The Fat Pelican in
Carolina Beach (NC)

This is a wild place! I love that you just grab a drink from the cooler then find a seat in a wonderland of interesting! Super cool, definitely worth a stop for a drink!

There is a walk in beer cellar with all of their drink options. You pick out what you want and pay for it at the bar. I didn’t see any food options, but may have missed them. The best part is the outside area where you can sit and drink your drinks. There is plenty of space and also covered areas if it rains.

Great place to enjoy the outdoors with various seating arrangements, fun decor and plenty of fans to keep the air moving.

This is such a unique dive bar with a walk in cooler of so many beer choices and awesome outdoor seating. You have to try this place!!

An awesome time no matter the time day or week. A cool place with Key West vibes. The service is great and you will always find great company and great times here.

Beach bar with a vibe not to be missed. Feels like your friend's backyard. Frequent haunt of many locals. Many have been "poured out" for loved ones. Miss you dad

Really unique dive! No liquor, but the atmosphere totally makes up for it. Tons on specialty beer and IPA’s to choose from, a cave-like interior, and cool courtyard with up-cycled, junkyard decor. Good vibes.

Did not eat here but it is an amazing little bar. You will definitely not be bored, and you can spend the entire day out here and still not see everything in the bar. Looks like a fort I built as a kid. I highly recommend you visit this place and walk around for a little.

Coolest bar on the east coast! You go into the walk in cooler and pick out any canned/ bottled beverage and then the bartender pours it into a chilled glass for you. I’ve never been in such a unique space, it has an eclectic style and cozy atmosphere. Very spacious and plenty of outdoor seating.

Very interesting place. Walk in the cooler and grab a beer from their Hugh assortment. Not fancy kind of like visiting a poor neighbors basement man cave. The outside area was spacious and a good place just to hang out with some friends. Everyone should try this place out. Seems kind of dungeon like to start with but grows on you.

Very cool place. Walk in the fridge and grab whatever you drink and pay outside. Is really cool place. Bess is the best.. 7 of us stopped there for few drinks and loved it.

What a unique bar. Enter the cooler or individual can & bottle brews, pay when you come out the find a spot to enjoy your brew on the really neat patio

This is by far the greatest dive bar on the east coast. From the incredibly uneven brick floors to the walk-in 53’ beer cooler/tractor trailer, this place is awesome. Great beer selection and amazing decor…! Put the Fat P on your list for this summer.

Super fun local spot! Pick your own beer from their fridge and enjoy all the random decor and great music.

Such a cool place. It’s a fun dive bar decorated with random things and old business signs. You go into a walk-in cooler to pick from a massive selection of beer. I got a local gose and it was great! The bar tenders poured it into a cold glass for us. The walk-in cooler felt so so nice on such a hot day.

Walk-in cooler concept. You go inside a refrigerator area that hosts a great selection of cold beers. Pick what and how many you want and then pay at the counter. There's seating indoors and outdoors, with Cornhole playset available. This hidden gem of a dive-in bar is a must visit on your Wilmington trip. You will not be disappointed.

The perfect dive bar. Great selection of beers with a walk in cooler. Every beach should have a dive bar just like this. While chaotic, everything fits perfectly in it. A frequent stop during our stay. If you don't visit The Fat Pelican, you're doing yourself a disservice.

“Dad, it’s a classic!!” “Get the Big Mouth!!” (ummmm… no.) (in high school, yeah, but now…??) LOVE this place. unpretentious, HUGE selection and just plain “down home.” if you want food or fancy, skip it. but if you just want a beer, some friends and great conversation, at a fair price, this is the place.

This is the classic dive bar - seating inside & outside. From the bar with no taps that has you serve yourself from the walk in beer cooler with prices like your in NYC, to the couple making out near the arcade machines, to the surfboards outside in the garden area and the signs everywhere with corny sayings - what a dive. But if people watching is your thing - come here for a drink or two. Restrooms are up stairs, not ADA compliant.

