Laugh Factory Chicago

OMG what a waste of time. We came here with my in laws and it was so bad. They has the nerve to say this was the 2^nd time the were doing this game show thing. It was ROAR the ultimate in worse movies not funny at all. This has to be the worst excuse for a comedy routine I have ever seen. WHAT a total waste of money and time! We will never go back again. The audience was walking out. It was so bad. Laugh factory should paying us to watch then. We will never go back to the Laugh Factory waste of money for drinks and horrible show,

I love a good comedy show and as far as venues go, I do believe The Laugh Factory may be my favorite. The bee’s knees. The cat’s meow. The elephant’s instep.
Between Unilocal Check-​ins and other offers, you may be able to score free tickets here on any given night. I went a couple of weeks ago for a special night all about dating and ended up actually purchasing my tickets. I’m a sucker. Though my friends and I shelled out the cash for the show, it was well worth it. They had 5 or 6 comedians each do their spiel lasting from just a few minutes to longer sets of 15 minutes. As to be expected, some were better than others but the laugh providers that hit — they really hit and we chucked the whole way through their set.
There was a gentleman that kept things going throughout the show with interludes between each jokester reading audience horror dating stories, so that was fun. He kept things flowing quite nicely though. At the end of the show, they had a long audience participation bit. How this goes depends completely on who they pick to go on stage and sadly 2 of 3 on my night were duds so it was often more awkward than hilarious.
Laugh Factory has the comedy club standard of having to order at least 2 food or drink items each but as we all know… Drinks make everything funnier. It’s not hard to meet this minimum. With a Bud Light priced at $ 5 and a Goose Island at $ 6, it made it clear to us to go with the craft beer for just a buck more. We also ordered their chicken tenders which came with honey mustard. They were pretty standard but tasty and we gobbled them up quite quickly! They had some delicious sounding desserts on the menu but we didn’t quite make it that far.
All in all, we walked away loving Laugh Factory. The setups is better than most other comedy clubs, it seems less run down than most others, service was good and the comedy was great!

It was great. Had a lot of fun, comedians were hilarious! Service was good. Show up early for good seats.

First thing, mandatory drink order. I hated this. Although I normally order something to drink, i felt really annoyed having to do so.
Second, jokes were most of the time ok. I even felt bad at some points when some jokes didn’t generate any reaction from the public. On the average, the speaker of the house made better jokes than the rest.
One last thing I have to add. The last guy was a fat dude that looks like to be very drunk when he got to the stage. He made me crack up really hard on some of his jokes. He saved the night.

Where do I start… most of the comics and definitely the host were funny. It was interactive and the host and the headliner did well on their feet dealing with the unique crowd.
However, the wait staff was snobby and poor at their jobs. It seemed to be a bother for the girl that waited on us when there was a 2 drink minimum, so it should be expected. And its that 2 drink minimum that bothered me at first. The menu is all far overpriced and you get over-​iced, so the drink is really like 3 – 5 gulps and thats at the lowest end of $ 3. Some of them end up over $ 10. That rule should go, because I don’t think people enjoy being forced into something they didn’t want, and obviously the wait staff don’t like it either.
The comics were mostly entertaining, some of them were pretty awkward but it was alright for the price we paid. People– use the Groupon for this place. It was NOT worth $ 17, but you can save $ 5 when you get tickets through Groupon.
With all that, my night seemed to be alright. I had a good laugh and we tried to look past being forced to drink. However, we left a bag behind and we had to go back to retrieve it. It had leftovers and products from LUSH in it. We got the bag back with no bath bomb in it. Within 10 minutes, I had my stuff stolen. Hold onto your stuff, folks, the workers there are thieves.
All in all, the night was okay. Don’t expect much from the wait staff because they cannot be bothered, despite the rule forcing us to buy drinks. I would not have bought anything if it wasn’t a minimum, because it would have made my night so much better not to deal with the service.

I found a great groupon for this place and I paid $ 12 to visit on a Friday night. It wasn’t far from my hotel so I just über’d it.
I had a great time. They had some great local comics as well as a few out of towners. I think we saw about 6 comics that night which is a great deal for $ 12. I would definitely come back to this place the next time I visit Chicago.

