Lincoln Lodge

Definitely a good deal for $ 10. I never attended the original Lincoln Lodge, but it has found a great home inside Subterranean. I came with a few friends to their standing Friday night gig and was impressed with the stand-​up. There were no total amateurs, which made for an awesome evening of good comedy (I’m sorry, but I can’t stand open mic nights or something where unfunny people try to do stand-​up… it’s embarrassing).
A lot of current (and former) amazing comedians have come up from the Lincoln Lodge so it’s worth going to see the Friday shows often so you can see your favorite people (hopefully) make it big (or at least appear on an episode of @midnight).
My favorite part of my visit: Hannibal Burress was in town and came in for a drink… stayed to do a short set. Fan-​fucking-​tastic.
Worth a visit, especially since it’s so cheap. There aren’t any other really good comedy shows in Chicago with as many comedians for this price. You’re missing out if you’ve never been.

I miss the old location but this has no effect on my review whatsoever.
The comedians were great — a little raunchy which I enjoy.
It’s great that it’s free with no drink minimum. I like the vibe, Subt was a good choice.
Would definitely go here again!

Best show in Chicago!

We had a blast at this spot for a good old fashioned comedy show. Love that they feature local comedians for a super low price.

Absolutely my favorite way to start a Friday night. I always laugh my ass off, and I love the old-​school 70s vibe. Long live the Lincoln Lodge!

Kind of odd at first glance, went to the black out diaries but ended up having a pretty good time!

We missed the 8 pm show. Okay, still wanted to know if there might be tickets for the 10 pm. My friend and I walked in around 8:45−9 pm last night and asked the guy at the front counter about the 10 pm show and if it was the same one being done at 8 (the set was called The Blackout Diaries). The guy said he didn’t know, made no offer to find out, and was generally dismissive and quite rude.
My friend was pretty stunned by his behavior and general disregard of us and asked him to find someone who did know about the comedy show. The guy seemed annoyed but managed to scoop up a waitress who knew about it. She was helpful and friendly.
The whole situation was bizarre and put a really bad taste in my mouth. I may someday actually go here for a show but after the way we were treated I’m certainly not in a rush.

We were pleasantly surprised with the comedy show here on NYE and would definitely go back for more!

A couple friends and I went this past Friday and had such a great time! All the staff was friendly and the comedians were hilarious! Only $ 10!

The Lincoln Lodge: where you can get a Moosehead the size of a Moose’s head!
I’ve been seeing comedy shows here for awhile now, and they’ve always got some great talent. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a bad comedian here! The seating is pretty efficient, even for sold out shows. The amount of people they can get in the room without it feeling too cramped is a true feat in human tetris.
On my last trip, we got there early and hadn’t eaten yet, so we tried the food. It was so-​so. I had some sort of a chicken sandwich (I don’t remember which one, but it had spinich?) and the meat was not up to my standards. Everything else about the place has been good over the years, and I’m pretty sure I’ve had the food in the past with a good experience.
The private lot is a HUGE bonus, and I’ll continue to see comedy here for years to come.

Funny comedy show — the best act was this big bearded comedian who actually was added at the last minute (he said he was there just to handle the music.) He made fun of his creepy beard. I love it when comedians crack on themselves. Hope he becomes a regular.

This is an awesome way to see a comedy show. When I explain to someone that «It’s in the back of greasy spoon diner,» they have a hard time envisioning it.
Like banana pancakes being served while someone is doing stand up? No.
It’s a separate room, and it’s a cool experience. The room is intimate, with long picnic style tables and a small room in back with a bar. It feels very informal and personal, which are great qualities for stand up performances. The ticket prices are always affordable, and if you opt to sit in that little back room by the bar they are even cheaper.
Go easy on the big steins of beer, you don’t want to be ‘that guy’(or girl) who has to get up to pee in the middle of someone’s set!
I resent the reviews that try to shine the hipster light on this place. Lincoln Lodge is in it’s 13^th year! Can’t a place be cool because it just inherently is? Why do we have to label everything that isn’t modern as hipster, or worse, hipster wannabe?
It reminds me of a 70’s style basement and I dig that about it, but it wasn’t made to look like that, it just DOES. So enjoy it for what it is. What’s more is the crowd is not hipster. I have gone with co-​workers, friends, and even took my parents there for a show.
Yes you have to walk through the diner to get to the show room but doesn’t that make it just a little bit cooler? It is definitely a unique Chicago experience.

