Wilmington Nightlife

the barbary coast is a local bar located on front street in downtown wilmington. nothing fancy here it's just a bar. good beer selection and moderately priced drinks. a fun local bar to grab a beer or two in downtown wilmington.

Dress Code: casual.

the orton pool rooms was established in 1888 and is the oldest existing pool hall in the united states. the orton pool hall also has a number of televisions for sports watching. a fun place to have a beer and shoot a game of pool in downtown wilmington.

Dress Code: casual.

Henrietta III is the steamboat you see usually parked on the riverwalk. It leaves a few times a day and offers meals while seeing the Cape Fear River. They offer a Friday and Saturday night dinner and dancing cruise each week. My favorite would have to be the Sunset Tour.

It also offers special outtings like Mother's Day cruises and Valentine's Day dinners. It's also available for weddings so if you're really wanting to go make sure it hasn't been reserved for the day.

The HENRIETTA III Cruises depart from Water & Dock Streets. All Cruises board thirty minutes prior to departure. Public Parking can be found at various specified locations around Historic Downtown Wilmington. Public cruises go out rain or shine, April through December, and Private Charters cruise year round.

A bit of History: Seawell named the boat for his daughter HENRIETTA. HENRIETTA was launched April 30, 1818 under the command of Captain Charles Taws. Her first run from Fayetteville to Wilmington was in July 1818. She ran the river between Wilmington and Fayetteville for forty years. When she was retired from service, she had run at least one and one-half million miles on the Cape Fear River and had earned no less than one and one-half million dollars for her owners.

Prices for the dinner cruises for two are about $50. Lunch and sightseeing is about $25. Just a narrated cruise is $10.

The HENRIETTA III Cruises depart from Water & Dock Streets. All Cruises board thirty minutes prior to departure. Public Parking can be found at various specified locations around Historic Downtown Wilmington. Public cruises go out rain or shine, April through December, and Private Charters cruise year round.

Dress Code: Cocktail dresses for women and men nice but no tie required

On the top of a former Masonic temple, Level 5 has the best rooftop view in town. I was here in winter when only the smokers were crazy enough to try to take in the views of the river from the patio. On summer nights, I'm sure it's much more pleasant to stand outside and admire the scenery. :)

A live DJ is there Thursday though Saturday in the summer (and at least on Saturdays in the winter) to keep the crowd going. The square bar surrounding the bartenders is interesting - better for people watching and meeting. The dance floor gets crowded and the music is mostly top 40, although they were playing some swing dancing by the end of the night... perhaps to make us leave? haha

Half a dozen pool tables, air hockey, darts, Foosball, video games (even pac man)... and lots of people.

54 brands of beers with 14 on tap. Open from 3 PM to 2 AM Monday through Friday and 2 PM to 2 AM Saturday and Sunday.

Dress Code: casual

Most of what you consider the nightlife is pretty much condensed in downtown Wilmington. When you're referring to dance clubs, the term "revolving door," comes to mind because so many of them come under new managerment or change their names so often. I'm not much into dance clubs because, well, there's a cover fee to get in most of them ($5, though, Oliver Twist is more like $7). Pictured here, is Souyia, a Greek restaurant with a dance club on the second floor. Never been in there, though a friend of mine bartends at the place.

Port City Java is Wilmington's answer to Starbucks. It's a locally owned chain with numerous locations across the city. Up until last year, though, I didn't know that it actually has stores up and down the mid-Atlantic from as north as Maryland and as south as Georgia. And, of all the weird places, they announced a couple of months ago a store opening up in Saudi Arabia. But, for this part, the location shown here is the downtown store on Front Street. Many people like to come in and just relax or grab a cup of joe for the road. It's also wireless ready, so if you want to bring your laptop in, have at it. I always end up getting just getting a cup of hot chocolate.

Like Marrz, the Soapbox is where you can go to see live music. However, it's a bit different. Similar in concept of Sit & Spin in Seattle, it's a bar/lounge area with a laundromat in the back to wash your clothes. If you go up the stairs, though, you'll find a place to catch live music acts. It gets pretty crowded, so make sure you get there early if you want to see a concert. I was there last October with a friend of mine to see Tift Merritt (think Sheryl Crow) and I had to weasel my way through the audience to get close to the stage. On a side note, Tift recorded her second album during a stay in Carolina Beach (just 30 minutes south of Wilmington). Downstairs, they sometimes hold open mike night for poetry.