Capt&#x27;n Bill&#x27;s Backyard Grill

One of my favorite bars downtown. It's a great place to go with a group of friends. It's casual and…read morewelcoming. On nice days they open the front windows so you can post up and people watch, or if you prefer to watch sports they have tons of TVs. They usually have a fresh batch of popcorn and on Sundays they have free hotdogs!

This place is a great place to hang with friends. I've been here five times, twice on pride bar…read morecrawls. It is a cool bar that draws an eclectic crowd. They have a variety of seating options, including some group-friend booths. On my last visit, I sat at the bar and ordered a flight of beer. Tony the bartender was very patient with my request for a flight of local beer with no IPAs or hoppy beers. He picked out: 2: Wrightsville Beach Orange Crush, 3. Waterline Kolsh, 4. Teaches Peaches, 1. Watermelon Dragon Fruit Burst. I was familiar with the first three and loved them. I jokingly refer to Wrightsville Beach Orange Crush as creamsicle beer. It isn't too sweet, but the Orange flavor is quite strong. The Waterline Kolsh is light and very easy to drink. The Teaches Peaches is one of my favorites due to its light fruity flavor. The Watermelon Dragon Fruit Burst was a wildcard in Tony's lineup. This sour was a refreshing way to mix up my beer tasting. My friend also got a flight and didn't like one of the beers he chose. Tony swapped it out for a different beer as soon as I told him and the new one was well-received. My favorite part of this visit was that Tony decided to bring me a sample of the 8. Firestone Walker Mind Haze, because it was a non-hoppy IPA and he thought I might like it. It wasn't my fave, but I really appreciated the opportunity to try something new. I snacked on free popcorn all during my visit. The popcorn machine is in the back. Also in the back are single-stall restrooms. Tavern Law has an A+ in my book because they have great local beer on tap and they are gay friendly.

Opening night! Thanks to everyone who made it amazing!

Tons of TV's and tasty brews.

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Tides Taproom

4.5(4 reviews)

2.2 mi

What a great place to hangout! Music isn't too loud. The crowd is a mix of all ages. They have a…read morepay-per-pkay pool table, outdoor basketball hoop, gold simulator, and skeeball! Service was quick and easy and there's plenty to drink! We tried the cheese curds, which were phenomenal! And we were told that the burgers are exceptional. While they have only been open about 8 months, this place will certainly soon be bursting at the seems. Parking is limited right at the building, but there's ample street parking and nearby businesses that surely share spaces. Will definitely be back for their 1 year anniversary on Halloween!!

I have been to Tides taproom before for an event, but never for the food and drinks. So I thought…read moreI'd give it a try today and, my verdict is: The burger was not what I expected, the customer service was phenomenal, and unfortunately the company was out of their brewed beers, so I drank the usual domestic Bud Light.

Entrance

The overall outlook

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The he bar

Jax 5th Avenue Deli & Ale House

4.4(256 reviews)

0.9 mi

Great place and it is close to where I live. Everything that…read moreI tried was very good. And they serve complimentary pickles

Great little place located behind my hotel. Ran here to grab dinner. When I arrived they were…read moreplaying a fun country music star Bingo game, and the parking lot was packed! When I came in it was Very loud with the microphone calling out. I stopped at the bar to order my food to go and the bartender had a hard time hearing my order and she was 2 feet from me. Like I said, Very loud. I ordered the Club Jax sandwich that came on Sourdough, I opted for the side of broccoli, and it came with their house pickels. This meal was So good! First, the sandwich was built fresh with a great selection of vegetables. The broccoli was outstanding, both tender with great seasoning, and the pickels were both crunchy and briny. Great menu selection, good prices, and fun atmosphere.

Large local draft beer selection

Free homemade pickles!!

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Outside

Four Corners Wrightsville Beach

3.6(42 reviews)

4.4 mi

Stopped in on a Thursday for their lunch special and enjoyed the shrimp tacos and boneless wings…read more The patio was a nice spot to relax and enjoy our meal. Our server, Emma, was friendly and attentive. I'll be back to check out more deals and maybe a game on their outdoor tv's!

