Camden Comedy Club: shows, prices and when to book

Saturday is the main night: doors 19:30, show 20:00, around £13 through Dice, and it tends to sell out. Camden Comedy Club is a 65-seat room above the Camden Head pub at 100 Camden High Street, NW1 0LU, in Camden Town. Shows are 18+. Book ahead, because with 65 seats there is no hiding at the back.

What it is

A small corner stage upstairs in a pub, used for stand-up, improv and sketch. According to the club's own website, the room has run since 2014, with acts from the alternative circuit up to TV headliners. It names Harry Hill, Stephen Merchant, Alan Carr, Russell Howard, Bridget Christie, Stewart Lee, Rich Hall, Sara Pascoe, Joe Lycett and Mark Watson among them. Londonist lists it in its London comedy guide as running Tuesday to Sunday, and The Gentleman's Journal names it Best in North London. The club's Facebook page says it is listed in Time Out's Top 20 London comedy clubs.

One bit of housekeeping: there is another Camden Head, in Islington on Camden Passage, which also hosts comedy. This is the one on Camden High Street, between Mornington Crescent and Camden Town stations.

A short history

Wikipedia puts the pub's origins at 1787 and notes a licensed record from 1869, though the same article is vaguer elsewhere, so treat the date with a pinch of salt. It was renovated in 2004 and 2005. The upstairs room was added to the Camden Fringe in 2007 as a cabaret-style venue, and in September 2014 it was relaunched as Camden Comedy Club. The club is still a Camden Fringe venue, and can be hired for £75 per show.

What to book

• Saturday Night Comedy. Doors 19:30, show 20:00. Dice describes four or five comedians, fast-moving, and says it always sells out. Dice has shown £13, and the club has advertised Saturday tickets from £10.
• Saturday at 18:00. A storytelling double bill, billed on the club's X account as 2 Stories with Nathan Cassidy and a guest. Chortle lists a comedic storytelling show at £10.
• Friday. The Rat Pack Stand-up Comedy, which the club calls a multi Time Out Critics Choice. Around £12.50.
• Monday: Camden Comedy Uncut. Doors 19:20, show 19:30, £5. Billed as professionals testing new material, with bigger names sometimes dropping in. This is the cheapest good night out in NW1.
• Tuesday. Smash Up Comedy at £5, and Chortle lists some £7 shows.
• Sunday. The club has promoted shows at 16:00 and 18:00 and Tall Tales & Cocktails at 19:30.

Programming moves around, so check the line-up before you go.

When to go

For the full night out, Saturday. For a cheap look at the room, Monday. Friday sits in between on price. Refunds on Dice are available within 24 hours of purchase or if the show is cancelled or rescheduled, but not within 24 hours of the show.

Booking

Go through camdencomedyclub.com, which links to Dice, or the club's X account. Prices run from £5 to £13 depending on the night. Free comedy mentioned in the pub's general listings is not the club's ticketed shows.

Eat and drink downstairs

The Camden Head's website says Russell's Kitchen serves pub food seven days a week: burgers, hot dogs, pie and mash, wings (chicken and cauliflower) and fish and chips, which it calls the best in Camden. It also claims the original Smokin' Camden Burger. Tripadvisor reviewers praise the smoked burger and fries, the steak and ale pie, and garlic bread with onion rings, though some note the choice is limited. The site lists the kitchen as open 12:00 to 22:00, so eat before a late show rather than after. The bar does beer, wine and cocktails, and Yelp says DJs play Thursday to Saturday in the main bar.

It is the obvious place for a pint before or after, since the stairs are right there. Inside, CAMRA describes dark wood, glass and mirrors around a central bar. Plan your timings, because the room upstairs is small and the bar fills on show nights.

Also nearby

If the club is full, Londonist lists Comedy in Your Eye at the Camden Eye, 2 Kentish Town Road, NW1 9NX, Tuesday to Thursday, with tickets from £3 to £5.