Solid place for laughs when you need a brand name but you can get a factories worth of laughs plenty other places around the city. And for less.
I’m not knocking the factory because I’ve been a few times for both regular shows and special events. There’s always a two drink minimum which is standard but the drinks are shit and pretty pricy. And I’m cool with $ 7/​beer if they actually had a good selection. The most regular cocktail they have is Jameson and ginger ranging to something that’s very blue. And I learned at a younger age to stay away from a blue drink plus I’m a man.
Enough of the knocks though. The theater itself is spacious compared to other comedy joints I’ve been to. It’s a little old looking but whatever. I will big up the servers because they deliver a ton of drinks on one tray… Tip’em please.
I would stick to special events for coming here. We’re talking $ 40 for a pair of tickets, $ 100 for 6 cocktails for 2 people, and the hassle of Broadway street parking plus paying for street parking. But there’s always the laughs right. Sarcasm Idk.
Honestly I’ve always had a decent time here. I even get a laugh on the way out when the host tells ppl that if on the way out if they write a funny Unilocal review they’ll give you two free tickets. If you just check in you get two free tickets anyways. It’s the best shit to see ppl going hard for the free tickets and then someone, not me, will put them on game.

Good place for good laughs! Some guests are funnier than others, as it happens in any comedy club. What I love is that this place is so huge and easily accessible and drinks are averagely priced. I know it is the city of Chicago and many tourists make it a point to attend the Laugh Factory, but it may help to make the «no heckling» rule a bit more obvious to avoid the awkwardness of someone being kicked out of the club.

Hilarious! They had a great lineup and we laughed our asses off.
We had VIP tix, which I would recommend, as the seating is better and you don’t have to wait in line. There’s a 2 drink minimum, which is about right for the 1.5 hour show.
Check it i

Can’t believe we even spent money here. Wow. Would have rather listened to the host, Jonah all night instead of this poor lineup. Absolute disaster of a show with the exception of two members of the Sunday night line up (abi and another I can’t recall) who actually knew how to make people laugh.
I was shocked at the level of humor these «comedians» deem funny and could tell I wasn’t alone considering the vast majority of the small crowd was SILENT most of the night (aside from the expected scatter of wasted peeps).
The Jew jokes and porn jokes got old real fast and I can appreciate self deprecating humor but this was just gross. Couldn’t stand AJ Lubecker, Reena Calm and Mike Gamms.
Worse than that, I felt that none of them were even remotely prepared. It was awkward and two of them seemed so uncomfortable with our small crowd they had no idea how to engage the audience. CRICKETS ALL NIGHT. Ugh. What a waste of time.
Maybe I picked the wrong night to go, but regardless these novice comedians should stick to free open mic night to test out their «material» before charging for this joke of a show.
Disappointed in this experience, was really looking forward to a night at laugh factory.
Drinks were reasonable and wait staff was great.

Comedians were okay. Parking was difficult and the VIP is not really VIP. It’s still first come first serve. A waste. Just buy the regular price tickets

Fun little spot downtown — we watched the Nasty Show and had a great time. There was a 2 drink minimum and they start at 5 $ for any alcohol. Very funny host and comedians!

I have been to LOADS of comedy clubs in Chicago and this is one of the best. First of all, the vast majority of comedy clubs have a 2-​drink minimum and have since the 90s, so this is just part of the drill. The other reviews mention issues with credit card charges and whatnot, but I found the process here much better than other clubs and would rather give a credit card to open a tab at the beginning, then sit around at the end of the show waiting to settle up.
Now for the comedy! We went on Saturday 2÷20÷16. The line up was great with each comedian better than the one before. Dave Helem was absolutely HYSTERICAL. The perfect performance and I would see him again and again. I am a pretty tough critic and never laugh out loud but this guy killed me! His timing was amazing and content hysterical. Joey Villagomez was hysterical as well and right before Dave. He has been on HBO too. It was a solid line up!
The final performer was a downer. Maybe she was having a bad day. Found her material the same crap all female comedians talk about. Not funny and quite old. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all.
Would highly recommend for a fun night out!

Went here to see a specific comic that was scheduled for the lineup that evening, and he ended up not performing, which no one announced. Wish they would’ve said something so we didn’t have to sit through the other comedians, ranging from ok to horrible. Hardly laughed at all. Not sure if it was just a rare bad lineup, or if this is the usual. Couldn’t stand Emily Galati, who closed the evening, so that really ended the already average experience on a bad note.
Had good service from the waitstaff, no complaints there.
They were giving out free tickets, so we may try again to see if there’s better comics on a different night. But wondering if they need to give out free tickets because no one wants to pay money to come back? If it’s your first time, save some money and get a Groupon so you’re not as disappointed if it blows.

