Mixed reviews for this place, although their current show is a Yelp pick I believe
Lots of complaints but my new policy is to let the chips fall where they may
Broadway Comedy Club
318 W 53rd St
(between 9th Ave & 8th Ave)
New York, NY 10019
Neighborhoods: Hell's Kitchen, Midtown West, Theater District
(212) 757-2323
(between 9th Ave & 8th Ave)
New York, NY 10019
Neighborhoods: Hell's Kitchen, Midtown West, Theater District
(212) 757-2323
- Nearest Transit Station:
-
50 St. (A, C, E)50 St. (1, 2)7 Ave. (B, D, E)
- Hours:
- Mon-Sun 7 pm - 12 am
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
- $$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Best Nights:
- Mon, Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Ambience:
- Casual, Touristy
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
85 reviews for Broadway Comedy Club
Review Highlights What's this?
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"...lot of weeknight comedy shows so dont fret about the 2 drink minimum." In 40 reviews -
"There are plenty of comedy clubs in Manhattan." In 3 reviews -
"So you really get a much more intimate feel with the performances." In 5 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
85 reviews in English
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Review from Anny Y.
Our friend, Tom Hudson was an MC and stand up comedian for Chopschtick. Apparently, Chopschtick rents the 7 to 9 pm stage from Broadway Comedy Club.
It was our first time there and really enjoyed the comedy. It was mainly an asian mix of comedians and great humor. I would go back a second time.
When you check into Yelp, you get a free appetizer choice on the menu. Try the chili with cheese nacho. It was either I was very hungry on an skipped lunch day or because the nacho was super delicious. I guess I will go next time to be the judge of that. -
Review from Dan R.
A few things you need to know about Broadway Comedy Club beyond what you've already read on Yelp:
(1) They do not serve real liquor in their cocktails. They serve half-strength liquor substitutes with names like Rhumbero, Tequesta and Klir Red (look them up.)
(2) Not all of the shows at Broadway Comedy Club are produced by Broadway Comedy Club, but every show has the same drink minimum. My guess is the ones on their site are the ones they produce.
(3) The bathroom line can get pretty long, so bring your catheter. -
Review from Cassie V.
My Mom was crossing off an item on her bucket list - perform with a live band. So I came to support. The performance was nice. No problems there. My issue came with the service...
There was a $10 admission fee, and a 2 drink minimum. Ok, cool. Or at least I thought, until I realized there was one waitress taking orders for the entire room (about 50 people). She slowly made her way around the room taking orders from each table before she left to fill any order. To catch her attention you had to catch her as she was passing by because she didn't stop to check on you at all. Towards the end of the evening I literally had to go find her to get my bill. When she brought it, there was already an 18% gratuity fee attached to the bill.... really?!?
After she gave me my bill, she disappeared. The lights came on and the host got on the microphone to tell everyone to remain at their tables to receive their bill and that no one would be able to leave without a red ticket from the waitress which served as proof that you paid your bill. My bill was $34 and all I had was $20's. After waiting 20 minutes for her to return to collect my bill, I just gave her the $6 as an additional tip because I didn't feel to wait an additional 20 minutes for change. SMH.
Rip off. -
Review from Emmy E.
Manhattan, NYThis my first time here & seconds here already laughing. The staff here is perfect! Never slacking! Love it! So far my birthday is awesome.-
This guy is funny as hell. (forgot his name due to too much…
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Review from Ershad Z.
Little Ferry, NJWe went there to see a friend, the show was fun, there was a good fun crowed, the service could have been better. I think they only had one waitress and she was hard to get a hold of.. I would go back to give it a 2nd try.. -
Review from Julius B.
Manhattan, NYWent to Chopstix comedy night with my friends and it was worth going to. The venue is typical for a comedy spot. The food was pretty standard for a comedy club-- bar food. We really really enjoyed the comedians and the front row seats (pays to get there earlier). We weren't heckled. The wait staff definitely seems like they are under a lot of pressure from management and you definitely get rotated out quickly after the show is over, but it's cool. I would come back for the next show. -
Review from Tuan D.
