The Top Secret Comedy Club

I was looking for somewhere to take my wife on the evening of her birthday and found that one of my favourite comedians was on the bill on the evening in question, better still, tickets were only £1, I guessed Tuesday night, light on numbers, a good way of getting an audience but a quality comic, what could go wrong? Now I have been here before on a busier night and gave it a 5* rating a few years back. Positives are that it looks like nothing outside, but is an oasis inside, good priced drinks and friendly enough but that was a Friday and I recall paying only a fiver with several of my mates for a Christmas bash and we had a great time! Having promised my wife this great comic, imagine my disappointment when he was not even on the bill! Not only that but there were two shows going on. One in a dirty offshoot of the main one upstairs behind a curtain and the other in the main club downstairs! Well we got shown into this smaller venue, not what I remembered at all, but hey, so what an intimate if a little intimidating room for me to see what "I thought was an excellent comedian. Can't help feeling as if I was duped, and indeed I think I was! Well if you are paying a discounted price then explain what you are going to get for your money. If its a downgraded experience, tell the punter, don't dupe them into thinking they are getting a great deal only to let them down later. And finally when the audience have got in for £1 don't tell them at the end that they are underpaying for great entertainment and hold out a bucket at the door asking for more! It doesn't do your brand any favours and doesn't bring people back! The audience were full of students no doubt attracted by the 'deal' Don't then intimidate them into paying more! I took my wife and our son and daughter of 24 and 25 joined us to celebrate my wife birthday. unbeknown to me, my son put a £10 note into the bucket as he was embarrassed by the hard sell! good job I didn't see that or I would;d have rescued it! Very Bad practice guys! Had I known the price up front, I would have paid it, but not this way! Tell the truth, and just make up the funnies! Shame, enjoyed the evening and the comedians overall, but this was a wake up call to dodgy club practices. I will return, but it had better change!

Started so well but completely ruined at the end.

Booked for the 5pm show on Saturday, the show was cheap at £1 each, we got there had some drinks (reasonably priced) so we had a good few drinks as the tickets were cheap, as we thought was the idea?

Show started late, but compare was very funny and got the crowd going. Next act wasn't particularly funny, but Jeff Innocent was very good as always. Overall whilst the show was fairly good, the venue isn't too bad other than a little hot and dingy. drinks a good price.

Sadly the whole show was ruined at the end. The acts finished and the compare then went on a 5 minute plea begging for more money for the show. The owner has lost money due to covid, the acts dont get paid, the building costs money it went on and on. apparently dont go putting in changethey want notes or card only!!

The reason the tickets are cheap is that this is a small 10 minute warm up slot for the acts before they go on somewhere else. Jeff Innocent had two other shows that night for example. We went on the basis it was an hour out of our day and we would have a few drinks as the ticket was cheap and that was to offset it? if that is not the case then increase the ticket prices!!

after the long plea for money, the compare runs to the top of the stairs and stops everybody on the way out. you then had all the 200 audience stuck inside the venue and on the staircase waiting to get out past the new "doormen" who are demanding money to leave. it took us 10 minute to get out of the venue, despite the fact we had a reservation and couldn't get out. when we got to the steps the 2 new "doormen" said "cash or card" like that that there were only 2 options. there isn't there's a 3rd and that's to leave. Nowhere on the website does it say that it is pay what you think the show is worth.if you had we would have paid more, but the way you acted was disgusting and acting like the Kray Twins demanding money before allowing people to leave.

if you go be aware of the above and you will no doubt enjoy the night, we wasn't aware of the above and don't agree with the practice of demanding money to leave the venue. I notice there are older pre-covid reviews saying the same, so this isn't a loss of covid revenue request.

We came to the 5pm show upstairs on Saturday 26th June. The host was very funny but the 2 main acts were not great. 2nd comedian (sorry can't remember the name) I could hardly understand what he was saying and we were front row, just seemed to mumble a lot. Perspex screens I suppose are necessary but think I would prefer to wear a mask as it made me feel claustrophobic and pretty pointless as there was no social distancing at all. First time I came here a couple of years ago was brilliant the acts were hilarious and we were downstairs which I prefer. We order a bottle of fix which were shocked at the price, after advertising cheap drinks this was quite expensive at £20 for a not very cold bottle. I guess that is cheap for London maybe but even so! For £5 per ticket I guess cant complain too much and I will come again as it is so reasonably priced and hopefully next time the acts will be funnier. The host did say she was doing her now show as we commented to her about her being the funniest so we will seek her out.