I had a Groupon for this place for the longest and decided to use it last night. It definitely was worth it! Despite the two drink minimum, I had a fabulous time. There was about 5 comedians who performed and Pat Tamasulo hosted. If you’ve watch WGN news you’ve seen him before. The headliner of the show was kind of so so, but the rest of the comics made up for it.
Overall, the venue is a nice size and I was surprised that I had a lot of freedom to sit where I wanted to. Since I love comedians to interact with me I chose to sit right in the front. If you want to sit there try going about 30 – 40 minutes before the shows opens to have a better chance.
I also got two free tickets at the end of the show from following them on Facebook. I will definitely be checking them out soon!

This is my favorite comedy venue in the city. They have a nice variety of stand-​up comedians who do short (maybe 10 – 15 minute) stints on stage. If the comedian is flopping then they quickly swap him/​her out for a new one. It’s a nice way to hear a lot of fresh material. I haven’t heard of any of the comedians before; however, they have often been on television, have DVDs, or have written books.
I don’t think there’s any reason why you should have to pay for a ticket at the Laugh Factory. For one thing, they have a Unilocal check-​in offer for free two tickets. For another thing, they sometimes give free tickets after the show for you to come back again.
The Unilocal Deal didn’t work for me. We tried to use it at the Laugh Factory for drinks or whatever and the server (who had to ask a manager) said we couldn’t. I tried it online and it said the code wasn’t valid. I called the Laugh Factory and they assumed that I was talking about the check-​in offer (which is free). SOoooo… I got my money back from Unilocal.
The two purchase minimum isn’t a big deal. Who doesn’t want to have a drink while watching some comedy anyway? It loosens up the laugh muscles. The food is really, super basic: hot-​dog, chicken fingers, and something else… chips and salsa maybe? And that’s all the food. You can buy it if you want, but I channel my money toward the beverages.
Finally, the reason why I really love the Laugh Factory is because it’s nice and clean. It’s spacious enough where you’re not right on top of your neighbor. There are no funky odors or questionable residue. It doesn’t feel like a renovated garage. No. It’s a proper stage and seating area that is just the right size for comedy.

Great show! Very funny! Cheap… Just go!
We saw a wide range of a sudden within the 10pm «nasty show» and it everyone in my group had their own favorite!
P. s. Check for the groupon — but the are not valid on Saturdays!

–Big venue
–so so comedians
–Shady managers. If you tell them you have a groupon discount they’ll say it’s sold out but apparently tickets are avail if we pay full price.
–Don’t waste money on VIP
–brownie bites are laughable for $ 5. It’s ¼ of your palm.

3 ½ stars!
Let’s start with the line to get in. The show that we went to started at 9 o’clock and we got there at 8:45 and they didn’t open the door till 15 minutes after nine. So just be prepared to wait. The VIPs get seated first and the general admission gets to fight over the rest of the available seating. So that part wasn’t fun. They said it’s upstairs in the balcony we could not see the stage for anything.
But I never take what’s just given to me, I went to the manager and explained to him that I can’t see anything from upstairs and he told me that he had a full house was sold out and that there was nothing he could do. I told him that I saw some available seating (I didn’t) he went looked, came back and told me that he found two seats right in the center of everything on the ground floor.
Two drink minimum which is usual for most comedy clubs so I wasn’t mad at that. I ordered two glasses of Cabernet. Which was only $ 12. I would advise that you pay with cash because the waitresses were completely unorganized and got people’s credit cards mixed up. No Bueno!
Overall the show was good the acts were really funny and it was overall good time… I will definitely go back the next time I’m in Chicago.

I’m a huge fan of stand up comedy and this is a great spot to catch some local comedians.
Last Saturday a group of four of us got tickets to see a headliner comic I had never heard of before. Tickets were only $ 10 each, but really they came out to $ 15 when the fees and everything were added in. Regardless, pretty cheap ticket to see a few warm-​up comics plus the headliner all on the iconic Laugh Factory stage conveniently located near a ton of bars and restaurants in Lakeview.
There’s a 2 drink minimum which is pretty standard at most comedy clubs. Be sure to note that you have to order your drinks from your waitress, because if you go up to the bar those drinks don’t count towards your 2 drink minimum.
My gal pal and I ended up splitting a bottle of wine which took care of our drink minimums. It was a classy Barefoot bottle for a whopping $ 40, but again, pretty standard for a setting like this.
Most importantly, the comedians were absolutely hilarious and it’s a great venue. They tend to get a handful of large names to perform here as well.
Definitely a fun night out with friends!
Bonus: Awesome Unilocal check-​in offer — 2 free tickets to a regular show!