going on there at the moment, but AVOID. There is mention of the pub closing after Easter for 'essential maintenance' and they're offering 30% off all main meals everyday. Despite the discount offer, I was the ONLY customer in the entire pub. The draught beer is all off because the "cellar is too far away from the bar". There is a very pleasant and professional eastern european guy there who appears to be the GM, and is desperately trying to hold it all together, but it has clearly lost it's way. There is a static caravan in the car park and a completely incongruous pool table in the middle of the restaurant. I felt that I would be asking for trouble if I tried the food, so I ate at the Premier Inn!

I brought a group of 30 people on a church outing I was reading to the Grove Hotel for an evening meal arranged in advance. Everything worked very well and nothing could’ve been too much trouble. The staff were very friendly and accommodating and our group had a very good time. Thank you!

Lovely room, could do with an update Breakfast was cold and inedible Wouldn’t recommend

A warm friendly welcome from bar staff. A great selection on the menu. We enjoyed a delicious meal. Would definitely go back the next time we’re in St David’s and recommend the hotel to others.

Absolutely magical they went above and beyond and santa couldn't have been any better with the kids fave them so much attention and made everything Absolutely magical thank you so much x

Really lovely hotel, very clean and our room was larger than expected. Super friendly and helpful staff who made us feel really welcome. Great location, excellent breakfast; I'd absolutely stay again

This place has such potential but unfortunately the food was just not great, staff are lovely and really helpful, really is only the food that let them down.

Great welcome on our “late” arrival for an overnight stay, pleasant atmosphere & friendly banter from staff, awesome breakfast, staff really friendly. Looking forward to our 3 night stay over Christmas. Diolch yn Fawr.

Well what a beautiful place, Was greeted by a lovely Gentleman called Derek who went above and beyond to make us feel at home and he did it with bells and whistles,, Decided to stay for lunch and it was Gorgeous and dog friendly which is a bonus, highly recommend this place for food...A***..Thankyou Davies Family 😊

That Cauliflower salad was delicious! Nice place and dogs are allowed inside

We do not recommend this hotel. The first room stunk of wet rot, the second room, (newly decorated) had mould on the bathroom window, which had been there for weeks if not months.

I have never posted a poor review before but this hotel is under staffed, tired and dirty. The food was awful. I dont blame what staff there were, I blame the owners - Marstons. I am trying to be generous with my star rating. I have tried to call back twice as per the response but the phone just rang off - no staff, I guess!

Excellent service from Kara very pleasant and helpful in discussiing our requirements

Great food. Great value. Friendly staff. Could do with the back door remaining closed for comfort but great after other customer closed it!

We originally booked for 6pm but called in to rearrange for 5pm. No problem. We arrived just before 5. One other couple in front of us. Drinks served with a smile. Food ordered and came quite quickly. Delicious. Steak and cod both cooked very well. We would have had dessert but we were too full. Restaurant was quiet but that’s to be expected around that time. We thoroughly enjoyed our food and the peace.

The worst Sunday lunch I have had in a long time! We arrive early for lunch time, to be told no pigs in blankets and no half chickens. The decaf coffee is from a sachet but charged at premium price, my girlfriends vegetarian meal came out with meat gravy and the standard of the food was a disgrace no mashed potato even though it's advertised as part of the meal although the thimble amount of gravy would have made eating the microwave stodge unbearable .Frozen everything. Everything tasted like water. Absolute waste of money. SACK THE "CHEF" AND BIN THE MICROWAVE. JOKE OF A PLACE.

The beef was so over cooked it was tastless and I think everything else on the plate was frozen from the veg to the roast potatoes. Staff nice but food was not good at all.

Food was absolutely appalling. We were a group of four and all four meals were awful. Soggy scampi, cold hard peas and chips still frozen. Chilli portion was literally a tablespoon serving. Steak pies tepid. When complaining the waitress informed us that everything was brought in and nothing was made or prepared in the kitchen, basically just warmed up. Which a joke as our 'food' was cold. Food poisoning venue. I would not recommend eating there.

Such a shame to build up a good name for a company with your own hands to see it crumble back down to what it was.

Lovely hotel and restaurant, the owner was under a lot of pressure due to staffing issues but served us promptly. Food was good too

Loved it here. The food, pur room and especially the staff. Fantastic and friendly people xx

Just had drinks, but other people food lookednice

The food was excellent and so was the service. We liked it that much we came back 4 days in a row , and as for the sticking toffee pudding was the best I've had in a long time so much so they made sure I could take some home with me . You guys are amazing

Very friendly staff, lovely garden.