This is our second year visiting Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, and once again, Four Corners…read moreRestaurant did not disappoint. We dined here last year and made sure to return this year--and it was just as amazing as we remembered. The food is consistently delicious, with a menu that offers something for everyone. Everything we ordered was fresh, flavorful, and clearly made with care. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, making it a perfect spot for a relaxing evening out. What really sets Four Corners apart, though, is the staff. The waitresses are incredibly kind, attentive, and genuinely sweet, which adds so much to the overall dining experience. This has officially become a yearly tradition for us, and we'll definitely be back every time we visit Wrightsville Beach. Highly recommend!

Game area

$6 boneless wings on Thursday

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Carolina Ale House

3.4(332 reviews)

1.2 mi

We stopped in for drinks after a night at a dry wedding. We sat at the bar and Mike was our…read morebartender. He was very attentive and cracking jokes with us all night. If you've been to one Carolina ale house, you've been to them all in my opinion. They all look the same in my opinion. It wasn't very busy but I'm sure it gets that way when school is in and sports are going on.

Stopped in for a bit. Great parking with indoor/ outdoor bars with tvs. Food was so so ... kind of…read morelike an Applebees. Drinks were mediocre really but fairly priced. Has two full size pool tables and darts/ pinball. Tables need maintenance they kept swallowing the cue balls and needed opening by staff. The dumped a lot of water on the floor during kitchen clean up which could be dangerous toward the end of the night.

View from our table

Loaded nachos with chicken (the lack there of)

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Ogden Tap Room

3.7(146 reviews)

5.0 mi

I've spent too much time going to familiar spots. Went here on a whim and since everything on the…read moremenu looked good, I asked my server to surprise me. They chose the blackened chicken pasta for me and it did not disappoint. Just enough spice. The chicken was seasoned to perfection. The staff is friendly. The taps are plentiful ans include N.A. options (yay)! Great atmosphere to catch a game or enjoy a casual dinner with friends. I'll be back!

Met an old friend and enjoyed a few beers. Friendly service. He likes this place and had lunch…read morebefore I even arrived.

Blackened chicken pasta

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Hell's Kitchen

3.7(293 reviews)

3.2 mi

This place was so yummy! I had a buffalo chicken wrap with sweet potato fries and the food tasted…read morenice and was all worth the price. The restaurant had a nice bar vibe to it, and it was decorated with posters from One Tree Hill and Dawson's Creek since it was a filming location for both shows. The music of the restaurant was a lot of my favorite pop artists (Noah Kahan, Gracie Abrams, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, etc.) so it was fun to sing along. My only complaint is that we were one of two groups in the restaurant and it took us around 30 minutes to receive our food after we ordered, and there were only three of us. Other than that, we had a great time!

Came from Raleigh to hang with my son On his 25th birthday yesterday. Went at 4pm on Monday. There…read morewere 2-3 people at the front of the bar & no diners. We sat ourselves, weren't acknowledged by the bartender. 1 waiter walked around keeping himself busy but eventually came over with menus ( a fairly acceptable amount of time. Myself, my husband and son ordered water, I told the waiter we would be ready to order in About 2 minutes as it's not a big menu ( bar food). I put my straw in my water glass and noticed dried food on the inside of it. I acknowledged it, wiped it off and commented for my family to check their glasses. Waiter kept himself looking busy while we waited to order (clearly done staring at the menus) but he never looked to check. I watched him carry out a large 15-20 gallon white plastic bucket from the back and dump it into the open top ice cooler ( Ice used to fill our glasses). The bucket looked like they used it for literally anything other than human consumption. It was covered in dirt and stains & looked like it had been stored outside in the alley as it's permanent home. I told the guys not to drink their water. We were still waiting for the waiter to acknowledge that we were ready to order but he kept walking around too busy to acknowledge we were still there. I was willing to give the food a try because my son said he'd eaten there a hand full of times. After 10-15 minutes of being ignored ( waiter walked past our table, headed towards the empty front tables, sat down and started combining catsup bottles). At that point we all looked at each other and decided they weren't interested in our business and honestly, we weren't interested in getting salmonella so we got up and headed toward the door. Not one staffer said a word or acknowledged we were there. It was hot and we were hungry so we walked into subway next door, ordered and walked back to my sons apartment on river walk. Crappy standards and terrible service. Can't speak about the food but based on the other factors, we probably dodged a bullet.