The Lincoln Lodge comedy show is the weird hipster step-​brother of the more popular stand-​up shows in town (e.g. Zanies). What it lacks in post-​1970 décor, drink selection, and ambiance, it makes up for in the more important categories — humor and value.
Stand-​up for $ 10 and no drink minimum is enough to get me in the door. The door to the diner that is, because you have to walk through the main restaurant to get to the show. We we’re early, so we grabbed a table, ordered some beer, and enjoyed the sweet aromas of breakfast at 10PM.
Overall, the comedy was great. There were some more… unique acts (like a guy balancing stuff on his head for 10 minutes), but overall I thought the jokes were fresh and well presented. I really enjoyed the «man on the street» bit, where they show a «live» video feed of a comedian stopping cars on Lincoln (right outside the show) and asking the drivers strange questions.
The service was okay, but with a little more effort it could have pushed this into 5-​star territory. This and the ambiance, which is awesome or awkward depending on your perspective, we’re the only aspects of the night that weren’t spot on in my opinion. That being said, you should still go here to see comedy because they have great comics at an affordable price.

Part 70s diner… part low end comedy club. part trying to be hipsterish (not trying??).
Of course a comedy show can be hit or miss. Especially the $ 10 /​show kind. Unfortunately, the one I saw was more in the miss collumn. And the venue is nothing special. I don’t give them any credit for keeping the 70s alive or being hipsterish or supporting the ‘arts’ or whatever the f. You don’t automatically earn a hipster seal of approval just by having crappy furniture. For example, I have crappy furniture at home and nobody ever thanks me for «keeping the arts alive».
Anyway…I was there to see some standup. CJ was headliner and me and some friends sort of know him. Which is why we went.
While waiting for the 1030 show, I ordered a Cesar’s salad. This is probably the worst Cesar salad I’ve ever had. I gave free samples to some friends and got them to agree. So I’m obviously right.
It’s a huge plate of iceberg lettuce, croutons, with chicken on top. The dressing is out of a bottle I think. The iceberg lettuce… was well. for 1 iceberg lettuce not romain. And for 2, had that weird taste that iceberg lettuce gets after it’s been sitting around or infected with bacteria or I don’t know what. The chicken also… terrible. It was breaded chicken that tasted like it had been in the freezer for a long time then microwaved. Soggy and funny tasting.
But we were there for the comedy.
Once in the back room, first up was ordering some drinks. Some old lady was behind the bar counting money ignoring everyone. I get the feeling the place is family run and she was just tuckered out. Finally got beer. ok
The host was a fat mexican gay dude with long hair. This was the crux of his act so that’s how I know. It was sort of amazing in a way. So it doesn’t seem like I hate fat or mexican or gay or long haired dues, let me say this. His only NON «I’m a self depricating fat mexican gay dude… this is somehow funny on it’s own» joke was… «what if you went to mcdonalds and asked… what do you recommend». And that’s it. Nothing more. Didn’t expand it, lay out a scene.nothing. I didn’t get it.
The next few were a blur. One guy was a frumpish hipsterish dude who had a stream of consiousness thing. Later there was a «man on the street» bit where a couple of dudes harrassed passers by on the street out front (on camera simulcast to screen in venue). This was actually funny. There was a guy whos act was I’m an italian sterotype. A lot of «I’m gonna f u in the face» stuff with a brooklyn accent.
After about an hour, I ducked out. I didn’t make it to see the headliner. but I hear he was little better.
For $ 10 bucks it’s hard to complain too much. But, I guess I’ll say, sometimes you get what you pay for.

Having driven by this place a million times, I had no idea it housed an awesome comedy club until we got tickets for a new year’s weekend show. After lining up in the super crowded dining area (yes, the only way to the club is through the dining room, sorry paying patrons), I was a little nervous that it would be terrible and hot and crowded. But it turns out, it was wonderful and cool and crowded!
Of course, we were primarily psyched for the headliner, but were super pleased by the quality of the other stand up acts to go before him. Especially awesome was one guy who did a whole bit as an Arthurian knight, or something. It was great. And the headliner was amazing. Amazing!
One tip: either order drinks or apps. Don’t get a coke– our coke and club soda cost us $ 9, for which we could have easily gotten some jalapeño poppers. don’t make our mistake, stick with true junk food or booze. And definitely hit up the comedy show at Lincoln Lounge.