I’ve been to The Top Secret Comesy Club a few times and have never been disappointed. Anytime I’ve been there, from midweek to Saturday evenings it’s always been top quality.

They have taken steps to keep the audience safe within the Covid era with Perspex glass between the rows and gaps in seatings. Masks are to be worn at intermissions and walking around, apart from that it’s business as normal.

Drinks are amongst the cheapest in London and they now have “table service” where you order drinks to your seats using a QR code. They come fast!

The acts themselves, my goodness. I spent two hours cry-laughing without a break. Being a large, bearded ginger man with an Afro, the usher thought it would be a good idea to go front and centre. Where I got the piss ripped completely out of me, it was all tasteful, unique and utterly hilarious. The humour is dark, topical, progressive and did I say DARK?! Strap in and enjoy. Helps to remember that they are all jokes, if you lean towards the sensitive side.

The best nights I have in London are always the ones I spend in Top Secret and I don’t know why I don’t go more often!!! 10/10

I can 100% understand not expecting the very best from the £1 comedy nights - filled with new and untested materials. However, what leaves a sour taste in my mouth is ending the night with the MC holding a bucket at the exit door.

Unable to read the room made up of 90% students, the MC ended the night by guilt tripping everyone into forcibly leaving a tip. Standing at the exit door with a bucket, asking if it's 'cash or card?', makes it unbelievably embarrassing to admit you can't afford to leave more than a couple of quid - this was made to feel like an insult to the comedians.

Either pick that any donations to the night are welcome or charge extra for the tickets, because making it seem as though leaving a couple of quid (because thats all you can afford) is insulting as you should tip 'what you feel the night is worth'.

I truly believe these nights should just charge extra for the tickets - instead of drawing people in with the idea that they provide 'accessibility' for everyone to comedy, then embarrass members of the audience by saying if they don't tip everyone loses out.

I'm not saying the club itself isn't worth visiting, I would just steer clear of the cheaper nights if you're trying to simply have fun on a budget.

Came to London for my husband as he had never been we had no real plans , brought tickets the comedy club for £3 each motnknowing if we would even go but atleast it was an option and I've wasted more money on less before. When it came to it we decided to go and we where not disappointed it was the funniest night I've ever had and my hubby loved it too, comics that weren't on the bill turned up including paul chowdhury everyone was hilarious , drinks where a good price , its rough around the edges but it doesn't matter atmosphere and material was great didnt mind paying into the bucket at the end of it as it was totally worth it . Highly recommend to anyone with a sense of humour and who enjoys a good laugh.

We booked our £1 tickets for a Sunday 8pm show in which there were 4 comedians plus the host. 4 of the 5 were fabulously funny and it was a great night out. The bar was open and reasonable in price. On completion of the show, the audience were asked to pay what they thought the show had been worth, as they left, either in cash or on contact less. As far as I know, everyone paid something.

We have membership cards which grant us free entry Sunday - Wednesday. We queued up and then we were told our cards were only valid Sunday - Tuesday. When we pointed out that our cards said Sunday - Wednesday they said they’d changed the policy. How were we supposed to know that? We only got the cards 4 months ago.

Visited with my partner whilst on a trip down london as something different, we didn’t stop laughing from start to finish and left a big tip to show our gratitude. I hope some day the money raised can help get a better venue as the toilets weren’t great, it was small and very cramped that’s all. But this didn’t affect our evening. The alcohol was cheap, we had a great time and would recommend to anyone visiting the area to come here.

Great comedy at a very fair price. We paid £1 each admission to the venue. Drinks were also good for London prices. The venue is a bit seedy, hot and lacking AC, but what to expect for £1. There is a fairly forceful cash collection at the end of the show which delayed departure and personally I would have preferred to pay a higher ticket price. Not too sure exactly how the payments were handed out or how it was accounted. Saw two female comedians, the first was excellent and the second was very good. Less impressed by the third one but the highlight was Ivo Graham who was brilliant. Coped well with a heckler, and really just chatted to the audience, no obvious routine, but an easy and friendly conversational style of delivery which went down very well with the audience.