Booked in advance online - all good Staff were polite & friendly Food was cooked well & good value Service was quick & attentive

The staff was very helpful and friendly,food very 🔥,drinks perfect,there is seating areas inside and outside. Absolutely 💯 % give it a visit if you want somewhere else other than McDonald's!!!

I wouldn't recommend eating here

Tough steak Never had warm cheesecake with no biscuit base before.Not told of daily promotion and the display card for this was not visible on the bar Inattentive staff. Had to clear our own table! In the busiest time of the holiday season it was nearly empty in the Grove so there was no excuse for any of this. Wright is the name booked through your system

Bar service poor I gave up and went to the Cross Hotel. I only wanted a pint of lager.

The staff at the Grove did a fantastic job of catering for our large group at short notice. All we had to do was provide our food order 24 hours in advance. We were delighted to be served promptly and with a smile. Thank you!

Booked for a friend's birthday, great steak reasonable priced.

Friendly and welcoming staff. Short staffed but waitress worked exceptionally hard and provided great service

Turned up windswept and soaked from the rain and was refused food service even though the kitchen was still open for another 10 minutes. Disappointing.

Lovely staff here, we were very well looked after

Spent one night at Grove hotel, room was lovely and clean, and the staff at the bar and restaurant were very friendly. Was a lovely relaxed atmosphere. We enjoyed our stay very much

Called here on spec looking for a nice meal. Staff were really helpful and friendly and worked hard to accommodate us and my little dog! Food was excellent, we both had gammon and a sherry trifle cheesecake to follow, all very nicely served.

The place was very quiet despite a sign on the door to say a pre booking is required. Service was quick and the food was good. The price was very cheap.

We made a big mistake booking the Grove! Arrived 10 mins before food was finished but still told we couldn’t eat, this didn’t really matter as we were very tired so just wanted to sleep. The room we were given was horrendous, black mould spots around the windows in both the bedroom and bathroom. Paint flaking off the walls in numerous places and the smell was like an old church. There was what looked like blood on the bathroom door, the carpets were filthy and sticky, the bedding was clean but the mattress underneath smelt so bad I had to sleep on top of the duvet. No locks on bathroom door but that didn’t matter as it had swinging saloon style doors which you could see straight through to the toilet and shower. Next morning we asked to speak to the manager but was told they were busy, I asked if we could change rooms but was told they were all full. We checked out and found a really nice place just down the road. It took almost one month before we received our refund from this place! Even after we were assured by them that they’d issue the refund within days, they then started to ignore our calls and emails. It took us going to the parent company before anything got sorted. I would NEVER consider returning.

Very friendly staff and great food.

The Grove is under new management and you can tell. Our daughter had her wedding reception here this week. It was a beautiful wedding and the Grove team went far above and beyond to make everything absolutely perfect. Fantastic decorations and the warm welcome, service and food was exceptional. I thoroughly thoroughly recommend that anyone considering a wedding venue in this area consider the Grove. Every single wedding guest said the same thing. Huge thanks and congratulations to Derek, Tatiana and the entire team for making the day better than we could have hoped for. (mother of the bride).

Absolutely shocking! Myself and my sister ordered steaks on different orders, my sisters order came out 5mins before mine she cut into the steak and it was rare and she asked for medium rare she sent it back to be re done in this time my steak came out I cut into it and it was well done, which was ordered rare, when my steak came back out the chef had re cooked my sister steak she sent back and put it on my plate upside down so I couldn’t see the original cut mark that my sister had made in her steak, I asked for a refund as they had give me food off someone else’s plate! my sisters food didn’t come out until we were ready to leave! She asked for a refund and was spoken to horrifyingly by the manager and he made her cry presenting her with a meal that was no longer wanted as we had 4 children with us and they had finished their food already which was mediocre. Poor food, poor customer service, poor service.

Family of 4 ate here and it was a lovely experience. We all had 3 courses and the food was great. Service was fantastic, all of the staff were helpful and friendly, even supplying entertainment for the children whilst we waited for our food which wasn’t long. Would definitely recommend. Thank you for a great time.

A very rainy day with two family groups. We we were warned about some staff shortages but we were still accommodated with the kitchen and waiting-on staff doing all they could. Really friendly atmosphere and good quality pub grub. Thank you Grove team

Nice place but are not geared up for peak dining times. They just stop taking orders for half an hour as the kitchen cant cope. In garden area huge loudspeaker blaring out Radio Pembrokeshire. Couldnt hear ourselves above the din. Not great.

