We all know that New York City is the home to some of the best stand-up comedy spots, but finding them is not necessarily easy. The Standing Room in Long Island City – a.k.a. LIC, is one of our to-go spots for a fun night, with fantastic drinks and cool, low-key people.
There are some very well-known venues, but the behind the scenes, secret ones are surely our preference, as you know!
The Standing Room is actually the “little sister” to The Stand Comedy Club in Gramercy – that has been named by the NY Magazine, the “Best Comedy Club”.
The Standing Room is an intimate speakeasy style cocktail bar that has definitely called our attention for numerous reasons. After going there once, for a night that we weren’t really sure what to expect, we became totally obsessed with the place.
As you enter a small door (we loved it already!), you’ll find a beautiful long wooden full bar. Lights are very dim, music is pretty good, sitting area is scarce with only a few stools around the bar, but it’s actually just perfect. The bartenders are all pretty stylish and very friendly folks that’ll help you out figuring out the best drink for you.
The house is known for offering Long Island City’s premier cocktail experience, and their signature cocktails are surely worth trying! The recipes were created by the award winning Mixologists, Joji Watanabe.
One of the cocktails we always order is the “Flower” made with dry gin, lavender, elderflower and cranberry. The best? It’s served inside a super cool lightbulb (picture on image gallery)!
We’ve also tried other cocktails like the “Smoke”, made with bourbon, ancho chile, cyan and house bitters. “Truffle” is quite interesting, mixing bison grass vodka, truffle honey, muscat and grapefruit.
The list is endless, so you’ll definitely have a great time trying them all! Prices range from $11 – $13, which is pretty good too!
They don’t really serve food, except for a few bites like:
- Cheese Board – A selection of 3 cheeses sourced from beecher’s handmade cheeses
- Charcuterie Board – A selection of 3 cheeses sourced from beecher’s handmade cheeses accompanied by a pairing 3 artisan cured meats
- Beef / Pork Jerky – House cured sweet pork and beef jerky
- Steamed Cheeburger – Served on egg challah roll with vermont sharp chedder
Now! Let’s talk about the Comedy Nights! To start, it’s free!
So, what to expect from the comedians? Well, they are surely some of the best up and coming stand-up comedians in Queens, so it’s practically impossible to go wrong. Their line up is always fantastic and they usually have around 4 different performances at 2 different times – 8pm and 10pm.
Even if you decide to just hang around the see the 2nd performance, you’ll definitely see the beauty of how improve can change the course of their show.
We are sure you’ll have one of the best nights, so just grab your drink and enjoy!
If you want to take off a day to experience the neighborhood, you might want to see the 7 Best Places in LIC for Art Lovers.
Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 5pm – 9pm
Friday – Sunday: 5pm – 11pm
Location:
4738 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, Queens
Photo Credits: Courtesy of The Standing Room
*Last Update on Feb/2020.*