Comedy Bar in BGC: Brick Wall Comedy Club at Uptown Parade

The comedy bar in BGC to build a night around is Brick Wall Comedy Club at Uptown Parade, the home base of Comedy Manila, with stand-up, open mics and trivia nights. For a barkada it is a group night built around the show instead of the bar: eat together first, sit down for a show, and decide afterwards whether anyone still wants a drink.

The club at a glance

• What: a comedy club, home base of Comedy Manila.
• Formats: stand-up, open mics and trivia nights.
• Where: Uptown Parade, BGC.
• Indoors: yes.
• Cost: ₱500 to ₱1,500 a head.

Check the club's page or Comedy Manila for the show schedule, ticket prices, door times and age rules before fixing a date.

Three formats, three kinds of night

The three formats ask different things of a group.

Stand-up. The group is an audience. This is the safe choice for a mixed barkada, a visiting cousin or a workmate nobody knows well yet, because all anyone has to do is sit and laugh.

Open mic. An open mic is where comics try material, so the quality will vary from set to set by design. Go with friends who enjoy that, and skip it for a first group outing where the night has to land.

Trivia. Here the group takes part. It suits a barkada with a competitive streak and it gives the quiet friend something to do. If the group chat already argues about facts, this is the format.

Find out which night is which before inviting people. "Comedy on Thursday" means something different depending on the answer.

The group question

For a small group it is a quick question. For eight or ten, settle it before buying.

• Ask whether seats together can be held for the head count.
• Buy every ticket in one order so the group is not scattered across the room.
• Collect the money before buying, not after. Chasing ten people for a ticket price is how the organiser ends up paying for two extra seats.
• Agree on a meeting time well before the show, at dinner.

Where to eat first

Three BGC restaurants take big groups, all at ₱500 to ₱1,500 a head.

• Bolero serves Spanish food in large sharing portions and holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Sharing plates are quick to order for a table with a curtain time.
• COCHI does modern Filipino cooking, also with a Bib Gourmand.
• Locavore is a Filipino restaurant at Forbes Town with indoor and alfresco tables, Michelin Selected.

Allow time for the trip to Uptown Parade. Tell the restaurant what time the group has to leave when booking, and ask for the bill early.

After the show

A show ends at a fixed time with everyone in one place, which makes the next decision easy to take together.

Stay in Uptown. The clubs at The Palace run to 4am, and the table prices are worth getting in writing beforehand; the checklist is in a group night at The Palace. In the same complex, Medusa at The Palace is a theatrical dining lounge at ₱1,500 and up a head. Ask whether it can seat your group.

Go for one drink. BGC bars close at 1am or 2am. Bank Bar, the speakeasy entered from behind a convenience store on 26th St, is open until 1am. It suits the four who are left when the other six have gone home. The options by price are in bars in BGC by budget.

Go home. A dinner and a show is a full night. Nobody has to stretch it.

Rain, and the budget

Rain is the weak point of BGC because its High Street spine is open-air, but this night holds up. The club is indoors, and the Uptown mall is one of the places to take cover.

Per head:

• Dinner: ₱500 to ₱1,500.
• The show: ₱500 to ₱1,500.
• Total: ₱1,000 to ₱3,000, before any drinks afterwards.

That sits inside the ₱1,200 to ₱3,000 a typical BGC night runs.

For a celebration built on the same pieces, see where to celebrate a birthday in BGC with ten people. For the friend who turns everything into a contest, there is the Game Night Menace, and the general method for organising a group is in the barkada night out guide.

The planner covers Cubao now and BGC is next. See which areas are live.

The planner covers Cubao now. BGC is next, and this post is written from the same kind of checked list.