Published 2026-05-18 · A Port City Lowdown guide
Carolina Beach sits on Pleasure Island about 20 minutes south of downtown Wilmington, and its bar scene has a personality completely different from the downtown corridor. This is a beach town with a boardwalk, and the bars reflect that — tiki drinks in plastic cups, bands playing on outdoor stages with the ocean breeze rolling through, and dive bars where the dress code tops out at flip-flops. If you are headed to CB for the day or the weekend, here is where to go once the sun goes down.
The Boardwalk + Lakeside
SeaWitch Tiki Bar
SeaWitch Tiki Bar is the signature bar on the Carolina Beach Boardwalk and the place most people picture when they think of CB nightlife. Open-air, ocean-adjacent, tiki drinks in theme-appropriate vessels, and live music on the regular. When the weather cooperates — which in the summer months means most of the time — this is where the energy concentrates on weekend nights. Bands tend toward the beach rock, reggae, and cover band end of the spectrum, which is exactly right for the setting. Gets crowded after 9 on summer Saturdays; that is part of the deal.
Fat Pelican
Fat Pelican is the island's iconic dive bar and a Pleasure Island institution. The inside is covered in stickers, signs, and decades of accumulated character. There is no kitchen to speak of, the drinks are strong, and the atmosphere is genuinely unpretentious in a way that most self-described dive bars only aspire to. Live music happens but it is not the main draw — the main draw is the bar itself. If you want a no-frills beer and a place that feels like it has been there forever, this is the spot.
Buzz's Roost
Buzz's Roost sits right on the boardwalk at 8 Pavilion Avenue South and books live music, karaoke nights, and DJs depending on the day. The outdoor deck is the selling point — ocean views with a drink in hand, which is hard to argue with. One of the better spots for catching a sunset with live music as the backdrop.
The Bar Crawl Strip
Beach Bumz
Beach Bumz is a bar and grill that runs live music regularly — typically cover bands and local acts on weekend nights. The patio area handles the overflow when the inside gets packed, and the kitchen runs late enough to solve the post-midnight hunger problem. Solid choice if you want food and music in the same stop.
Ocean Grill & Tiki Bar
Ocean Grill blends the restaurant and bar experience. Sit-down dining early, live music and tiki bar energy later. The outdoor tiki area is where it picks up after dark. The kitchen covers the full seafood-and-burger range you would expect from a beach restaurant, and the music leans toward acoustic and island rock.
Hurricane Alley's
Hurricane Alley's is the wild card. They tend to announce events day-of rather than booking ahead, so you might walk by and discover a band setting up, or you might walk by and it is just a bar. That unpredictability is part of the charm. When they do have something going, it can be one of the more energetic rooms on the island.
Hoplite Irish Pub
Hoplite Irish Pub at 720 N. Lake Park Boulevard got a refresh with new owners in early 2026 and has been building out a regular events calendar — trivia nights, live music, and themed evenings. The Irish pub format gives it a different feel from the beach-bar majority of the island. Worth checking their socials for the current week's schedule, since the programming is still evolving under the new ownership.
Brewery + Chill
Good Hops Brewing
Good Hops Brewing is Carolina Beach's local brewery and the spot where the pace slows down a notch. Located a couple blocks off the main strip, it runs a more relaxed program — craft beer, food trucks on rotation, and occasional live music in a beer-garden setting. If the boardwalk bars are too loud or too packed, Good Hops is the pressure-release valve. Dog-friendly, kid-friendly early, and a strong local following.
More on the Island
Pleasure Island has a handful of other spots worth knowing about depending on what you are after. The Last Resort is another beach bar with character. Hang Ten Grill does food and drinks with a laid-back vibe. Lazy Pirate Island Sports Grill covers the sports-bar angle with big screens and bar food. The Veggie Wagon is technically a market and cafe but hosts events worth catching. And Havana's and The Tropical round out the options with their own niche followings.
Events on the island tend to be more seasonal than the downtown Wilmington scene — the peak runs roughly Memorial Day through Labor Day, with a slower but still-active offseason. Many of these bars scale their live music programming up and down with the tourist traffic.
Getting there + logistics
Carolina Beach is about a 20-minute drive from downtown Wilmington via Snow's Cut Bridge. Parking on the island ranges from easy (weekday evenings, offseason) to genuinely challenging (Saturday afternoons in July). The town has metered and lot parking near the boardwalk; arrive before 6 p.m. on summer weekends if you want a spot without a hike. Rideshares work but availability gets thin late at night on the island — plan accordingly if you are going hard at SeaWitch.
For what is actually happening this weekend at any of these spots, check this week's events digest — we list Carolina Beach events alongside everything happening in Wilmington, Wrightsville Beach, and the surrounding area. For a comparison of all three beach towns, see our guide to Wrightsville vs. Carolina vs. Kure Beach.
What's happening at the beach this weekend? Live music, bar events, and everything else on Pleasure Island. This week's events.