Punch Line Philly — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I really did not WANT to do this, but I feel I must. We had a terrible experience here, and I was going to allow myself to believe it was an outlier, but when I got home and read other reviews, I quickly realized our experience isn't as much an outlier as it is the norm.

I'll start with the Pros: awesome, clean, beautiful venue. Callback bar is amazing. The sound was great. The look and feel of everything on the surface SCREAMS that this place is better than Helium. Unfortunately, the Pros end there.

We purchased Preferred tickets and showed up early for the late show, before the early show let out. We were immediately checked in and assigned a table number, great! After the early show exited, an employee stood up and loudly announced that we should get in line shortly and we will be allowed in. She was interrupted by the GM who loudly announced that they'd be letting people in in batches based on table number. Ok.

About ten minutes later, we noticed a line of people entering, so we joined the line. Probably 50-60 people entered the venue. We were next to enter, and the GM came out and said that a certain set of tables can enter. I asked why the change up, he said they were doing it that way the entire time. I explained that wasn't the case, he told me he's the GM and that I'm wrong. As I'm watching people in the front row sitting, he told me they weren't letting people in with that low of a table number. I tried pointing out how wrong he was, but he refused to listen. "We are doing it this way to make it more efficient." This process assuredly did anything but that.

The show was supposed to start at 9:45. By the time we got seated at 9:50 (no big deal) people who I'd seen in the front row sitting 20 min earlier were already being served their food. By 10:00 they were done their food, and we still hadn't spoken to a waiter. The show started at 10:05, still no table touch from a waiter. Finally at 10:10, we were able to place our order. I glanced around and saw people all over the back eating food. Meanwhile our "preferred" seats which allowed us to be "efficiently sat" seemed to be incredibly inefficient.

Anyway, the headliner came on at 10:35, and we still hadn't received our food or drinks. Finally our food came out at 10:45, no drinks. The waiter finally came back at 10:55 with my card to close out the tab, and I had to say "we've been here almost an hour and still don't have our drinks." He apologized, and we finally got our drinks 3 minutes later. It's a mix up, things happen, but this did appear to be happening to other people at other tables.

At 11:15 the "manager" came and gave us two free drinks. Which sure, that's a nice gesture, but the shows basically over at this point, and people have to drive home. So while this was a nice gesture, it was truly too little too late.

There's a recurring theme in these reviews that says "meeting the 2 drink minimum is impossible" and it quite literally is. The waiter wanted to close out tab at 10:55 without us even receiving our drinks, or even asking if we wanted anything else. Our experience emulates that.

Long story short, if you are coming here, the service and procedures of everything are truly terrible. If you're paying for Preferred Seating, that's the ONLY aspect of the experience that's Preferred. Ordering food? Drinks? Sorry, you will be last to order and receive, because you will be seated last. Unless of course you get inside before the GM changes entry procedures right in the middle of entry. Then you're Gucci. But hey, this is "efficient" for them. And that's what matters most.

Most of these reviews I read don't mention sitting in Preferred, which tells me that these experiences are universal across the venue.

It's a shame, because I truly feel with proper management and better procedures, this could be the best club in Philly. Basically every single aspect of the experience is better than Helium, but the service is terrible. Like many other reviewers, I never received a receipt, no option to receive one. We likely won't be...

