Goodfellows is right off of East Franklin Street, in the area that's frequented by the younger crowd of Chapel Hill. Â It's sort of hidden because it's just a door on the main street instead of a large storefront. Â I'm not quite sure how the crowd moves in Chapel Hill, but it seems like bars rotate from being super crowded to being practically empty. Â On an empty weekday night, Goodfellows has a really chill atmosphere and is a great place to grab a drink, sit in a booth, and catch up with friends. Â Then, on a weekend night when it's crowded, the atmosphere normally changes entirely! Â The long, narrow bar gets packed! Â Literally packed--so it takes a good long while to move along the long and narrow bar to the restrooms in the back. Â There is a DJ and some dancing in the very front, but honestly it's normally too packed to move--much less dance--on a really crowded night. Â There are also usually drink specials.
I definitely think it's a good one-stop shop to experience the undergrad UNC nightlife (it was one of the first places I went to when I visited friends going to undergrad at UNC). (Not that it's only undergraduates--I've definitely gone there with friends in our later 20s).
We come here when we barhop on Franklin, mainly because it's one of the few bars that doesn't make you pay cover. For this reason, there's typically a line outside the door, as every college kid is broke and is trying to save a few bucks as well. Â You have to walk down a stairway to go in, and the space is really small so there's a bouncer outside that will only let one person in per person that leaves (another reason the line is so long).
So when you finally get a chance to enter, you walk down and this tiny bar is just PACKED with obnoxious college kids trying to get drunk. There are only 5-6 booths, so you will most DEFINITELY be standing as youre drinking, and be prepared to get pushed around the whole night by people passing through. I've had so many beers spilled on me..so don't wear nice clothes!
There's a deejay playing old rock songs in the corner and a few crowd-friendly hip hop songs. There's no dance floor, just a little emptied out space between tables where drunk girls congregate to freak dance on eager guys, even if the music is totally not dance-appropriate (yes, these people will grind to blink 182).
The bar itself specializes in craft beers, which isn't really my thing either. What really makes me dock a star off is the $8 minimum for credit card. We usually only stay here for one drink and go to the next bar, so unless I buy a super expensive drink, I'm screwed. I usually end up having to buy for another person, or get someone else to buy for me, or worse, end up buying an expensive not-even-worth-it drink. It's just a pain in the butt, to have to go get cash, solely for Goodfellows. I guess this is how the bar makes money in compensation for not charging cover. Lame.
2.5 Stars
Who brings a DSLR to a bar? Who does that and just leaves it on the table?? It was definitely some white girl getting her grind on that now has pics of me! Maybe this is the white person's safety bar at UNC Chapel Hill. When the rest of the town was dead, this was bumping. It was definitely a safe haven for my very white friend. We were walking around looking for a pub to satisfy his whiteness and passed by Pulse Nightclub which was 100% black from what I could see. His Boston whiteness was extremely uncomfortable walking by it, but I could see he felt right at home here.
And this place is definitely not a dive bar. Just being in the basement does not make something a dive bar. It's just a normal bar. Except maybe for the DJ they had that Friday night. He looked like someone you would see DJ'ing in Europe - a fat guy with beach blonde tips.
Also, I'm not sure if it was due to the holiday break or if this is representative of UNC but it was about 80% guys and 20% girls. Party on.
I've been wanting to write a review about this bar since the first time I ever set foot in this place. I really hate Goodfellows. The bartenders are complete aholes, it's a boys club and they act like you're annoying them unless they have a chance at getting in your pants. Its a bar for the average Joe, there's nothing particularly special (except that its in a basement) which I guess makes their boring patrons feel "cooler". Everyone looks exactly the same: white, average, underage, and boring. I will say that they have a pretty good selection of drinks, and there is a decent mix between people trying to get shwasted and just grabbing a beer, but everything else is just slathered in monotony. You would like (maybe even love) this bar if you are: white, male, boring, closed minded, wear polos on the reg, or... looking for any of those attributes in a person.
pros-It's in a basement, drink selection, there are enough ugly/boring people there that you start feeling better about yourself. Best karaoke and trivia though.
cons- The people that work there, the people that go there, the bathrooms, limited seating.
