New York City / Comedy
Best Comedy Clubs
in NYC
Where to laugh without getting fleeced — the no-minimum rooms, the real happy hours, and the two-drink-minimum clubs worth the toll.
Most comedy happy hours run 4–7pm — Eastville and the Grisly Pear start at 4pm.
- 13 verified clubs
- tickets from $5
- beers from $5
- 3 with no minimum
The short version
- Best deal overallEastville — $7 beer+shot all summer, half-price happy hour 4–8pm; drinks cheap enough to shrug off the two-drink minimum.
- Cheapest ticketsThe Tiny Cupboard — from $5, half-off Mondays, no minimum.
- Only real Midtown HHGrisly Pear — $5 beers, $7 margs, 4–7pm weekdays.
- Best value ticketNew York Comedy Club — $19 Groupon = 2 tickets + 2 drinks.
- Worth the tollComedy Cellar — two-item minimum, no deal, best lineup anywhere.
The best-value comedy clubs in NYC right now are Eastville in Boerum Hill ($7 beer-and-shot all summer, half-price happy hour 4–8pm — cheap enough that the two-drink minimum barely registers), The Tiny Cupboard in Bushwick (tickets from $5, half-off Mondays, no minimum), and The Stand in Union Square (no minimum, free Monday show). Want cheap laughs without getting fleeced? That’s your short list. Below, every club is grouped by whether it gives you a real deal or makes you pay through the nose — with the price, the window, and the cross-street for each. Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens are all here; take the train and skip the tourist-corridor markups.
At a glance
The real deals up top, the two-drink rooms below. Tap a club’s number on the map to place it.
| Club | The deal | Days | Window | $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastville Comedy Club | $7 beer + shot; half-price HH 4-8pm; 2-drink min | Thu-Sun | 4-8pm | $$$ |
| The Grisly Pear (Midtown) | Free res ticket; HH $5 beer, $7 margs 4-7pm | Mon-Fri | 4-7pm | $$$ |
| The Tiny Cupboard | Tickets from $5, half-off Mon, NO minimum | Nightly | 7pm+ | $$$ |
| The Stand | No minimum; free Monday ‘Frantic!’ 9pm | 7 nights | shows 7pm+ | $$$ |
| New York Comedy Club | $19 Groupon (2 tix + 2 drinks); $20/person min | Nightly | 7pm+ | $$$ |
| QED Astoria | $5-$10 tickets, NO minimum | Wed-Sun | eve | $$$ |
| Union Hall | Bar HH $6 drafts/wine/wells 4-7pm; ‘Cheap Date’ comedy | Mon-Fri | 4-7pm | $$$ |
| Comedy Cellar | Two-item min, no discount, cover $15-$25 | Nightly | 7pm+ | $$$ |
| Gotham Comedy Club | Two-beverage min; tickets ~$20-$28 | Nightly | 7pm+ | $$$ |
| Comic Strip Live | Two-drink min; tickets ~$20 | Nightly | 7pm+ | $$$ |
| Broadway Comedy Club | Two-drink min; buy direct, skip resellers | Nightly | 7pm+ | $$$ |
| West Side Comedy Club | Two-item min; open mics from $5 | Nightly | eve | $$$ |
| Littlefield | No minimum, but tickets ~$15-$38 by show | Varies | eve | $$$ |
Map: where these 13 clubs are
These span three boroughs — Boerum Hill and Bushwick in Brooklyn, Astoria in Queens, and a cluster from the Village up to the UWS in Manhattan.
Pins are numbered to match the table above – tap any pin for the deal and directions.
The real deals: cheap drinks, no minimum, cheap tickets
The rooms that give you an actual break — no drink minimum, half-price happy hours, or tickets from $5. Eastville leads on sheer cheap-drink value. More weekend picks in our Saturday happy hour guide.
Eastville Comedy Club On now
Start here. It’s Brooklyn’s oldest comedy club, a block from Barclays in Boerum Hill, and the best-value room on this page. There’s a two-drink minimum, like every comedy club — but Eastville makes it painless, because the drinks are actually cheap. All summer the well is $7 for a beer and a shot, and happy hour knocks drinks to half price from 4 to 8pm, which lands cleanly on the Thursday-through-Sunday shows when the doors open at 3:30. The Verdict: real headliners, and clearing the two-drink minimum here costs less than a single cocktail at the Manhattan velvet-rope rooms. Go before the 8pm show, catch the half-price window, stay for the late set.
