Stand-up comedy in St Petersburg: the four main clubs, a 100-rouble open mic and how a night works

Stand-up comedy in St Petersburg is not one club but a handful of venues with very different personalities: a purpose-built club with three rooms on Vosstaniya Street, bars by the Griboyedov Canal and on Belinskogo Street, a café-theatre on Marata Street where weeknights are for "testing material", and touring shows that move between the bars of Ligovsky Prospekt. There is a show every single night, tickets run from 100 to 1,500 roubles, and the big solo concerts in November start at 2,000.

One thing to know before anything else: every show is in Russian, with no translation. If you don't follow Russian, this is not the night out for you. If you do, here is what we checked on the clubs' websites and ticket listings on 19 October 2026: addresses, prices, start times, door rules and refunds. Prices change from date to date, so always look at the specific evening before buying.

🎤 Stage StandUp Club: three rooms and the cheapest ticket in town

Stage at 24/27 Vosstaniya Street (building B, a five-minute walk from Ploshchad Vosstaniya metro) calls itself the city's first stand-up club. It has three rooms — Main, Red and Black — plus a bar and a kitchen with wood-fired pizza. It opens at 15:00 and runs until midnight from Sunday to Thursday and until 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.

A microphone in a beam of light — Photo: Brunxs, Unsplash

This is where the cheapest stand-up in the city happens. The "Open Mic" (Otkrytyi mikrofon) runs on Tuesdays at 21:30, from 100 roubles: anyone can get up and try their jokes. Wednesdays at 20:00 is "Material Check" (Proverka materiala), also from 100 roubles. On Mondays at 21:30 three experienced comedians test new jokes for 300 roubles. The main programme, "The Big Stand-up" (Bolshoi stendap), features the club's nine resident comedians: from 800 roubles in the Main Room and from 1,400 in the Red Room at weekends.

How it works: doors open 30 minutes before the start, a manager seats you in order of arrival, and you may not take a free table yourself. Entry is strictly 18+ with a passport. Filming the show on your phone without the club's permission is forbidden, and by buying a ticket you agree that the club may film you. A table reservation is held for 30 minutes.

Money: tickets are sold on the club's website, on Yandex Afisha and afisha.ru. Stage's refund scale: more than 10 days before the show — 100%, 6–10 days — 50%, 4–5 days — 30%, three days or less — no refund. The service fee is never refunded.

🍸 The club on the Griboyedov Canal: shows nightly, "uncensored" from 350 roubles

The venue at 38 Griboyedov Canal Embankment (the address Yandex Afisha lists; nearest metro Sennaya Ploshchad, Spasskaya and Sadovaya) is a bar-restaurant with several rooms, and shows run every day: weekdays at 18:40, 20:00 and 21:10, Fridays and Saturdays until 22:00.

The audience at an evening show — Photo: Olek Buzunov, Unsplash

The most affordable format is "Uncensored Stand-up: New and Experienced Comedians" from 350–400 roubles. It lasts 90 minutes; the host warms up by improvising with the room, then both seasoned comics and newcomers perform. "New Stand-up" and "The Main Material Check" cost from 500 roubles (from 1,000 as of 26 October); "Black Stand-up" and the big concerts with comedians from St Petersburg and Moscow run from 990 roubles on weekdays to 1,590 on Saturdays; "Night Stand-up" starts at 810.

Door rules are just as strict: 18+ with a passport or the Gosuslugi app, "not admitted even with parents". There is no dress code. You don't choose your seat — the manager places you at a table for four or five, so you will almost certainly share with strangers. A noisy group can be removed without a refund. At "New Stand-up" the bar stops serving once the show begins, so order before the first comedian.

🎭 The club on Marata Street: weekdays for testing, weekends for the best material

The stand-up club at 86 Marata Street (Zvenigorodskaya and Pushkinskaya metro) lives inside a café-theatre and follows a simple logic: Monday to Thursday are "check" concerts where comedians try out new jokes, Friday to Sunday is "only selected material with the best jokes". Weekday shows start at 20:30; at weekends there are two or three sittings from 17:00.

A comedian on stage with a microphone — Photo: Alekon pictures, Unsplash

Prices are higher than on the Griboyedov Canal: "Hard Humour" and "Proven Material" from 990 roubles, Friday and Saturday evenings from 1,090, "Women's Black Stand-up" from 1,190. One important caveat from the club: you only get a seat with a ticket bought in advance, so turning up at the door and paying on the spot won't work.