I would be here all the time if I lived in NC. Seriously. Sitting at that bar, sloshing some more pickle backs down. Have a nice calm, peaceful, run of the mill good time at a normal bar.
My best friend and I love pickles. We have a passion for them and when she moved to NC for school, she discovered the "pickle back" here. I had no idea what she was talking about. Someone will actually give you a shot of Jameson and a shot of pickle juice? You mean we don't have to giggle in the kitchen, passing the jar of old pickle juice back and forth in the comfort of our own homes; this happens in public? It's true, folks. If you slurp pickle juice in the privacy of your own home and chase it with a sad shot of whisky out of shame, you've come to the right bar! You can have both and shed your secretive life and habits! Order a "pickle back" and get a shot of Jameson with a shot of pickle juice to wash away that stinging whiskey and enjoy some delightful vinegar. Delightful, I tell ya!!
But for real. I truly did love this bar for other reasons. (Even though I'm slowly begging bartenders around CLE to serve me pickle juice with my whiskey...that really did complete me.) The brick floor, the hidden nature of it, the fact that there wasn't eardrum pounding top 40s spinning, there weren't loads of frat boys invading personal bubbles, I didn't (as far as I know) get mean mugged by a skankalicious drunkard, and the bartenders were nice and on their game!
I think if you're looking for less of a dancy-dancy-fun-fancy time, definitely stop here. It was more my speed than anywhere else and I truly enjoyed everything here. I can definitely say I'll be back during future visits.
Goodfellows had been known in my old circle of friends as a college dive bar and we didn't go here often because we didn't want to hang out with the college kids. I tried it again after a few years on a Monday night. If you're not into crowds Monday night is a great night to go at least during the summer. Â It was just me, my friend, and the bartender for a while. Â Monday night is game night where they get out all the old school board games like connect 4 and sorry as well as the Nintendo 64 to play. It was fun being able to play these games again and they have a lot of tables in the bar which make for great playing surfaces. I hope to go back and play more.
Drinks are cheap here. On Monday they were advertising a pepper infused tequila for just a few bucks. I know on Sunday  it is half off everything  They have a fully stocked bar.  They offer specialty shots which are already made. I have had some in the past and they weren't strong what so ever and tasted like Kool Aid. I would stick with shots made in front of you. I was happy to see they have cider on draft because while I enjoy a good beer cider is always my #1 choice.
Pretty good bar. Me and my friend had a fun time here. Drinks aren't that expensive and it had a good dive-y feel but not overdone. The people that frequent this bar are always pretty funny. I always have a great time when I'm here. Definitely making a stop here as soon as school starts up!
Review Source:I really enjoy this bar. It's a great little place to go to before a night dancing. They had pretty good drink specials and it is cleaner than most bars I am used to. I come from the North and when I read a few reviews that this was a "dive" I chuckled. It is not even close to being a dive.
There are bar stools and private tables you can sit at. They have a mini-stage for a DJ and the regular bar stuff like darts and crazy lights. The music selection is NOT top 40, which I can appreciate--It ranges from alternative to 90's...pretty sweet.
It was empty when we got there but by the time we left it was packed. We will definately be back to grab a drink.
I don't know how to begin to describe this place. First off, NC is far from my comfort zone to begin with. I'm from Boston. The North. Granted, NC isn't "deep-south," but It's hotter than I can deal with. So anyways, I was here after the Stanley Cup game a couple of months ago.
The entrance was not at all what I expected. It was a doorway crammed between two other buildings. The stairs led down into this big cavernous room. (Or maybe it was cavernous because I was both drunk and still proud of the fact I had made it down the stairs without falling.) The drinks were SO CHEAP. It was amazing. They were priced at about the same as happy hour/half-price drinks in Boston. Even better was that the drinks were all insanely strong. I don't really remember the ambience, but I don't really remember that many places to sit. We were there on Karaoke night which was just amazing. I feel like this could be the place that's poppin' on any and all nights. My friend said that there was blood all over the girls bathroom when she went in there, so we left promptly after that, but it was a pretty good time other than that. From what I saw, the clientele was basically bro type and whatnot, which was fine since that's what I can actually pull off. Pretty chill time overall.
So yeah. I fell in love with 3 things
1.) The fact I could go downstairs without falling
2.) The cheap-ass drinks
3.) The strong-ass drinks.