The staff here are so lovely and accommodating. We had a small issue with our room, and they were really quick to rectify the problem. The garden is lovely too. Would 100% come here again.

Lovely homemade beef lasagne washed down with a fine pint of Welsh ale.

Just called in on the off chance of a Sunday dinner, no problem. Enjoyed the meal and the drink

Tired dirty, hotel. Misleading pictures. Tiny bed, filthy bathroom mould everywhere, lounge seating area smelly with filthy seats, lunch had a hair in it, Maun staff pleasant enough, but not clean enough standards very low, very expensive for a very rundown filthy stay. Never again!

Excellent place to spend a Friday afternoon/evening. Very friendly welcome and helpful knowledge when questioned on drinks. Garden is superb in the sun, it’s huge and a really nice place to enjoy a cold drink. Highly recommend.

Easy to book a table on line. Very helpful staff and we enjoyed the restaurant area

Great location and nice looking from outside. I agree that places are struggling to keep going with upkeep etc but the hotel generally needs some TLC. We paid £100 for 1n at the hotel midweek at the beginning of July. Breakfast not included. Allocated room 1 - shabby room and bathroom- just needs tobe painted and updated. On positive note - lovely toiletries provided and new, white bath sheet/towels in there. Lady in reception and behind bar - very chatty and polite. Gentleman who took over her shift and dealt with us at dinner - not as efficient. Dinner in restaurant was good - but the tables were very sticky. I got wet cloth from bar to wipe it and after doing so - the tables on either side asked to use it to wipe their tables! Breakfast was ok - one Welsh and one softly poached eggs on toast. The latter came hard - and before I had begun to eat, the helpful lady from day before whisked it back to kitchen. Her response to me was the chef thanked me for the practice - doesn’t get asked often for poached eggs! The fresh fruit selection on the sides was very disappointing. Overall, not bad but could be so so much better with some attention .

The moto says it all: great food, great atmosphere and great music. Went there 3 nights and wasn't a disappointment once. Halloumi fries were particularly good

We were very disappointed with the knowledge of the bar staff about the drinks available. This would have been acceptable as everyone has to start somewhere, but it was followed up by an extended delay to receive our meal (over 30 mins) which was not explained in advance or apologised for. Then the meal itself - 2 steak and ale pies. They have to be the worst such pies we have ever had (& we’ve eaten quite a few!). Despite the menu saying the pie is filled with “tenders chunks of beef, mushroom and a rich ale gravy”, the pie was dry, there were no beef or mushroom chunks in one of the pies, the pastry was much too thick, and had absorbed whatever gravy there was. It was an extremely disappointing meal.

The food was simply awful. I had the vegetarian Sunday roast, I was told that there were only a few vegetables left, broccoli, cauliflower and peas. However the vegetarian Wellington was mostly all flaky pastry which was inedible there was hardly any filling. This filled up most of my plate which left hardly any room for the veg and reheated today potatoes with no gravy or Yorkshire pudding. I went home hungry. My husband's meal was no better his medium sirloin steak had visible burnt fat. The steak was hard and well overcooked. Not even his chips were nice enough to eat. We did see several meals returned to the chef while we were there. These included 2x chicken breasts where the guests had hardly eaten anything, the chicken looked very dry to me. And, 2 other steak dishes which were also very overcooked. My daughter's did enjoy their very expensive small dish of Mac and cheese with chicken popcorn.

The staff were nice enough but the place feel’s tired. Food ok. Might be time for a makeover.

The Grove has been for many decades a place of family, celebrations and get togethers. St Davids is a special place and sadly The Grove is now out of date, tatty, unloved, and the food billy basic. .the menu needs a complete review and a spot of magic to bring it up to contemporary expectations...in everyway. That said, staff went over and beyond in helping, clearly they are aware change needs to happen...they are the key. Dear Owners, all the best transforming this place. It needs a whole ton of love.

Only a couple of people in but the music was a good level and the staff friendly

Lots of ambience. Dearest pint of lager in St. David's so far. Had one drink of Heineken £5.45, caught the bus to Solva, just down the road, pint of Carlsberg lager £3.75.

Gutes Bier, alte aber saubere Zimmer, sehr nettes Personal, gutes Frühstück - würde wieder gehen.

