Where to See Stand-Up Comedy on the Peninsula

The short version

• Free bar showcase, any night of the week: Peninsula Comedy in San Mateo, Burlingame, San Carlos, Belmont and Redwood City. Calendar.
• Ticketed club-style show with a wine list: Grapes & Giggles at Domenico Winery, San Carlos.
• Surprise lineup, BYOB, secret address: Don't Tell Comedy pop-ups around San Mateo County.
• Touring headliners in a real theater: Fox Theatre and Club Fox in Redwood City.
• Want to perform: the open mics. Open mic page.

Why the Peninsula has no comedy club

The nearest full-time clubs are Punch Line and Cobb's in San Francisco, the San Jose Improv, and Rooster T. Feathers in Sunnyvale, which has been running since 1984. All of them are a thirty to fifty minute drive from San Mateo on a good night, and the club model (cover charge, two-item minimum, 9:45 second show) was built for a city, not for towns where people go home at ten.

What grew instead is bar comedy: a host and a booked lineup in a room that already has a liquor license and a crowd. The comics are often the same people who work the city clubs on weekends. The difference is the cover, the drink minimum, and the drive.

Peninsula Comedy showcases

These are our shows, so take the enthusiasm with that in mind. Every one is hosted by Emon Dismore with a lineup of working Bay Area comics and, on the bigger nights, a headliner from the San Francisco clubs. Most have no cover. None have a drink minimum.

San Mateo

Sky Lounge on East 3rd Avenue, downtown. Cocktail bar with an Indian kitchen next door, a short walk from Caltrain. Comedy in San Mateo.

Burlingame

Stand-Up & Sushi at Barracuda on Primrose Road. Dinner first, then the dining room becomes the club. 21+. Comedy in Burlingame.

San Carlos

The Rail on El Camino, where the whole thing started in September 2025, and Blue Oak Brewing on Cherry Lane for Ales & Tales and the open mic. Comedy in San Carlos.

Belmont

The Lariat Tavern, Marvin Gardens (home of the late-night Midnight Mic) and Alpha Acid Brewing. Three rooms within a mile. Comedy in Belmont.

Redwood City

Secret Sauce Comedy at The Sandwich Spot on Broadway, doors at seven. We have also played de Vine Wine & Beer up the street. Comedy in Redwood City.

Grapes & Giggles, San Carlos

The longest-running series on the Peninsula. Grapes & Giggles has hosted a monthly show at Domenico Winery on Industrial Road in San Carlos since June 2022 and has produced more than two hundred shows across the Bay Area. It books comics with late-night and Comedy Central credits, it is 21+, and it is ticketed. Eat in the winery's osteria first. If you want the closest thing to a club night without leaving the Peninsula, this is it. Check the winery's event calendar for the next date.

Don't Tell Comedy pop-ups

A national pop-up brand that runs secret shows in San Mateo, Redwood City, San Carlos and Burlingame. You buy a ticket for a date and a neighborhood; the exact address and the lineup arrive the day of the show. BYOB, 21+, usually in an event space, brewery or someone's backyard. Good for a group that wants a surprise. Their San Mateo County page lists the next few dates.

Fox Theatre and Club Fox, Redwood City

The Fox is the one real theater on the Peninsula that books touring stand-up, and Club Fox next door runs smaller comedy nights through the year. This is where you go when a name you know from TV is passing through. Ticketed, assigned seating at the Fox, and the Courthouse Square restaurants are right outside.

Other rooms worth knowing

The Vinyl Room in Burlingame has hosted a recurring stand-up night; its schedule changes, so check the bar before you go. Near Me Comedy has produced shows at Bobabia in San Mateo and Hop Dogma Brewing in Half Moon Bay. Most of these are announced on Instagram and on sf.funcheap.com a week or two out, which remains the best single listing for Peninsula comedy.

Open mics

If you want to perform, or just watch comics work out new material, the mics are the entry point. Peninsula Comedy runs the Already Clocked Out mic at Blue Oak Brewing in San Carlos, The Midnight Mic at Marvin Gardens in Belmont, and new-talent nights at The Rail and Alpha Acid. The Swingin' Door in San Mateo has hosted a Monday open mic for years. Sign-ups are at the door; sets are short; the audience is mostly other comics plus whoever is at the bar.

How to pick a night

• Date night, no planning: a free bar showcase. Show up thirty minutes early, order food, tip the comics.
• Birthday or a group of eight: Grapes & Giggles or a Don't Tell show. Both take reservations in advance.
• You want a headliner you have heard of: the Fox, or drive to the city.
• You want stage time: a mic. Then come talk to us.

Every show in this guide is 21+ or close to it, and every one of them is adult material. Schedules change; the links above go to each room's own calendar.