I was back in NC last weekend, but I didn't have a chance to head back there. Not like I didn't try though... :) Once I go back to NC, I'll head straight there.
This is a pretty good bar. The drinks are cheap, and the vibe is cool. The major drawback is they have a minimum on credit cards so make sure you bring cash.
It can also get crazy, crazy loud and super crowded. I went here on my 21st (among other places) and it was pretty fun...the long island iced teas are too cheap though....
Oh, I remembered another drawback. There are tarholes everywhere.
Divey (but not overly so), underground but literally: Good Fellows is a fine (in the median sense of the word) watering hole in Chapel Hill, and after a quick bite next door, I dropped in for a sip.
I'll give them this - Good Fellows is unpretentious. There's a decent (but hardly overwhelming) array of beers on hand. In the end, I sampled a Sweetwater brew (the Sweetwater folks were throwing some sort of -- pardon the pun -- darts competition inside), and I can see how, if you're in the area regularly, this would be an easy place to park it with friends and pour a few down.
The bar staff wasn't super interested in whatever I was ordering, but then again, I kind of got the impression that most folks who hit this spot don't care much to make friends with the staff. They're here to lock arms with their pals and tilt back a tall one. And make, perhaps, some of the best memories they'll likely forget.
Think THOSE nights in college. Think of the nights in which you get back from an evening out, completely content. Having spent the evening with good friends and stayed at just one bar because you were simply just having THAT much fun there and the vibe was just that good. BEHOLD...my absolute favorite bar in Chapel Hill..."Goodfellas!"
Goodfellas is somewhat harder to find if it's your first time...it's a "basement bar", similar to 'Ginger Man' in NYC or in Austin. While it doesnt feel like the most authentic Irish pub, fellas knows what makes it good and just focuses on being authentic and true to its own identity. Goodfellas (what most Tarheels refere to the bar as) never charges a cover (the only time I've ever paid to go in was during the 2009 National Championship), has a pretty low turnover rate in terms of staff and you get to know the bartenders and is the definition of solid. There's usually a similar crowd there, which makes it feel homey. It's not the same sort of people though, it wont feel fratty, or any stereotype...just plain fun!
For your convenience:
SUNDAY: not crowded. Drinks are all half off.
TUESDAY: TRIVIA
WEDNESDAY: :KARAOKE
THURSDAY: pretty crowded, but typically the most solid night for a fellas hang out sesh.
FRIDAY: Decently crowded
SATURDAY: Likely a line, but goes by fast. DJ's there.
I graduated from UNC in 2010 and when I visited this past Winter..'Fellas was first on my to do list and will forever be synonomous with my cherished days in Chapel Hill!
I had an excellent time here on a Wednesday night. I came for the karaoke and it was a top notch karaoke night. I ended up singing three songs (smells like teen spirit, add it up and somewhere out there).
The DJ was a really nice guy. He had 3 or 4 regulars that had special seating (just cause they arrived early and perhaps cause it was up by his equipment).
This place PACKS it up though! Around midnight it was difficult to move around the bar. Most of the people it seemed were grad school students. Definitely a college bar. There were your typical stereotypes there for sure but with that many people it was easy to ignore the people who were being a pain.
Can't beat the 2-3 dollar beers they seemed to have all night and the 4 dollar bombs that my coworker seemed to adore.
They definitely check ID on everyone so make sure you have it on you. While this should be obvious it burned a friend of mine who is obviously over 21 but forgot his ID that evening.
Enjoy and Rock Out. Â Oh, and I think I heard them say that thursdays they do live rock karaoke. If you've never done that and love karaoke you should go...asap!
By senior year this became my favorite bar in Chapel Hill. I like that it's small and most of the time it's not a problem because you see a lot of the same crowd. The crowd is cool and laid back and everyone just wants to have fun. Sunday is half off night and there's a trivia and karaoke night at some point during the week. Even when there's not a special prices are decent. I got addicted to the nude photo hunt game. There would be crowds of people around it at times trying to beat the high score. I tried to make a stop here every night I went out. Will be one of the first places I go when I return
Review Source:Goodfellows - or should I say decentfellows? so-sofellows? Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty legit dive bar. Usually packed with guys with occasional nights featuring maybe a 40-60 ratio, the drinks are CHEAP. So that is always a plus. As is the no-cover charge. Â It's got decent dive bar decor - dim xmas lighting, brick floor for spilled drinks, etc. Â But like I said, the crowd isn't amazing. It's worth checking out, but can get pretty rowdy while school is in session.