Had a Sunday lunch in the Grove which was delicious, I opted for the cauliflower tart and my husband had the beef dinner, he upgraded his to a go bigger dinner, loads of beef, veg and extra gravy, i pinched the extra Yorkshire pudding. Staff were very pleasant, helpful and smiling, nothing was too much trouble for them. Will be returning. Thank you very much for a very enjoyable Sunday lunch.

We didn't opt to have any food as there are nicer places to eat in St David's. Our room was very basic but functional, there was however a strong smell of damp on entering the part of the hotel where we stayed.

A terrible experience my party of four had today at the Grove. Cobwebs on the ceiling, dirty cutlery, had to ask how much longer food wud be as waited nearly an hour. Food came and was awful, my son had two dead flies on his plate, our basket of chicken popcorn had an uncooked raw piece of chicken in it. One bagette was like a brick the other was hardly cooked. The chips were coverdd in black bits where they had been cooked in a dirty fryer. The table was so sticky the napkin stuck to it when we tried to lift it up. All in all a terrible time we had. Wud not recommend. Have given one star as zero star wasnt an option.

Great pub, great food. Helping the guys that the premier inn turned away.

Stayed last Sunday and it was probably one of.the.worst places I have ever stayed...The Manager had the interest and personality of somebody who.wanted to pack it in.Three times ordered tea for breakfast before I got it,pancakes had to be sent back as werent cooked ,croissants were hard,no fruit or berries and they got my wifes breakfast wrong.The girl working there was very pleasant and that was the only pleasant experience we found. DO NOT GO THERE.

Excellent Sunday roast and equally excellent customer service

Very friendly staff.. Great food at very affordable cost.. Clean warm quiet and welcoming..

Brains could do with spending a bit on the frontage decor and upstairs

A very poor quality 'steak and ale pie'...hard, thick crust, small congealed content. Suggests the absence of a competent cook/chef.

Lovely staff, friendly and helpful, good deal on the starters, as we only popped in for a quick drink and nibbles.

My husband and I recently stayed here for the weekend, what a great place, the food was excellent and also a nice comfy bed, ideal place for a short stay. The staff were very accommodating, the breakfast was brilliant, plenty of it! We'll definitely stay here again when we come 'down west' again! We were informed that you were having a refurb soon, hope it goes well.

We chose the Grove because seemed more reasonably priced than some of the other pubs in St David's. Being on a family holiday value for money is very important. We were greeted warmly by the manager and showed us to our table, we ordered drinks and I must admit the beer was excellent! All our drinks were served with a smile by the girl behind the bar and being quite full she coped really well with no wait even though she was alone. We ordered food and she informed us that there may be a wait as there were eight in our party this was not a problem. Our food was served in good time and was hot and presented well. We all really enjoyed our meals and drinks and had a lovely evening. One little niggle was the gravy was a little thin for one of our group but the Manager changed it immediately so all was fine! I would highly recommend the Grove if you are looking for a value for money meal, so much more affordable than the other offers in St David's!

The staff were welcoming, and the room was clean. Owing to a relatively new owner and staff, things did not always run smoothly or quickly. Breakfast was limited and not particularly good. A good try, I think, but a way to go. Good luck with it all.

We stayed for two nights at the Grove in St. Davids. We were served very well, the room was clean and everything was there which should be there. The only thing I would worry about as the owner is all the crows that nest in the trees around and in the park of the hotel and not only make a lot of noise but also a lot of droppings. In any case, one should not put the car under the trees and even those who want to dine outside in the garden are exposed to a certain risk of "flying mines". This is a pity, because the hotel itself is enormously pleasant, you eat very well and the guys and gals know something about their job. It's a place where you always like to come back.

Table for 6 persons booked for 7pm. Other guests arrived much later than us were served their meals before us. The standard of food was very poor - particularly the steaks but overall the meal did not look appetising and 3 meals were returned. My meal of steak was over cooked and very tough to cut and chew. Without doubt one of the worst meals I have ever had - utterly disgraceful.

Back garden very nice . Eaten there twice mix grill very nice but had stake and ale pie ... pastry very hard was it microwaved??? . But over all very nice place

Lovely stay in a nice big room attached to hotel. Parking so easy to get around Nice pub too Most of all very friendly staff

We settled on the Grove Hotel after browsing other spots for some Lunch. When ordering food we were informed there would be a 30 minute wait on food as they only had one chef today... After an hour we complained and were told our food would arrive any minute now... After waiting a total of an hour and a half the food finally arrived. Some food was cold, some food was burned, some food was dry as a bone... it was just a disappointing mess after waiting 90 minutes. Tables outside had been left uncleared, other guests who had been given cold food had left food and seagulls were clambering all over it and smashing glasses and plates so we stepped in to limit the damage, no staff in sight. Overall a dreadful experience clearly exacerbated by a shortage of stuff but expectations should have been managed when ordering food... keeping a hungry 2 year old entertained for 90 minutes wasn't much fun for anyone.

