Where you experience comedy matters just as much as who’s cracking jokes onstage. Las Vegas has no shortage of amazing clubs—Comedy Cellar, Wiseguys, LA Comedy Club, Jimmy Kimmel’s and Brad Garrett’s, to name a few—but lately, other local venues have stepped up their game, bringing jokesters to smaller rooms and unexpected places. Here are some of our favorite spots to catch a comedy show outside of a traditional club.
Eat This Comedy eatthiscomedy.com
After longtime local food writer and comedian Jason Harris grew tired of having to grab a meal before or after the shows he attended, he decided to mash the two together by founding Eat This Comedy. The variables of this venture—like the host restaurant and participating comics—are constantly in flux, but the experience always includes a full-service meal and an hour or more of top-flight humor from Harris and a rotating cast of his closest stand-up friends. The grandson of legendary comedian Van Harris, Jason Harris cut his teeth experimenting with the concept through his former Live From The Monkey Bar sessions at Piero’s, but Eat This Comedy has since eclipsed those early shows at non-traditional venues like Ada’s Food & Wine, Echo & Rig, Honey Salt, Metro Pizza and more. Follow along on Instagram (@eatthiscomedy) to find out where the next show will satisfy your comedy appetite. –Tyler Schneider
Bagelmania Backroom siegelsbagelmania.com
A Jewish deli with jokes? Say no more. Comic power couple Noah Gardenswartz and Ester Steinberg founded the Backroom last year at Siegel’s Bagelmania on Convention Center Drive with every intention of being the place to “laugh your bagels off.” It’s a return to form for Steinberg, who previously ran the Kibitz Room Comedy Show at LA’s Canter’s Deli for seven years. “The comedy clubs and the big theaters are awesome, but we have such an intimate vibe,” she says. “It just feels so close up and homey.” The monthly stand-up event returns from a summer hiatus on September 25, kicking off sophomore season on the last Thursday of each month with a rotating cast of hand-picked comedians and specialty menu items from the host kitchen. Gardenswartz, a writer for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, promises “a great mix of professional comics doing some of their best jokes, while also working out and feeling comfortable to explore with a local crowd.” –TS
Delirious Comedy Club deliriouscomedyclub.com
Looking for a regular Downtown comedy fix? Consider planning your next outing at Delirious Comedy Club inside Hennessey’s Tavern along the Fremont Street Experience. Since resident comedian Don Barnhart launched the space in 2019, the Dry Bar Comedy star has transformed the Delirious Showroom into a crucible where up-and-coming comics can pay their dues alongside more established acts. Shows usually run six days a week Tuesday through Sunday starting at 7 p.m., while Fridays and Saturdays include a second 9 p.m. slot. In addition to Barnhart himself, featured mainstays include locals Ron Coleman, Kathleen Dunbar and Guy Fessenden, plus visiting veterans like Canadian quipper Erin O’Connor and Chicagoan Keith Lyle. More recently, Barnhart scheduled a slew of evenings hosted by House of Magic resident magician Justin Rivera. A former America’s Got Talent semifinalist, Rivera’s appearances promise a blend of illusion, audience interaction and a dash of comedic flavor. –TS
Don’t Tell Comedy donttellcomedy.com
It’s said that the key to any lasting relationship is spontaneity, and Don’t Tell Comedy has that down pat. Audiences don’t know where the show will be until that morning. And shows pop up in a variety of businesses, from gyms to hair salons to coffee shops. In fact, the nationwide company’s Las Vegas chapter started in someone’s Inspirada living room. More than six years later, lead producer Nick Arellano has grown Don’t Tell into a showcase fit for a swanky Strip speakeasy. It recently held its first show at On the Record at Park MGM with Jaye Devan, Jozalyn Sharp and J.C. Currais. Stay tuned, as it’s about to announce a show at Punk Rock Museum this fall. –Shannon Miller
Shanna Christmas at Fat Cat
THE B Word at Fat Cat posh.vip/series/the-b-word-comedy-hour
Coming off the release of a one-hour special, Shanna Christmas hosts the B Word comedy hour every third Wednesday of the month at 8 p.m. at Fat Cat Lounge at Downtown Grand. A born-and-raised local, Christmas makes us proud with a show she’s built from the ground up. The author, producer and comedian books other comics, hosts and keeps things moving as she regales us with hilarious tales from her dayjob as an occupational therapist at a nursing home, her child-free life and playing the dating field. July’s lineup, including New York’s James Mattern and LA’s Jasmine Ellis, had the room clutching their sides. Members of jazz group Sol Fixx provided the intro and outro music befitting of a jazz and blues joint converted into a comedy club. –SM
NuWu’s Sky High Lounge skyhighlv.com
NuWu has mastered the art of toke and joke with Las Vegas’ first cannabis comedy night. Gabe Lopez hosts this smoke-friendly show at the Sky High Lounge in Downtown every Friday, bringing new side-splittingly funny comics like Bret Ernst, J.C. Currais and Trixx to keep you guessing and giggling all night. The lounge also has dab and THC-infused drink specials, and NuWu’s new Munchie Machine—an actual ghost kitchen vending machine full of Sicilian pizza slices, sandwiches, cinnamon rolls and chicken tenders—will be there when those canna cravings kick in. –Amber Sampson
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