Review Source:Goodfellows is an interesting downstairs bar in the heart of Franklin Street. Â It's decently spacious, which probably makes it more appealing on non-crazy nights, but even on a weekend, it can still be generally manageable.
In terms of dance room (if that's what you're up for), there is room here to do that, as well as room to sit down and room to just hang out at the bar. Â So overall, it's not half bad.
This is probably my second favorite bar in town, after Linda's. Â
I've been coming here for a few years now, and just realized a year ago that they have an outdoor patio?! Â How much more awesome does that make Good Fellows?
This bar is never too crowded, and has great drinks. Â I love the shots in the chemistry-like tubes in the back of the bar. Â They are always good, and something unique to them. Â
If you're looking for a fairly chill vibe, this is a great bar for it!
This is a college bar. Â Make no mistake, when you roll into Good Fellows you will know that Chapel Hill is a college town. Â Somehow, though, it never seems to matter at Good Fellows. Â I don't feel like the out-of-place old guy, maybe because it's dark enough that people can overlook it.
Good Fellows is actually a pretty nice name for this spot. Â During the off-hours, it's hard to pick out who the regulars are and who's just popping in. Â The bartender the last couple of times I went knew me by name by the time it went from laid back watering hole to laid back crowded house. Â That's nice for the Franklin St. bar scene, because it will get crowded and a bartender is more likely see to your empty glass when he already knows your a good fellow.
See what I just did there?
Fellas, as many affectionately call it, is one of my favorite places to hang out in Chapel Hill - almost in spite of itself. It certainly has many factors that I find appealing in a bar: it's dark, cramped, has a tavern feel, drinks are cheap, and there's karaoke. The bartenders have always been friendly and chatty during the slow times before the crowd picks up. When the students pour in wall-to-wall, you'll probably be waiting a few minutes for a drink - but not because of the bartenders. They're always working hard and pouring drinks feverishly, trying to dole out booze to the masses vying for a spot at the bar. Of course, with drink specials like notoriously-strong $4 LITs, it's a wonder you can ever reach the bar at all.
As for the patrons, it is definitely a college crowd, but seems like a better mix than a lot of the Franklin Street mainstays. Trivia Tuesdays usually brings out a great crowd, and most everyone there is participating.
For those karaoke fans like me, Fellas has a karaoke vibe that's rather unique to the area. You'll be hard-pressed to find any professional or semi-professional singers and you won't hear many slow songs. The singers and the audience are all about having fun. You'll hear 80s mainstays, cheesy hip-hop classics, and obscure tunes that somehow every college kid in the place knows by heart. Everyone sings along and if you're a hit, the crowd cheers like Carolina just won the ACC tournament. If you can really enjoy karaoke without taking yourself or the venue too seriously, you'll have a hell of a time at this underground haven.
Great pub, and was perfect for what I was looking for. We had 20 or so clients + employees staying at the Carolina Inn for an event, and we were looking for a good place to finish up.
We pretty much took over the place - wasn't hard to spot us - thirty 30 somethings *cough* kinda stand out in a college bar.
We opened the place, showed the lowbie 20 somethings up and closed it. The bartender was tickled pink by my $500 Amex tab, saying it was the largest he had seen. I was equally tickled, I would have normally spent 2-3x as much anywhere else :p
Anyway, I highly recommend, great selection of beers, staff, and a cool, downstairs venue. Beats Top Of The Hill by a neck or two easily.
Goodfellow's was one of my favorite bars when I was in college, and I still enjoy going there occasionally on less crowded nights. It's one of the only bars I know of that serves Mickey's, which is far better than its status as a malt liquor would suggest. At one point I spent enough time there that the staff recognized me, so I can't really speak objectively about their friendliness. I don't often see them being intentionally rude to people, and they make decent mixed drinks. On Wednesday nights Goodfellow's has karaoke and on Sunday nights they have half-priced pitchers. I don't really recommend it on a busy night because it can be really hard to move around and the seats fill up quickly.