New York, NYSome friends from out of town got us "exclusive" tickets to the comedy club and I figured "Sure. I'm always in for a good laugh." Except it wasn't a good laugh, hardly a chuckle. The line-up was obviously some sort of untalented, unhumorous, unheard-of motley crew. They had to mention "has appeared on Comedy Central" on some names to keep the audience interested. Just being in the audience for the Daily Show or the voice of a minor character in South Park does not qualified as "has appeared on Comedy Central". Racial and vaginal jokes were throwing left and right to the point that it got uncomfortable and nasty.
To add insult to injury, there is a two-drink minimum charge, which to me, as a way to force people to stay and listen to their horrible performers. It's slightly sadistic in a way. And even worse, beers will run for $8 or $9 while water can go for $5. Since no amount of alcohol would have made the experience more enjoyable, we all ordered water to satisfy the two-drink requirement and to get out of there fast. Our tab ran for $50 for four with automatic gratuity added.
The biggest joke that this establishment will ever have is itself. They apparently can only get out-of-towners to come to their show since that is 90% of their audience. I later found out that some guy came up to my friends on the streets and offered them the tickets (for a fee!). Any kind of solicitation on the streets should be a red flag that the show isn't worth your time in the first place. -
Review from Alina G.
New York, NYBe here 30 minutes before your show, they said. Your show starts at 8pm, they said.
Lies, all of it.
I wanted to enjoy Broadway Comedy Club, and I did- the comedians, at least. The venue was just sadly frazzled. Despite arriving half an hour early like they asked, I was kept waiting in a standing room for half an hour. They called out groups by the number of holes they put on our tickets and left others in confusion.
When our tickets were called we were brought to a really cold and tiny room with a stage and thought that was it. We picked our uncomfortable seats and waited. And waited. Then we were called again to go to the REAL room- jokes on you!
When my party FINALLY got seated (in the real room), we were packed in somewhere towards the back. At least this room was warm. Once the show started, it was fine. The first comedian awkwardly poked fun on the guests in the front row. It got really old really fast. Other than that it was generally painless. A lot of crowd involvement, which I love.
There's the standard two drink minimum. I got LI tea's and they were strooong. I'm on to you Broadway Comedy Club.... booze makes everything funnier. -
Review from Mike C.
If you got the tickets thinking you'd see big name comedians... the jokes on you.
I like everyone, got the tickets from a street vendor for 20 bucks. It then took us a while to make our reservations as we checked the website frequently and waited for a recognizable name to appear on the website... 3 months later, we were still waiting. So we eventually gave in and just booked a date anyway. It turns out the people listed on the website weren't even accurate, so I am glad we didn't have high/any expectations.
As mentioned 100 times on here, the staff is disorganized. One guy tells us we have 15 minutes before they start seating people, the next guy says at least a half hour. Thinking we could pick our own seats, we chose to wait (not having dinner first). Luckily, we were seated quickly, but they only sit you "from front to back" so we were right next to the stage. TIP- Unless you want to be part of the show- come later. I know that is not the advice of everyone on yelp, but it's true. Next time we'd probably come closer to the time of the show that way we can enjoy the show and not worry about being part of someone's act.
The comedians were OK. No-one I ever heard of, and likely will never hear of again, but they were funny. There was one comedian who was a retired cop who was particularly hilarious. The food was the biggest joke. As mentioned, we didn't eat dinner so we tried a few appetizers to hold us over. The nachos were from a bag and not particularly good and the fries were still partially frozen. We didn't wind up finishing either . For drinks- we just got bottled beer- figured that was the safest.
All in all it wasn't an awful experience but it wasn't the best NYC comedy show. -
Review from Crystin G.
Brooklyn, NYI went here for date night with my husband, a girlfriend and significant other. The space is decent and the majority of the comedians were funny -4 out of 5. The waitstaff, particularly a Spanish or African American woman with curly hair was so unpleasant. It just appeared that she hated her job and wanted you to know it. She had a curt, rude temperament that just rubbed me the wrong way for customer service, let alone a comedy club. I asked the manager if we could change servers and she was so non confrontational, timid, and unconcerned that I wanted to leave. I think they have forgotten that without customers there doors will close and no one gets to pay their bills. We ended up staying because my husband decided to deal with them for the rest of the night. Needless to say, I will never go back and will make sure to inform all looking for something to do for a late night to avoid this place like the plague. -
Review from Stan P.
