the fat pelican

The Fat Pelican amuses with its ramshackle, flea-market-cum-beer-bar aesthetic. Patrons enter the bar at the back end of what used to be a refrigerated trailer that's now on blocks (as is the Southern wont), then go up the ramp to pick their poisons from a selection of hundreds of microbrews. After paying the bartender based on that selection, you can plop down at the bar, in a dark, cozy side room that looks like the hold of a wooden ship (and carve your initials in the wall), or guzzle outside in one of several several thrift-store settings such as Santa's Skiff or the Fetid Fountain. If it's cool out, you can build a fire in one of the Pelican's chimineas — but take care not to mess with its resident possum.

We always pass through Carolina Beach when we go to the ferry to get to Southport and have always wanted to check out a place called The Fat Pelican.  It's voted the #1 dive bar in NC and is in the top 25 in the nation.  I figured it had to be good and I wasn't disappointed (well, I was that they didn't serve food because we wanted lunch).  The place is totally amazing but I guess it has to be your cup of tea (it might scare off some people).  They have over 140 different beers and you walk into the cooler (it's a refrigerated trailer of an 18 wheeler) to pick out your own beer.  So, we both picked out a beer we had never heard of before and started walking around just looking at everything. There is something to see everywhere you look. If you're into coolness you have to check it out. The floors are a bit uneven so watch where you walk. Be sure to write something on the walls before you leave. The girl behind the bar was so much fun and really loved talking about this history of the place.

Not your run of the mill bar/tavern/pub/saloon. Right on the main drag. Don't dress up for this place, walk in to the cooler yourself and pick your own poison and pay the lady when you come out. You can sit at the bar inside, play a board game, hang with family/friends or wander outside into their closed in arena to unwind where they have chairs and tables of different design. Nothing matches, nothing is new just a great place to make your own good time with no frills. My first experience and it won't be my last!

Funky & Fun you will have a great time here! The décor alone is so funny so outrageous, that you have to come here! I mean you could spend hours looking at all the crapola on the walls haha! I absolutely love this place and the people as well and by people I mean regular customers! they were so welcoming to me when I came in for my birthday, they all sang to me, the bartenders are cool, Hello Ladies! Go in and look around especially in the back yard...It makes you feel like you have entered another universe! Hippies use the side door!

Best selection of beers on the beach! An experience. Have to see it and experience it. Walk in and the bartender will tell you to walk right in the walk in cooler and get yourself a beer. Over a hundred beers to chose from domestics are up front at the bar and imports in the cooler. The place reminded us of something out of the 70's. Electic decor. Write a message on the wall or what ever else is around to write on. Corn hole out back and lots of outdoor seating.

This is one of the most interesting gathering places I've ever been...and I've been to lots of social gathering spots. You really need to stop by if you're in Carolina Beach. It's a favorite spot for the locals and the tourists!