Costello's

 

4

63

G.R. M.

Orlando, FL

9/19/2009

Costello's is a cute (and by cute, I mean tiny) piano bar located in downtown Wilmington on Princess Street. To avoid being stuck with the "gay bar" label, the management proudly proclaims their "hetero-friendly" environment. I prefer "really, really gay-friendly," as that appeared to be demo on site the night we went.

The interior of Costello's is very pleasant, as the owner/operator obviously tried to honor the vintage feel of the building. Cute tile, well finished woodwork, and a beautiful black piano all work well in the small space. This isn't a beat-thumping dance hall, and proud of it.  Oh, and the best part is there's no smoking inside, so you can breathe easy.

The big news here is Costello's has live piano music weekly, which by all accounts draws a very large crowd. Unfortunately, I can't confirm this, as we went on a Sunday night and there was only ambient music playing and a consequently small crowd at the bar. But I got a good look at Costello's monthly calendar, and it looked quite full; if you plan on going, you may want to call ahead first to see what the entertainment is looking like that weekend.

The bartender on duty was really, really friendly and stopped to chat with us and the other patrons for some time. One of the piano players even stopped into the bar for a moment and chatted with us despite the fact he wasn't playing that night. Definitely some friendly folks in this town. Although they don't have draft beer, all of the drinks were reasonably priced.

Check out Costello's if you are in downtown Wilmington. It's a nice alternative to the typical gay bar/club.

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0

12

christopher s.

Wilmington, NC

3/10/2007

wonderfully fun piano bar , friendly crowd, and donna merritt is amazing. non-smoking so 1 star removed.

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