A Secret Beach Bar in Abaco

By Alexander Britell

The Great Abaco Highway is an empty road, straddled by slash pines; the miles pass by like  waves.

Getting here is a long drive on the highway from just about anywhere in Abaco, hidden away at the end of the winding roads past Winding Bay.

This is the road less traveled — because we probably should have taken a boat.

Little Harbor in Abaco.

Because only boaters know about this place, an almost mythical beach bar on the shores of Little Harbour on Great Abaco in The Bahamas.

This is Pete’s Pub, the sort of beach bar when those in the know don’t know, truly secreted away in the corner of a spectacular turquoise harbor.

The art gallery/souvenir shop has some impressive pieces.

The place itself feels like an art project, crafted on top of itself, with hanging t shirts and wood.

And that’s because it is an art project.

It’s the creation of Pete Johnston (some call him Pirate Pete) an arist and chef who created the beautiful art gallery adjacent to the bar — it’s also the only working sculpture foundry in the Bahamas.

The food is excellent, a combination of sandwiches and dessert, joined by a bar and picnic tables. Make sure you go for one of the classic fish sandwiches, like the triggerfish gyro.

The crowd here is water lovers, boaters and yachters who have found their way here on whispers and hushed recommendations.

They have all discovered Pete’s, a bucket-list beach bar.

The hours pass here by like pines on the highway, the brilliance of the Abaco water brightens, and at a certain point, after a few rums, you forget how you ever could have gotten to this place.

It must have been on a boat.