About The Harp
The Harp Irish Restaurant and Pub was born from a love of authentic Irish culture, traditional food, and the time-honored spirit of the neighborhood pub. Located on South Third Street in Wilmington, North Carolina, The Harp brought a genuine piece of Ireland to the Cape Fear Coast — and became one of the city's most treasured dining and gathering spots.
Our Story
The name says it all. The harp is the symbol of Ireland, one of the world's oldest national symbols, representing music, culture, and the enduring spirit of the Irish people. We chose the harp as our emblem because everything about The Harp was built on authenticity — authentic food, authentic atmosphere, and authentic hospitality.
From day one, The Harp set out to be different from the chain restaurants and tourist-trap Irish bars that had proliferated across American cities. We wanted to create the kind of pub experience you'd find in a small Irish town — where the bartender knows your name, the food is made from scratch, and there's always room at the table for one more.
Traditional Recipes, Local Ingredients
Our kitchen was built around two commitments: traditional Irish family recipes and the freshest locally-sourced ingredients. The Carolinas offer extraordinary produce, seafood, and meat, and we took full advantage of that bounty. Our chefs worked closely with local farmers and fishermen to source ingredients that met our high standards, then combined them with imported Irish products — traditional Irish bangers, Irish rashers, Dubliner cheddar — to create dishes that were genuinely, authentically Irish.
The result was a menu unlike anything else in Wilmington: Beef Braised in Guinness slow-cooked to perfection, West Country Corned Beef and Cabbage prepared from a traditional West Ireland recipe, Prince Edward Mussels in a garlic-basil-tomato broth, and house-made desserts that could hold their own in any Dublin restaurant.
According to Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board), authentic Irish cuisine is defined by its connection to the land — seasonal, local, and deeply rooted in tradition. That philosophy guided everything we served.
A Pub for the Whole Community
The Harp was never just a bar. It was a place for families at dinner, sports fans on game days, live music lovers on Friday nights, and Sunday brunch regulars who wouldn't trade their weekly eggs and rashers for anything. Our events — trivia night, karaoke, live music — made The Harp the kind of place you'd come to once and then return to every week.
Wilmington is a city with a deep sense of community, and The Harp became part of that community fabric. We were the spot where birthdays were celebrated, deals were closed, grief was shared, and friendships were made over a perfectly poured pint of Guinness.
The Wilmington Difference
Wilmington, North Carolina has long been a city that values character and authenticity. From its historic downtown to the Cape Fear River waterfront, Wilmington embraces places that have genuine soul. The Harp fit right in — not as a novelty or a theme attraction, but as a real neighborhood institution that happened to serve extraordinary Irish food and drink.
We were proud to call the Cape Fear Coast home, and we were proud to serve the Wilmington community for years. The legacy of The Harp lives in every visitor who came through our doors looking for a little piece of Ireland and found it right here in North Carolina.
Explore our full menu to see the dishes that made The Harp famous, or check out our events to see the weekly entertainment that kept Wilmington coming back.