I was hesitant. But everything else we wanted to go to was sold out. $ 10, two $ 6.75 32 oz Mooseheads on tap, and tears and laughter almost 2 ½ hours later, I’m a Lincoln Lodge junkie. LOVE THIS SHOW!!! I was crying I was laughing so hard and my husband who’s not very comedy savvy was laughing his head off. In all seriousness, go here to get your laugh on… You can’t beat it!

$ 10 comedy show can’t be beat. And for your entertainment while waiting, check out all the crazy 60’s and 70’s pics on the projector screen.
Four comedians did short bits along with one guy who did a live ‘man on the street’ bit that was projected inside.
The Big Ass 32 oz. beers are a great value at $ 6.50. We got there about 8:40 for the 9:00 show and the place filled up FAST after that. You can order food to enjoy during the show which is nice. We didn’t eat but will def keep it in mind for next time since the food looked good.
When we left they handed out 2 for 1 coupons for a future show.

Went to the comedy show on Friday at 8:00 and had a good time. They also have a show on Thursday night at 8:00. They had 4 comedians and the show lasted about 1 ½ hours and cost $ 10. The headliner was Adam Burke and he was really funny. The warm up acts were mostly decent. The Lodge is basically in a back room of the Lincoln Restaurant and can be a little difficult to find. They have a full bar but most people were drinking the «Big Ass» beers which are 34 oz. and cost $ 6.50 for MGD or Moosehead and $ 7.50 for Heineken. They give you a limited menu when you sit down but will bring you the full restaurant menu if you ask. We didn’t eat but the food looked decent. Also, there’s plenty of free parking if you drive.
Overall, it was a good bank for the buck.

Four stars for the comedy. Zero stars for the drink prices.
Let me explain:
It’s a well-​run show in an old banquet hall with incredible décor (think: where your uncle could’ve been married in 1972); the talent is reliably funny, and the price is reasonable — $ 10. Don’t usually get food but the nachos were good.
Went recently with a friend and we both ordered whiskey & ginger ale. Nothing fancy (I don’t even think they have Maker’s Mark), we’re talking Jack & ginger. Well the bill came and lo and behold, 3 drinks a piece plus those nachos came to $ 58. Are you shitting me? That’s right folks, the well drinks were $ 7.50/ea… I recommend bringing a flask, or drinking in the parking lot, high school style. The beers are a slightly better value being that they come in an enormous 34oz. mug, but really, that bottom ¹⁄₃ of the beer is always room temperature.
But back to the positive — the talent. It varies week to week and they seem to book a month out on their website so you can plan ahead. As with any comedy show, it can be depend more on the audience than the comedian sometimes, but solve that by bringing a bunch of your friends!
And word is Thursdays are pretty dead, so get out there and have some fun on a Thursday! Just because you’re not in college anymore doesn’t mean you can’t start the weekend early.

Well, I’ll admit, I won’t be giving this nearly as many stars as the other reviews here.
L.L. from a décor perspective is like setting your watch back to the 60s. The chairs, ceiling tiles, fake plants all hark back to a time when men were men and women stayed at home and took care of the kids!!! The food selection was mainly bar food. The names of the dishes on the menu read like a who’s who of my 10^th grade american history class?!?
As for the entertainment, it was about as tacky as the décor. Don’t get me wrong… I had a roommate that did standup comedy… it’s hard… it’s tough… heck I know I probably couldn’ do it, but a bad joke is a bad joke… no matter who tells it.
Last night was a low turnout due to the prediction that a huge winter storm was coming, so there were not many folks in the Lodge. But all 6 performers were there and I have to state that only 2 were remotely funny and another one had a highlight joke that he did hit perfectly. The irony is only the gay comedians were funny… the rest were not… what does that say exactly? I’m not sure, but what I’m sure of is for $ 10 I was very disappointed in the quality of material for this show and doubt I’ll go back… unless I get in for free.