San Diego, CATourist trap. Bought tickets from a guy on the street. He showed us a list of famous comedians that will be there that night. None of them where there. Instead they had like 10 of the worst comedians I've seen.
First guy took 20 minutes to point at each person in the audience and ask where they're from. No one was from New York. I guess the locals know how bad this place is.
I ordered chicken tenders. Bad idea. Got 5 chicken nuggets that tasted like they microwaved frozen dinner, refroze it, then microwaved it again. Fries were hard and stale. There was a 2 drink minimum and drinks are horrible. -
Review from Lisa e.
New York, NYNormally I'm not a comedy club type. It had been a decade at least, since I'd been to a comedy club and they all seem to employ that same 'treat em like moronic cattle' attitude. The tables are all stuffed in there. They have the drink/food minimum crap. There's some schticky type level C old school comedian who they hire to be the MC and usually they are pretty lame. Blah blah...
Anyway, I went on a date with someone who bought tix to this place. I wasn't expecting much, but I have to say....4 out of the 6 or so comedians were downright hysterical.
But i do get what people are saying about how they treat you here. When we arrived, there was a sorta mean bouncer guy, and there were lines, and you could just tell it was that typical velvet rope nightclub type bullshit where they make you wait for no reason at all and you are simply expected to accept it. And indeed most people seem to do just that. My date spoke up however and eventually we were seated right into the show which had just begun....
It's unfortunate that these places employ such tacky tactics because otherwise the comedians can be really good! -
Review from Tim H.
Manhattan, NYMy buddy and I finally cashed in our Living Social deals to come here. The deal was for 2 tickets and 2 drink coupons for $20. The small print is tip required on all drinks and thankfully they automatically include it in your bill at the end of the night. We were required to buy 1 more drink each as there is a 2 drinks per person minimum. Beer is the same price as a cocktail and it's $9-$11 per drink with non-alcoholic drinks available at the low rate of $5 each. A good number of their cocktails are frozen drinks. They serve food but I would compare eating food in a comedy club to eating food in a strip club, albeit my friend ordered the baked french fries and they were surprisingly edible.
The crowd is almost all tourists. It's the list of comics you might expect, this guy from Comedy Central, that guy from Showtime, the guy from HBO, the other guy's friend who aspires to be a comic, so and so from the comedy circuit, and you have heard of none of them. I must say I had extremely low expectations for the night. The drinks had more alcohol in them than I expected. The comics and jokes were funnier than I expected. The laughs were louder than expected. I had more fun than I had expected I might have.
All things considered, I had a great time here and would come back again. But I suspect it's really hit or miss and depends on the crowd and the comics lined up that night, neither of which you know until you've paid your ticket and walked in. -
Review from Tien V.
Seattle, WA1. None of the comedians that they mentioned was actually there.
2. The comedians were okay but some were terrible.
3. Two drink medium for each person in addition to the ticket price.
4. Soda or water (which they got free from a Volvo dealership) was $5.00
5. They add tips to your bill no matter the party size. They don't tell you about it.
This is a tourism scam and we fell for it. -
Review from Joelle G.
Wanted to see what all the fuss about Broadway comedy shows was about.
Should have looked this place up first on here but went on a whim. Tsk, tsk...
This place overbooks their shows on the weekends apparently.
Was told to call and make reservations.
When I called to make reservations for my friends and I, the guy on the phone said to arrive 30 minutes early.
When we get there to wait, literally a whole slew of people waiting in line, which is fine. The problem? Unorganized chaos. People didn't know what to do -_-
Overweight bouncer dude who didn't know how to control the line of people was extremely rude, nasty, & unprofessional to my friend when she was asking him questions about the wait.
We saw comedy show ticket stubs strewn on the ground a few blocks away after we left the mess of disorganization at this establishment.
Guess others could see through the BS as well. What a waste of time. Sorry I was curious and sorry I got sorry service.
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