The Grisly Pear (Midtown) On now
The one Midtown club with an actual happy hour on the books. Reserve free online, walk in around 6, and drinks are $5 beers and $7 margaritas — plus wine and liquor — from 4 to 7pm Monday through Friday, so an early show costs you next to nothing before the ticket even applies. The back room seats theatre-style and the lineup is working-comic solid. The Honest Caveat: there’s a two-item minimum once you’re seated and door tickets run higher than the free reservation, so book ahead and hit the 4-7 window. The Local Move: come for the 7pm, drink on happy-hour prices first.
midtown.thegrislypear.com · See our Midtown happy hour
The Tiny Cupboard
The best cheap-ticket room in the city, and it isn’t close. Tickets start at $5, most sit around $12, Monday nights are half off, and there is no drink minimum — buy one ticket and you can post up for multiple shows the same night. It’s a converted Bushwick church with a rooftop, the crowd is young and game, and the bills run deep because everyone’s trying new material. Worth It: if you want maximum comedy for minimum money, this is the answer. The Local Move: grab a season pass if you’re a regular — it’s unlimited shows for the price of a couple of cover charges elsewhere.
thetinycupboard.com · See our Bushwick happy hour
The Stand
A rarity: a real Union Square club with a full restaurant upstairs and no drink minimum downstairs. Their own line is that the room’s good enough that they don’t need one, and they’re right. You order what you actually want off a real menu instead of nursing two mandatory well drinks. The free move is ‘Frantic!’ every Monday at 9pm — no ticket, just show up — which is the cheapest night of comedy in the neighborhood. The Verdict: pay for the show, not for the privilege of sitting there. The Honest Caveat: it books strong weekend headliners and those tickets aren’t free, but the no-minimum policy still puts it ahead of the Chelsea/UES crowd.
thestandnyc.com · See our best cocktail bars in NYC
New York Comedy Club
The value here is the Groupon, and it’s a genuinely good one: $19 gets two tickets and two drinks, which beats face value handily. Three New York rooms run the same deal — the Gramercy flagship on E 24th, the East Village on E 4th, and the newer Upper West Side spot on W 78th — so there’s probably one near you. The catch is a $20-per-person showroom minimum that only counts what you order from your seat, so budget for it. The Local Move: buy the Groupon, don’t pay the door; the Superfan pass it comes with gets you back in free on eligible nights. Skip It only if you refuse to deal with vouchers — otherwise the math works.
QED Astoria
Queens’ best-value room and the friendliest on the list. QED is a small, woman-owned arts space in Astoria where shows run $5 to $10 and there’s no food or drink minimum for anyone over 21 — you buy a beer or a cider because you want one, not because a bouncer’s counting. The programming is a mix of stand-up, storytelling, and classes, so check the calendar, but the comedy nights are cheap and unpretentious. The Verdict: proof you don’t cross a river for a two-drink minimum. Closed Monday and Tuesday, so aim Wednesday through Sunday.
qedastoria.com · See our Astoria happy hour
Union Hall On now
Drink upstairs, laugh downstairs. The Park Slope bar runs a $6 happy hour on drafts, wine, and well drinks Monday through Friday from 4 to 7pm — worth arriving early for — and the basement hosts some of the better indie comedy in Brooklyn, including the long-running ‘Cheap Date’ series built to be affordable. The Honest Caveat: the comedy drink minimum is set per show, so some nights have none and some ask for two — check the listing before you go. The Local Move: get there by 6, run the happy hour at the bar, then head down for the show.
unionhallny.com · See our Park Slope happy hour
The two-drink-minimum rooms: great comedy, you pay for it
Big lineups, no discounts, and a mandatory bar tab on top of the ticket. Worth it for the right headliner — just know the real cost going in. Drink better nearby with our best cocktail bars in NYC guide.
Comedy Cellar
The best lineup in the country, and the one place on this page that will never cut you a deal — so go in clear-eyed. Cover runs $15 on a weeknight to $25 Friday and Saturday, and there’s a two-item minimum on top: food, a drink, or even a bottle of water counts, but you’re buying two of something. What you’re paying for is real — Chappelle and Chris Rock drop in unannounced in a cramped MacDougal basement where the comics squeeze past your chair. The Verdict: no discount, no happy hour, worth it anyway, once. The Local Move: hit the New Joke Night for a lower cover, and eat elsewhere — the two-item minimum doesn’t say it has to be dinner.
comedycellar.com · See our West Village happy hour
Gotham Comedy Club
A polished Chelsea showcase that’s launched plenty of names, with a two-beverage minimum per person on top of a ticket that runs roughly $20 weeknights to $28 weekends. Non-alcoholic drinks count toward the two, which is the only mercy. The room’s big and the sightlines are good, so it’s a solid pick if you want a proper club night without the basement crush. The Honest Caveat: watch the online checkout — the club settled a class action over service fees, so the price you click isn’t always the price you pay. Buy at the box office if you can and read the total before you confirm.