I have been to Punch Line Philly a few times for comedy shows and had good experiences due to the quality of the comedians. The food and drinks are overpriced. Overall, my experiences have always been positive which is why i am giving 3 stars. Some friends and I went Punch Line Philly on a Sunday afternoon for a Prince event and to celebrate a birthday. It was a fun vibe and the live entertainment was fantastic. The price of the event was absurd. General admission was $35 and a 3 course brunch was offered for $76. A friend and I opted to get the 3 course brunch...HUGE mistake! The table service was almost non-existent and the food was some of the worst food I have ever eaten. I am not exaggerating and I am not picky. Growing up in Philly and living here for most of my life, I feel there is zero excuse for food this bad to be served. It was absolutely inedible. My quiche tasted the way a wet dog smells. The salad was inedible due to the bitterness of the dressing. I can get some really amazing brunch In Philly for a third of the price we were charged at this venue. It was actually shocking how bad this food was. This has not been my experience at past events at this venue, although I would say the food has never been memorable or even that good. Still, I would not have written a review to complain about it. It is just..meh. In the past, I have gone to see comedy, not for the food. Drinks were not included in the cost and went for $16 a pop. The drinks were great and the bar staff was friendly and efficient. Only one bartender mentioned that gratuity was included. I worked in the restaurant industry for years and it is just greedy not to mention that. I have no problem leaving a noce tip. However, I don't appreciate being swindled. The entertainment aspect of the event was great, but $76 on a Sunday for what we received was unacceptable. It was just a complete ripoff. Not to mention, some members of our party paid for general admission and were not allowed to sit with us because only people who paid for brunch were allowed to sit. It wasn't crowded enough to justify enforcing this policy and it should have been stated somewhere in the event description. Why would we not want to sit together? Everyone was buyimg drinks as well. Some of the security staff were harassing about this issue. Only one of the security guys seemed to have common sense. There is one security guard who is aggressive and over the top for no reason. I went ot a comedy show a few months ago and one of my friends had a very nasty exchange with her over literally nothing. I can't even remember what the initial issue was, but my friend was met with this security guard's disproportionate response. Her demeanor was just off-putting and her behavior, unnecessary. Unfortunately, she was there again today policing our table for who ordered brunch and who didn't. She treated us very disrespectfully and when i asjed where my friends were allowed to sit she said she didn't know because she was just a security guard. We were a group women in our 40s at a Prince event eating an overpriced brunch on a Sunday afternoon. It really wasn't that serious. It is unlike me to write a review like this, but I was genuinely disappointed. I will give Punch Line Philly another chance for a comedy show. A word of advice, I would never recommend purchasing any food package with shows. The whole experience was beyond disappointing in terms of the quality of the food and the lack of organization with different ticket options. The lack of professionalism from several staff members was also very...

Performance: 5 stars! Food and drink: 2 stars Service: 4 stars Atmosphere: 3 stars (would have given it 4 or 5 if not for the mice onstage) Parking; 0 stars

We saw our favorite YouTube comedian here and loved it! It was our first time going to a comedy club.

That being said...

Whatever you do, do NOT prepay for parking when you order show tickets. More on that, later.

--The club--

At the club, itself, the wait staff were friendly and helpful. The food was OK, but expensive with small portions. We were happy they had dinner, not just drinks, but it was a fairly limited menu. I would guess that's typical for this type of venue, so I wasn't that bothered by it.

The set for the show looked nice and had cool lighting, but we noticed that there were mice running around on the stage backdrop during the performance (interrupting the show at one point).

--Parking--

The "official" parking lot for the event was a super sketchy dirt lot beneath a highway overpass in a run-down industrial area with graffiti everywhere. We drove around the block three times before picking nearby parking lot entrances at random and asking the attendants. Found it after stopping in and asking at two other lots. We drove past the official lot multiple times because it had no signage. It looked like a junkyard/storage or private lot. Barbed wire fence, which isn't super unusual in the city, but it added to the overall sketchy vibe.

When we walked back after the show, the parking lot was completely unlit (and remember, it's in the shadows underneath the highway, so it was very dark). The gate we came in through was closed and locked (couldn't get in to get our car) and the booth was packed up and abandoned. After panicking for a minute, we walked around and found another gate that was left ajar. There were a couple of dudes hanging out on the street corner who I don't think were working there, who followed us in through the gate about hundred feet behind us before going to hang out over by a dumpster and smoke or whatever.

I am not a total stranger to walking around the city, but this spot made both of us fear for our lives. Seriously, you could not see anything under there in the dark. I was walking around with the flashlight on my phone, shining it between cars to make sure no one was creeping up on us. Thankfully, nothing happened.

FYI, there is another cash lot closer to the club that was well-lit and attended throughout the night. If we go to this club again, we will definitely be bringing cash and parking...