🎷 9 Belinskogo Street: stand-up with jazz and experienced comedians

The club at 9 Belinskogo Street (inside the Mansarda Podnebesnaya bar; Gostiny Dvor and Mayakovskaya metro) makes a point of not booking raw beginners: the listings say the comedians here have 5 to 11 years of stage experience. Shows run daily: weekdays at 18:30 from 490–590 roubles, and at 20:50 either "Jazz & Stand-up" from 1,650 roubles or "Stand-up & Live Music" from 950. On Sundays at 18:30 there is "Impro-psychology" for 900 roubles.

Seating works as on the Griboyedov Canal: tables for four or five, the manager seats you, 18+ with no exceptions. One guest's review mentions "an almost two-hour show", but the club doesn't publish an official running time.

🍻 Touring stand-up in bars: Fat Stand-up and women's shows

If you'd rather have a bar than a club, there is the Fat Stand-up format: evenings rotate between the Siniy Pushkin bar, the Popravka bar at 50 Ligovsky Prospekt and the Sumbur bar near the Summer Garden. Each show has four or five comedians and a host, the line-up changes every time, and entry costs 700 to 900 roubles. The organisers ask you to reserve in advance: without a ticket, a table isn't guaranteed.

A microphone on a bar stage — Photo: israel palacio, Unsplash

A separate strand is the women's stand-up shows at the Spletni by Anna Asti karaoke bar at 2 Konyushennaya Square: in October they run almost every evening at 19:30 from 690 roubles, Fridays from 990.

🎟 The big solo shows in November 2026

For anyone coming to St Petersburg for a specific name, according to the listings on 19 October: Alexey Shcherbakov tests a new show on 3 November in Stage's Red Room (from 5,000 roubles); the same evening the KSK Arena hosts a big Comedy Club concert (from 2,500); on 12 November Alisa Dudareva plays the Railway Workers' House of Culture (from 1,500); on 22 November Yulia Akhmedova is at the Lensovet House of Culture (from 2,000) and Sergey Orlov brings his "Zvezda" programme to the Ice Palace (from 2,500); on 20 and 21 November Artyom Vinokur plays Stage (from 2,500).

🧭 What to bear in mind on a first visit

• Every show is in Russian and nothing is translated; the venues are not set up for non-Russian speakers.
• Everyone needs ID: without a passport you won't get in, even at 30.
• You can eat at most clubs, but order food and drinks before the start — in some rooms the bar closes with the first joke.
• Evening shows end around 23:00–23:30, and "Night Stand-up" on the Griboyedov Canal finishes after midnight. How to get back after the metro closes and before the bridges open is covered in our guide to getting around St Petersburg at night.
• If you'd prefer theatre to comedy on the same budget, see how to buy cheap theatre tickets in St Petersburg.
• Refunds via Yandex Afisha: 10 or more days before the event — 100%, 5–9 days — 50%, 3–4 days — 30%, under three days — 0; the 10% service fee is not refunded.

📌 In short

✅ Four permanent venues: Stage at 24/27 Vosstaniya, and the clubs at 38 Griboyedov Canal, 86 Marata and 9 Belinskogo. Shows run every night.

✅ The cheapest entry is Stage's "Open Mic" on Tuesdays at 21:30 from 100 roubles and "Material Check" on Wednesdays from 100 roubles. There are no free open mics in the October listings.

✅ A regular night costs 500–1,500 roubles; November's big solo shows run from 2,000 to 5,000.

✅ Everywhere is 18+ with a passport; the manager seats you, and groups don't pick their own tables.

✅ Refunds: Stage gives nothing back with three days or less to go; Yandex Afisha pays 0% under three days.

A stand-up club is a good plan for the evening once the museums have closed and the bridges are still down. Pick the venue by budget: for 100 roubles you'll watch jokes being born, for 1,000 you'll see the residents' polished programme. Checked on 19 October 2026 against the clubs' websites, Yandex Afisha and afisha.ru.

❓ Questions and answers

Are there free open mics in St Petersburg?

As of 19 October 2026 there are no free open mics in the listings. The cheapest way in is the Open Mic at Stage StandUp Club on Tuesdays at 21:30 and the Material Check there on Wednesdays at 20:00, both from 100 roubles.

Can under-18s go to stand-up?

No. All the clubs are 18+ and check a passport or the Gosuslugi app at the door; the Griboyedov and Belinskogo clubs say outright that they will not let minors in even with parents. The exception is occasional daytime children's shows at Stage on Sundays.

Can I get a refund if I change my mind?

It depends on timing. At Stage: more than 10 days before the show, 100%; 6–10 days, 50%; 4–5 days, 30%; three days or less, no refund. Yandex Afisha has a similar scale: 10+ days, 100%; 5–9 days, 50%; 3–4 days, 30%; under three days, 0.