Coglin’s Wilmington — Restaurant in Wilmington

First off id like to say that I'm a long time wilmington resident. I've lived here since 2012. Ive been to Coglin's many times and over the years I've spent a significant amount of money there. Ive taken friends from out of town there to have a fun time. Ive recommend to random people ive met out and about to go there. But no more. They have received my last dollar. And my last recommendation . I went there tonight to attend the pride event they hosted with close friends that the issue of gay pride is something they believe in deeply. I had 2 drinks at dinner. When we attempted to enter coglin's I was immediately told I was "too Hot" to enter. To which I replied "what do you mean?" I was then told I had to prove my sobriety by walking a straight line down the block and back. Which I did for the sake of not ruining my friend's night. I passed their test despite being humiliated and was allowed to enter. We had a decent time for about an hour and a half. We all decided after a while to sit for a few minutes to take a break. After a few minutes the rest of the party I was with went back to dancing and I decided to stay seated as I just finished a 65 hour work week and was enjoying just sitting and listening to songs I grew up with. It should also be noted that im trying new contacts this week and still adjusting to them. I literally closed my eyes for 30 seconds. I know because I was counting. To try to re wet my contacts and during the process was tapped on the shoulder by the same bouncer that put me through the sobriety test to enter. He forced me to my feet and told me I had to leave. Im not a fan of being touched by strangers and I asked him multiple times to get his hands off me as he escorted me out. Which he did not do. He treated me as if I was some sort of a threat from the moment I walked up to the front door to the moment I was escorted out. I did nothing wrong. I was not allowed to cash out my tab. I guess I see in the morning how much extra gets tacked on for that. I didn't resist or act rude on the way out. I just about as neutral of a customer you could ever hope for from the second I entered the building. Ive never been so publicly embarrassed in my life and never been kicked out of anywhere in my life. But rest assured myself and many dozens of friends and acquaintances will never return. And I'll never recommend them to out of towners again either. I don't expect anything to come of this review except to try to prevent someone from having an experience like mine. There are plenty of...

Absolutely Disgraceful — Especially on Pride Night

I don’t even know where to begin with how appalling our experience was at this bar. We came out expecting to celebrate Pride, to feel welcomed, affirmed, and part of a community. Instead, what we got was blatant profiling and power-tripping doormen.

Before we even stepped foot inside, my friend — was profiled by the doormen for being “too hot.” Claiming he was too drunk to enter ( we has just come from dinner and didn’t even start drinking lol) They then forced him to perform a sobriety test right there on the sidewalk, treating him like a criminal for literally standing in line. Later, when he took a short break from dancing — not bothering anyone, just sitting — they kicked him out without cause. No discussion. No explanation. Just thrown out, wouldn’t let him pay his tab, and would not let go of him when he politely told them the physical touch was not necessary.

The irony of this happening on Pride Night is nauseating. A night that's meant to uplift and include turned into one of the most humiliating and alienating experiences we've had at a venue that claims to be LGBTQ+ friendly. That’s not just bad business — it’s a disgrace.

We will never spend another dime here, and I encourage others to think twice before supporting a place that clearly has no idea what community or customer service actually...

2023 update: I no longer recommend Coglin's. I went on a Saturday night when most businesses downtown were busy but this one was not (should have been a red flag right away). On the plus side, the bouncer did notify us of the $5 cover charge before we got upstairs so there were no surprises. The main negative was that the DJ did not read the crowd at all. The music was no longer 80s/90s retro pop and instead mid/late 00s hip-hop. There were only a handful of people dancing and at least 20-30 people in the club just standing around the bar not engaged at all. There was no variety at all, and after about 45 mins of standing around waiting for better music (or at least for more than a few people to dance), we left.

2022 original review: Such a fun spot to dance to throwback music! On a Saturday night, it was busy, but wasn't too full that you couldn't move around. Music/DJ was kind of strange - bad transitions between songs and they didn't seem to adapt to the crowd. We were there for about an hour and a half and heard at least one song twice. Would definitely go...