A Stand-Up Night in Jerusalem: Where to Eat Before and Where to Sit After

There is more stand-up in Jerusalem than most Jerusalemites think — but it is not concentrated in one place. There is no Comedy Bar here running all week at the same address. Instead there are five rooms, completely different in character, each hosting a few nights a month. If you want to go, you need to know where.

And here is the part no other site tells you: a show that ends at 23:00 in Jerusalem is a problem. In Tel Aviv you walk out and the city is only getting started. Here, if you have not planned ahead, you are standing on Marcus Street at midnight looking for somewhere to get a drink. So this piece is not only "where the stand-up is" — it is where to eat before, and where to sit after.

The Five Rooms

The Jerusalem Theatre (20 Marcus St., Talbiya)

The big, dignified hall. This is where the big names land when they are on a national tour, and the audience is a theatre audience — they arrive on time, sit down, applaud at the end. If you want a safe evening with a name you recognise, this is the place. It is also the venue with the most shows in our listings.

Zappa Jerusalem (28 Hebron Road)

The room that feels most like a club. Tables, a drink you can order, and shows that start late — usually 21:30. The crowd is younger and the mood is looser. Note that this is already the south of the city, not the centre.

The Hirsch Theatre (12 Emek Refaim, the German Colony)

A small, intimate hall; some of the nights there are run by the Friends chain. Its real advantage is the location: you are in the middle of Emek Refaim, which means an entire street around you is open after the show.

Beit Ha'am Cultural Center and the Gerard Bechar Hall (11 Bezalel St.)

One building, two names. Right in the city centre, walking distance from the downtown pedestrian mall and from the shuk (Mahane Yehuda Market). Many of the shows here are part of the "Summer Events at the Heichal" series and come at easy prices.

Notturno (7 Bezalel St.)

Not a hall — a café-bar that hosts shows. The most intimate of the five, sometimes 40 people in the room, with the comedian standing two metres away from you. This is the room where new material gets tried out before it reaches the big halls.

Before: Where to Eat

The rule in Jerusalem is to book a table. Especially on Thursdays and on Motzash (Saturday night, once Shabbat has ended), and especially downtown.

Before the Jerusalem Theatre — you are in Talbiya, and it is not a neighbourhood with many options. The closest is Segev Burgers on HaRav Herzog St. (160 m, a food truck, fast), and if you have an hour — Bab al-Yemen at 29 Aza St. (Yemenite kitchen, about 500 m) or Wine Bar at 28 Aza St. Then Gelato Rigato for ice cream on the way back.

Before Zappa — the area is thin. Milia at 17 Bethlehem Road is the closest (240 m). If you are driving, you are better off eating downtown and then heading over.

Before Beit Ha'am or Notturno — here you are covered; this is the heart of the city. Focaccia Bar on Rabbi Akiva St., Sela at 17 Shamai St., Steakiya on HaDekel St., and Helen Bakery on Agrippas St. if you want something light. All of them five to seven minutes' walk from the hall.

Before the Hirsch Theatre — you are on Emek Refaim, with the First Station right next door. Vaniglia and The Turkish Knafeh at the First Station, and Meshek Afaim on Gedalyahu Alon St. This is the area with the most options of all five.

After: Where to Sit

This is the part that saves an evening. These are places that really are open when the show ends:

• The Record (7 Heleni HaMalka St.) — every day, Shabbat included, until 04:00. The safest bet downtown.
• Sira Bar (2 Ben Sira St.) — all week including Shabbat, 14:00 to 04:00.
• The Sira Pub (4 Ben Sira St.) — until 03:00 on weekdays, until 05:00 at the weekend.
• Barrel & The Tap (33 Hillel St.) — until 02:00, and until 04:00 at the weekend. Two minutes from Beit Ha'am.
• The Glen Bar (24 Agron St.) — Thursday and Friday until 04:00.
• Blend 5 (41 Hillel St., inside the Brown hotel) — until 02:00, open on Shabbat too.

From Notturno and from Beit Ha'am, all of these are within walking distance. From the Jerusalem Theatre it is a short drive or a fifteen-minute walk uphill. From Zappa — take a car.

If You Are Coming from Out of Town

If you are travelling in and want to sleep in the city, the venue decides the neighbourhood: a show downtown or at Notturno — look for a room around the city centre or Nachlaot, and you will be on foot. A show at the Hirsch — the German Colony and the First Station. A show at the Jerusalem Theatre — Talbiya and Rehavia, quieter and more expensive. You can see the options on our hotels page.

What It Costs and When It Starts

Most shows run between ₪60 and ₪120. The "Summer Events" shows at Beit Ha'am sometimes drop below ₪70, and holders of the Kartis Yerushalmi (the city's Jerusalemite discount card) get a discount at almost every municipal hall — worth checking before you book.

Start times split cleanly: the big halls start at 20:30–21:00, the clubs at 21:30. Doors usually open half an hour earlier, and that is a real time rather than a suggestion — in the small rooms the good seats go fast.

Every current show, with dates and prices, is on our stand-up listings — and it is updated daily.