Bar and main dining area

Burger and fries

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Seven Mile Post Pub

3.8(22 reviews)

4.7 mi

First time in, a couple of drinks with wife. Decided to have a couple of burgers as well. Burgers…read morewere good, and prepared exactly as requested. Good prices and service for both the drinks and the food. Good place, need this moved down to Myrtle Grove.

Good food all around us Good service…read more Good ambiance The live outdoor music was a nice touch and the people had fun drinking and dancing the night away

Lots of parking

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Growler's Tavern

3.3(32 reviews)

3.3 mi

This was the first bar on our Haunted Pub Crawl to see. According to the tour guide, this bar was a…read morebarbershop with a flamboyant proprietor hundreds of years ago. Growler's Tavern had the best drink specials. I had an Apple Bush beer for $2-3. Service was fair. I liked how they had many play areas with games, fuse ball, video games, and pool tables. It was not too crowded. We congregated at a nice sitting area to hear the ghost stories and got to see the original door and area of the barbershop untouched.

$2 Busch lights! Just bought 5 beers for my friends and I and it totaled $13. Great spotread more

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Jimmy's Wrightsville Beach

4.2(37 reviews)

5.9 mi

I've been visiting Jinmy's since college back in the day. Same vibes. Love a dive bar and this one…read moreis one of my favorites. They carry Crush vodka. IYKYK, right Pirates?! They did a fun raffle during the football games.

This place is open air and has a dive-bar vibe. We stopped for a quick cocktail on our way to…read moredinner. It was packed but we found a seat and got served fairly quickly. The staff are friendly, efficient, and no-nonsense. Crowd appeared to be mostly locals when we were there. There was a guitarist playing on stage. Husband's beer was cold, and my cocktail was mixed well and not watered down.

Bar area left side

Bar area

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Window seat to people watch

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5 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

Rebecca F.

5 years ago

Overly competitive for no reason And shady people. Paid to play volleyball expressing BEFORE COMMITTING that this was just an activity for me to do and that I wasn't competitive or good, but just looking for something fun after work, and if he and his team were competitive and good, then no worries, I'd find something else Or another team. I was fully transparent with my intent. The guy agreed- no worries and to come play. The guy took my $, (It isn't free...) then decided I wasn't good enough for his team. I'm guessing he was apparently looking to win the season. Then suggested for me to take lessons‍. So, I guess he's also training "his athletes" for the next Olympic gold medal ‍. BUT importantly, Told me he refunded my money. I never got my $$ back. I had to ask him repeatedly for my money back after he Decided to cut me from his team. ( I had no idea there were even tryouts for his team ). I never would have invested my time and energy In that team To begin with Had I known. ** hence me being fully transparent with my initial intent before agreeing to play. Seems like he was just trying to sale volleyball lessons and wasn't honest with his intentions. Plus, reluctant to give my $$ back- after lying and saying that he did. After asking him numerously to refund me, he FINALLY did. I'd be cautious of signing up to play for sure! People are shady. Oh yeah, and the season prize for winning is a chance to post your picture on facebook with a sign... . Ridiculously overrated! But more importantly, SHADY people DO exist and will take your money with bad intentions here! ... **CAN'T WAIT to see his team in the 2024 summer Olympics!!!! . read more

Laurie C.

14 years ago

Just wanted to say that my family went the other day and the food was delicious. Got a chance to meet the owner who seemed very hands on and by looking around you can see that he puts a lot of time into his business. Today that means a lot. Has been there for 20 years so he must be doing something right ! I will definitely come back and bring my whole family so we can do some family fun time volleyball! read more

Vanessa W.

13 years ago

Great place! Great food! Great Atmosphere!

Bobbie M.

14 years ago

Great staff! Good food ILM classic:)

Lori C.

12 years ago

great food...

Capt'n Bill's Backyard Grill - sportsbars - Updated September 2026

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