Review Source:Goodfellas (I don't care what you say, that's how I spell it) is the prototypical hole-in-the-wall college bar. Â It's underground, so you might have a little trouble finding it, and you might also have trouble navigating the stairs depending on how much you've had to drink and what shoes you're wearing (ladies).
Goodfellas can usually be relied on for a good crowd. Â It's an excellent place to rub elbows with new people and get lost in your own sweaty, smoky nastiness. Â Drink specials are fairly regular and fairly good. Â It's all very high-energy... definitely not a bar for a serious conversation.
The downside: Loud noises!  I know all the platitudes about it being too loud and me being too old, but damn, I first went to this bar when I was twenty, and it was way, way too loud.  Forget conversation, you'll be lucky if you can be heard screaming at each other.  Also, the crowds mean that seating is a problem, and the simple act of getting  a beer can take up to ten minutes.  Be prepared.
Goodfellows is a great college bar- it's dark, smoky, and pretty cheap. Sunday nights are great nights to go because for a $3 cover, every drink is half-price. Wednesday nights are another favorite because of karaoke. Not to mention, they have good drink specials every night with something for everyone. On off nights, you can often find people playing video or board games throughout the bar, and it's not uncommon to get free drinks if you're a regular. The only downside is that you leave smelling like smoke no matter what, so don't wear something really nice to the bar.
Review Source:Woo hoo! Fella's can be has jammed packed as a can of sardines sometimes, but its much fun-- much fun indeed! Â Talk about going down under-- underground that is, it's a great little hide away for the college and non-college crowd that get thrown into the mix. Â They've got karaoke night on Thursdays so if you're shy and manage to get tipsy enough to go up there and sing have at it! Â I love karaoke, so one night some friends of mine and I got up there sang our hearts out, it was sooo much fun! Â The folks in the room, will cheer you on whether you're amazing or not so much; its all good because we're all just there to get our karaoke on! Â Also, on Sunday's they have HALF price on everything-- easy now, especially if you have work or class early in the morning.
Review Source:Maybe the closest thing to a dive bar in Chapel Hill (possibly 2nd to Lindas) and my very favorite Franklin Street watering hole from my undergraduate era. You have to go down a steep flight of stairs to get to the bar (and then back up them to leave). I've seen some nasty falls, so it's a good thing to bear in mind when you're on your 4th melon ball shot and don't want to wind up crumpled up at the bottom of a stairwell, legs akimbo, with your skirt pushed up around your waist (totally hypothetical here).
It's a narrow bar with a few TVs that's best enjoyed with a small group when you can nab one of the wood-slat benches lining the walls. Otherwise, it can get pretty crowded on the floor - and difficult to hear one another on a well-trafficked night. It tends to be a student scene, but without the frattiness of Top O' and others.
Good Fellows is one of the only bars in Chapel Hill that offers a classic tavern feel.
If you aren't looking for this place, you're sure to miss it. The only part visible from the street is a single door with a hanging sign above. The door leads down a narrow staircase into an underground bar that you'd be more likely to find in Boston than Chapel Hill.
The place stays pretty packed, and the crowd is lively. As a part of the Chapel Hill bar scene it's patrons are a confused mix of stool pigeons and those who had hoped for a dance floor. But once the crowd settles in it really is a fun place to relax.
Even better, it offers a feel that you won't find anywhere else in town.
We watched the final four game here on Saturday. Â After passing all the other bars on Franklin Street that were charging $10 to get in the door without guaranteeing a place to stand, let alone sit, we settled on Good Fellows, where it was only $5, and it wasn't even crowded yet. Â They even let me bring in my coffee. We had no problem getting seats or getting service at the bar, even as the night went on and more people showed up. Â The prices were reasonable, and the staff was very easy-going.
Since they don't serve food, they had a stash of take out menus. Â So we called and ordered Pepper's and they let us go out to go get it without charging us again. Â Maybe I'm just used to Atlanta, but I was very excited that they were so laid back and understanding.
The only downer was that since it's a basement, the ceiling is low, which traps the smoke and makes me feel a little trapped. Â But after a few pitchers of Yuengling (tell me why again that we can't get it in GA?), I hardly noticed.
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