Hollywood Improv — Restaurant in Los Angeles

suuuch a good night. i ended up randomly buying tickets for that nights show because i saw several comics i have been wanting to see were going to be there and tickets were only like $15 per person. i got there about 15 mins before the show was supposed to start, and they were supposed to be opening the doors and seating people 30 mins before the show starts, so i was expecting for them to have already started seating. so i quickly gave my keys to valet and we ran over to the door where there was thankfully still a line. the show before must have ran a little later than it should have so we ended up getting there minutes before they opened the doors and began sitting us. The guy escorting us to our seats gave us a couple options for where we were gonna sit which was cool. the seats were extremely tight and packed in with the group next to you, in front of you and behind you. so don’t expect much leg or elbow room. you’re required to purchase 2 menu items per person (food or drinks), you probably could buy just a water/soda and like french fries and end up not spending a crazy amount, but i didn’t do that. All together i got 3 drinks (one cocktail, one beer and one water bottle), and then we shared their margarita pizza flatbread thingie and the spinach and artichoke dip. all of it was SO good. the pizza was so good we ended up ordering a second one. the dip came out so hot and fresh, i had absolutely no complaints. So with all the food and drinks i paid $90 and some change, i believe and then i tipped the waitress $15. so just a little over $100 total. oh and valet was $18. But the show was really good. you don’t even realize how small the whole venue is until your in your seat and you see how close you are to the stage, even though you are like 5 rows back. there’s a front and back section for the seats. the front is like on the floor right in front of the stage and seats are tight, some of the tables are facing the stage and some are like slanted towards the stage so they could fit more rows of people up there. there are booths around the side of the stage but those seats honestly didn’t seem too appealing because it seemed hard to get a good view of the stage from there. then the back section was a little more raised and all the seats seemed to be facing the stage just in lines, maybe like 4-6 rows deep (not really sure how many, i’m just guessing). so ya it’s small. i expected it to be a little bigger but i’m happy it wasn’t. it was much more intimate and personable. 10/10! can’t wait to check out the irvine and brea...

I came here for the first time this past Friday to watch "Hollywood BABBLE-ON Comic-Con Theater with Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman". It's definitely a drive from Orange County but seeing these two comedians is always well-worth it.

The Hollywood Improv is located on Melrose before Crescent Blvd. Beware street parking is very limited and check the signs! Most of the street parking you need a permit. After circling the block and striking out, my group and I decided to go with the valet parking ($7). We noticed there was patio seating in the front before entering the Improv but the bar is located inside, so you guess where we went. At the time of arrival, there was an open mic, in which we were allowed to view. The bar area is quite small but drinks were affordable. I had a few glasses of wine ranging from $8-$11.

The show is first come first serve. So after our drinks, we decided to lineup early because the area is quite small. So many people, very little room and with no crowd control. The staff needs to do a better job handling the crowd, for crying out loud it's a comedy club.

Upon entering, the setup of the room wasn't too bad. Kind of wished the tables were placed horizontal instead of vertical. The people including our group had to keep adjusting in our seats to view the act. Most comedy clubs have a 2 item minimum (plus was printed on the tickets), so I don't get most of the other reviewers complaints. I have been to Irvine, Hollywood, Brea, Ontario, and Laugh Factories which all have a 2 item minimum, so it shouldn't be surprising. This how the club makes their money!

The show was amazing! At first I was a little nervous because it was comic book reading, but the comedians added their own twist to it which made it that much better. Kevin & Ralph even allowed some of the audience members to act out in the play. It was good and glad it didn't takeaway from the comedy of the show. After the show, the audience received signed copies of the comic book read.

Even though the distance is quite far, I would definitely comeback to watch these two comedians in action again. I've seen the regular Hollywood BABBLE-ON which was great too! Highly recommend this show and venue...

1 star because I can’t give 0.

Paid $50 for a show on Tuesday night. Parking was $20 non-valet. The comedians constantly lamented that the audience had no energy at the beginning of all their sets. I don’t know why they expected us to be rolling on the floor when they walked on stage before starting their act. I thought the point of comedy is to get the audience going with good jokes, but I guess I should be falling out of my chair as soon as the next person gets on stage.

Audience was also constantly being made fun of for eating and drinking, as if a two drink minimum wasn’t imposed. I was the DD so I couldn’t drink, and water was $7 for a BOTTLE.

One comedian spent his whole set (distastefully) joking about the culture war and politics. Highly tone deaf and ruined the mood for women, lgbt, non-whites, and people who simply came to laugh and not think about the ills of the world (me).

Another comedian didn’t have material to fill his 15 minutes and spent a good 5 minutes calling the audience “stupid” for not cackling at his poorly written jokes, claiming “you guys just don’t understand good humor”.

Staff required a 20% tip or higher. Reminder that they didn’t even pour my drinks, they gave me a PREPACKAGED bottle of water that was room temp. Two drink minimum with a required 20% tip, $20 parking, and $50 tickets is ridiculous.

We were also required to lock our phones in a bag and couldn’t use them in the club. It was a Tuesday night and the lineup was full of amateurs, not big name comedians who would have a good reason to not be photographed/recorded.

Me and my friend group were disappointed and felt like the cost of our night didn’t match the quality or entertainment. We will not be coming back and I’ve told others who were initially interested that it’s a cruddy cash grab that...