Looking for a bar that's different and fun?? You've found it!!! I absolutely love to bring people here that never been. How do you describe this place.....well you walk in go straight back to the walk in cooler thru the heavy curtains and pick your beer/wine/malt beverage and then pay the person behind the bar. ? Then you walk around, watch glit steps as there is lots of uneven brick/sand underfoot. Look around at the eclectic decor, read all the writings on the wall and overhead, sit in weird chairs, or stools or whatever is around..... enjoy the people watching, play games, just gather and enjoy. There isn't another place like this around I promise and you will tell your friends and anyone else who will listen about this strange cool little bar you stumbled in and not sure how to describe it or explain it you just have to go.....??❤️?

A very cool DIVE BAR (Beer and Wine Bar). Definitely worth the visit, many beers to select from. You walk into a refrigerated cooler/trailer to select your beverage over 400 beers to choose from. We had the pleasure to meet the owner and talk and get some of the history behind this very unique bar. The experience was fantastic. I would say it is a must stop for "Cold One"!

How often does Billie Holiday just playing on the jute? Come see the eclectic poetry that is The Fat Pelican. From the art, to the graffiti, to the music; this place is an art exhibit. Thank you to the pelican for everything I have experienced this night, February 19, 2022!

Often ranking high on dive bar lists state and nation wide, if you are in Carolina Beach you MUST visit The Fat Pelican. From the serve yourself walk-in cooler with a very wide selection, to the eclectic decor, to the downright inspired furniture groups and settings indoor and out, to the friendly and helpful staff, and the mix of local and visiting customers, you will have a wonderful experience. DO NOT leave Carolina Beach without visiting, and return often - - each experience is unique.

If you ever thought about walking into a beer cave, grabbing the beer you want, paying for that beer then finding an interesting seat to drink it in, this is the place for you. Although it looks quite rustic, the place has many cool seating options inside and out. We sat outside in some beach chairs under a canopy. Great place to grab a few with friends, sit around and chat!

A literal hole in the wall. But it did include a hole in the form of a walk in cooler. This is so awesome because they have a great selection for anyone in your group. They have a better selection than a lot of bottle shops around these days. I drank a cider and my boyfriend had a pint of Boddingtons. I do not think they have any draft beer or liquor but I'm not sure. No food, accept for a mini fridge with hot pockets and other small, frozen munchies for purchase. There are many other little holes and nooks w video bar games for you to enjoy your drinking choice. We made our mark and signed the wall like everyone else. The outside area is clearly hand- constructed and is an awesome collage of those who have been there before. I've been going to Carolina Beach for many years and actually had never been in The Fat Pelican. I'm glad I went this time.

This place is the spot for locals and the stuff of legend to non locals. I actually knew of its legacy a state away when I heard tales of it from a stranger who I had told that I was moving here. If beer is your thing, the Fat Pelican has you covered. Great jukebox? Check. Indoor/outdoor seating? Check. Video games and and an awesome family guy pinball machine in the rare event that you get bored? Check. You've never been in a bar like this I guarantee. A must see for any trip to Carolina Beach!

The Fat Pelican is my favorite bar in the world. It is what other beach bars hope to be. It kind of defies explanation, but I will do my best by bulleting important points: 1. They do not have a liquor license. You can only buy beer by the bottle/can from a giant freezer (that I believe is the back of a refrigerated semi truck, permanently parked beside the bar) where a wall has been torn down and steps built up into the freezer. You choose your drink and pay at the bar 2. The only exception to beer are "plum shots." I don't know what the loop hole here is, but if you really don't like beer plum shots are your next option. They come in little jars that have twist-off caps with a plum inside. I have never eaten the plum 3. The decor is an amalgamation of furniture and closed down signs from all over town. This place is a living history of Pleasure Island. Locals who have been here for a while probably have stories about every sign you can find inside and out. 4. The staff is always the same, and they are all great. Don't give anyone a bad attitude, because they would never ever do that to you. This is a relaxed, feel good place. 5. It's just fun. Have fun.