Saturday, July 9, 2011

'Relax, it's all good' at Boardwalk Billy's


Sink yourself onto a tall wooden bar stool, grab a Corona with lime and pretend you're sitting at a beach bar far away.

It's not hard to escape city life for a moment as you pass under the string of draped lights and step onto the wooden deck of Boardwalk Billy's in the University City area.

A long wrap-around deck that sits on the small lake could only be made better if it was surrounded by fishing boats and plopped on a beach.

When I was getting bar suggestions for this blog, Boardwalk Billy's was always near the top of the recommendation list. Now I get it. The bar slogan doesn't lie either: "Relax, it's all good." If you're looking for a genuinely fun place to go that isn't stuffy or uptight, or you just want to break out the old Hawaiian shirt for a night, this is the place to be.

The spacious venue offers a wide selection of beers on tap at the over-sized, honey colored bar. There's also an extensive menu of appetizers and entrees to pair with your brew. Bar goers can get a taste of the sea with coconut shrimp, crab cakes, raw oysters and fresh fish, or opt for bar favorites like queso, smothered fries or sloppy nachos.

While quite a few of the other bars I've visited thus far cater to a crowd starting in their mid 20s, Boardwalk Billy's is definitely a bar where the college students flock. The inside floor was swarming with fraternity guys in pastel Polos and plaid shorts, and petite girls in heels. And it wouldn't be a college bar without offering college nights on Thursdays.  Cheap drinks throughout the week, late hours, beach music and decent bar food make this a student favorite.

Drink specials throughout the week: Mondays are $5 Bacardi Mojitos, $1.50 domestic bottles; Tuesdays are $3 flavored vodkas, $2 domestic drafts; Wednesdays $4 El Jimador, $5 Cazadores, $6 Corzo, $1.50 domestic drafts, $5 domestic pitchers; Thursdays are $2 U Call It house liquor, domestic bottles, domestic drafts, $3 import and craft drafts; Fridays are $5 Jack Daniels, $3 Coronas; Sundays offer $5 bombs, $5 tropitinis; and Sundays are $5 Grey Goose and Bloody Marys, $7.99 domestic pitchers and $9.99 craft pitchers.

Aside from the University City location, the bar is now open in Crown Point and Dilworth.

Boardwalk Billy's
UNCC location
9005 JM Keynes Dr.
Charlotte, N.C., 28262
704-503-7427
Crown Point location
1636 Sardis Road North
Charlotte, N.C., 28270
704-814-7427
Dilworth location
1514 East Boulevard
Charlotte, N.C., 28203
704-332-9292

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please go to Mooseshead Grill!

Anonymous said...

Downtown & University?
Sounds like someones getting fee ad space.

Anonymous said...

... oops "free" ... my bad

Anonymous said...

So where are all the women in this town? Everywhere I go there are 4 guys to every girl. The young guys in my apartment complex hang out in little packs then go out at night, but they always come home together with no women. Are guys starting to leave Charlotte because of this.

trying to be nice, but.... said...

This series is painful to read. I would have to question the degree she received at ASU. Are they giving them away these days?

HORRIBLE!

Anonymous said...

Hahaha! People that don't like this still read it... Get a life.

Good job Brittany!

Anonymous said...

Go to The Lodge in south Charlotte, the corner of Rea and Colony Rd. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Go to Del Friscos on Wed. night... You will have a lot to write about... Ha!

Anonymous said...

Cowfish in Southpark is taking a lot of the bar biz in Southpark. It's even packed on Monday night. Great Sushi, big wrap around bar... Overall, great spot worthy of the 30 day list.

Anonymous said...

The Lodge is awesome! Good call.

Anonymous said...

Boardwalk Billy's? Didn't there used to be a dive by that same name on Monroe Road years and years ago? What a dump it was, too. It was sort of The Bar of Last Resort.

Anonymous said...

Comet Grill on a Tuesday night (8:30pm) is my favorite place in Charlotte. Red Rocking Chair (bluegrass band) plays, good beer schedule, and one of the best pimento cheeseburgers I've ever had.

Anonymous said...

Nice to see the Observer is firing actual news writers and spending money on something like this. As always, solid reporting, Big O.

Anonymous said...

I have been there twice and it is just ok. East blvd is a little overcrowded with bars posing as restaurants and this one is at the bottom of the list. There is a reason there have been three restaurants in this space for three years. Anyone remember Plan B or how about Rockin Lobster.

Anonymous said...

Great place to go if you like having the entire place to yourself.

Wiley Coyote said...

They couldn't make it in Gastonia....

...and if you can't make it in Gastonia with the way those people eat, well....

It's amazing they are still open at multiple locations in Charlotte.

Anonymous said...

The Observer ought to assign Brittany to the UNC Investigation since no one else over there is covering it.

Anonymous said...

WORST BLOG EVER......FYI try researching the trends in the American Cocktail taking over the Food Scene right now. Google-PKNY, Alinea, The Word "Genever", Tinture, The Martinez, a Vesper, Navy Rum , Tiki Drinks, Pre Prohibition Bartending. Just to get an idea of what is going on in the larger metro areas. Then maybe you can intelligently report on a bar, not that the places you are going will have any of what I mentioned...

Anonymous said...

I don't know what these people are talking about. Billy's is by far my favorite bar in town. Cheap drinks, cool staff and lots of girls. It's always packed.

Anonymous said...

The new store on East has much better food than Plan B or Rockin' Lobster so I think it just might make it there.

Anonymous said...

Lots of haters on here, some people just go out to have fun and drink with their friends.

Anonymous said...

My roommates and I are at Boardwalk every night. It's our second home.

Anonymous said...

Bring your dog and sit on the patio for live music outside on Thursdays.