This place has the best bet garden in town and if all you want are drinks I'd recommend it. The food however leaves a lot to be desired

I thought the bar lady was very friendly and very polite and the food was on time coming and the bar lady had very good knowledge of what drinks they had and that and she gave me a complainment on my dress saying it looked really pretty

Cozy spot in St. Davids to sit down and have a drink. We stayed the night here a couple of nights. The food was kinda dissapointing the first night we stayed but the second night it was excellent (They were very busy and doing what they could with the short staff they have.) The people there were delightful and very accommodating, seating us even though the restaurant was booked up. The room, however, was visibly dirty and smelled very harshly of mildew.

Didn't stay or eat, but had a drink. They were busy and service was good

Food was absolutely lovely and fair priced, service was nice and friendly! Chef was willing to cater the dish to my spice liking, absolutely lovely hotel. Would come again

Lovely couple of meals, no problem asking for different options. Not overly expensive by today’s standards. Plenty of space inside and outside to enjoy. Very welcoming, thank you.

Excellent location, friendly staff good food , comfy rooms , plenty of parking

Fantastic beer garden for the kids to run around

We ate Sunday lunch today it was awful we sent all of them back as they were all cold , microwaved and given back to us. Obviously not freshly cooked . A shame we were in the bishops yesterday it was lovely. This meal was a treat to my mother we definitely won’t go back such as Shame.

Just had a change of management has great potential, a great welcome not a ad mention

Apart from a large, comfortable bed............ the Grove is grubby and unkempt with paint missing everywhere, stains on the carpet and a general sense of decay and uncaring. The shower is weak and pathetic and the room is small, very hot with no fan (and...

Lovely staff and great food (and drinks)

We booked 2 nights so we could go to see puffins. The grove was half an hour further away than expected. Upon arrival we were greeted by lovley, friendly, helpful bar staff who showed us to our room. The initial impression was it was a bit tired and needed a bit of an upgrade. HOWEVER the staff were helpful, friendly nothing was too much trouble. We had an amazing evening meal. The BEST Mac\cheese I've ever had and a perfect curry. We were unable to be there for breakfast as we had to leave early so asked if it was possibly for them to make us a takeaway in the morning. Absolutely no problem it was readers at 8am for us along with an amazing take out lunch. The bed was so huge and so comfortable. Thank you for an amazing couple of days. The owners, bar staff and kitchen staff were all perfect. Upon leaving we found out that the owners had only been there for 3 weeks and are in the process of revamping. Truly amazing. We will be back Thank you

Stopped here on a walk from solva with our 2 dogs . The staff were very friendly and very welcoming for the dogs and even provided them with water . Great pit stop for us with a great drinks selection .

We turned up to the restaurant, beer garden absolutely full of glasses (no one clearing). We had a table booked for 6 people however nobody was greeting, no tables were laid out / reserved. Absolutely silent in the restaurant (no background music) we had to form our own table and all we heard around us were people complaining about the food / service. A real shame as it's a gem of a pub. Completely mismanaged. We didn't even stop for a drink after so the business has lost the custom of 6 people for both food and drink. Would not recommend to anyone.

Not a very good experience the coffee was cold the dinner we ordered was cold and under cooked so all told we will not be returning there.

Staff really lovely & gluten free beer option ☺️

A lot of hospitality venues are struggling these day, and the Grove would appear to be one of them. I can look past the chipped paintwork and badly fitting doors, but never once did I feel like my custom was valued. The staff seemed disinterested and disengaged. The food was nothing short of abysmal. My Steak and Ale Pie had been utterly incinerated and was rock hard. Consequently, I didn’t even consider going for breakfast, even though I had paid in advance for it. The sign outside said that they are looking to hire kitchen staff, chefs and waiting staff. I can concur that they are desperately needed. A thoroughly disappointing experience.

We were hoping for a quick lunch but the service was awfully slow, food was just okay 🥹 when it came 50 minutes after ordering just scampi and chips.

Was served by Ken - who is a total gent and made us very welcome.

Poor staff over worked yet friendly and doing their best