Comic Strip Live
The oldest continuously running showcase club in the city — Seinfeld and Eddie Murphy came up here — and it still runs the old-school way: roughly $20 to get in and a two-drink minimum that the staff enforce without apology. No specials, no happy hour, no wiggle room. What you get is history and a reliably strong Upper East Side lineup. The Verdict: a fair-priced ticket wrapped in a mandatory bar tab; go for the legacy, not the value. The Local Move: some nights a Yelp check-in runs a buy-one-get-one on tickets — confirm it’s live before you count on it.
comicstriplive.com · See our Upper East Side happy hour
Broadway Comedy Club
A serviceable Hell’s Kitchen club that gets a lot of tourist traffic, with a two-drink minimum and a ticket-pricing situation you have to watch. Resale aggregators quote $40 and up; the club’s own box office is usually far less. The Verdict: fine room, but the money leaks out through third-party sellers, so buy straight from the club and you’ll pay a fair price. Go Here Instead: if you want Midtown comedy with an actual drink deal, the Grisly Pear on W 54th has a real happy hour a few blocks away. The Honest Caveat: showcase lineups here are hit-or-miss — check who’s on before you commit.
broadwaycomedyclub.com · See our Midtown happy hour
West Side Comedy Club
A comfortable Upper West Side room with a slightly gentler policy than the Midtown clubs: it’s a two-item minimum, and an item can be food or a drink, so you’re not forced into two cocktails. Regular showcases carry a ticket, but the open mics are the value play — as low as $5 — if you want cheap laughs and don’t mind rougher sets. The Verdict: no happy hour, but the two-item wording is friendlier than ‘two drinks,’ and the UWS location makes it an easy pre-dinner stop. The Local Move: come for an open mic, order the food item, and you’ve technically cleared the minimum.
Littlefield
Not a bargain, but an honest one — and the policy’s the opposite of the Manhattan clubs. Littlefield is a Gowanus warehouse venue with no drink minimum; you pay a real ticket instead, usually $15 to $38 depending on who’s on. That buys you touring comics and taped specials in a proper standing room with a good bar, no mandatory tab hanging over you. The Verdict: on the list for the rooms and the lineups, not the price — when a name you want is playing, it’s the better night out than a cheaper showcase. The Honest Caveat: it’s mostly general admission and seating is limited, so email ahead if you need a chair.
littlefieldnyc.com · See our Gowanus happy hour
Best comedy clubs in NYC: FAQ
Which NYC comedy clubs have no drink minimum?
The Stand in Union Square, The Tiny Cupboard in Bushwick, and QED in Astoria all skip the drink minimum entirely. Eastville does have a two-drink minimum, but its $7 beer-and-shot all summer and half-price happy hour 4-8pm make it the cheapest round in town anyway.
What’s the cheapest way to see comedy in NYC?
The Tiny Cupboard in Bushwick has tickets from $5 with no minimum and half-off Mondays. New York Comedy Club’s $19 Groupon gets two tickets and two drinks. The Stand runs a free show, ‘Frantic!’, every Monday at 9pm.
Do all NYC comedy clubs have a two-drink minimum?
No. The famous Manhattan showcase clubs — Comedy Cellar (a two-item minimum), Gotham, Comic Strip Live, and Broadway Comedy Club — do, and so does Eastville in Brooklyn. But The Stand, The Tiny Cupboard, and QED have no minimum at all, and West Side Comedy Club uses a friendlier two-item minimum where food counts.
Is Comedy Cellar worth it if there’s no discount?
For the lineup, yes, once. Cover runs $15-$25 plus a two-item minimum, and there’s never a deal — but big names drop in unannounced. For a cheaper night with the same city, try Eastville or The Tiny Cupboard instead.
Which comedy clubs have a happy hour?
The Grisly Pear in Midtown runs $5 beers and $7 margaritas 4-7pm weekdays. Eastville’s happy hour is half-price drinks 4-8pm (best on its Thursday-Sunday shows). Union Hall’s upstairs bar in Park Slope does $6 drafts, wine, and wells 4-7pm weekdays before the basement show.
Last updated: July 2026. Deals and hours change – confirm with the venue before you go. Spot something out of date? Let us know.
