The Setup – Stand Up Comedy

San Francisco, United States

4.9

14 reviews

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 415-923-8610
Website:
www.thesetupsf.com
Address:
222 Hyde, San Francisco, CA, 94102
b/t Turk St & Eddy St
Tenderloin
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.2 miBig Bus Tours Stop 7, Civic Center
0.3 miCivic Center
0.3 miCivic Center / UN Plaza
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Today

Today –
Local time (San Francisco) 17:03 Friday, 27 June 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday –
Friday –
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

The Setup is an underground stand-​up comedy show in the heart of San Francisco. We feature established comedians from around the country as well as local up-​and-​coming stars.

San Francisco is known for indulging and incubating the absurd whims, oddities, and genius of the freaks who call it home. Think Lenny Bruce, Robin Williams, and Margaret Cho. In this crazy spirit, The Setup provides a truly unique and memorable San Francisco comedy experience. This venue used to be the green room for the legendary Blackhawk jazz venue. Miles Davis used to snort coke in this room. That’s comedy feng shui.

The show is every Saturday. The bar opens at 7pm, and show starts at 8pm. Come early for cheap drinks and great seats.

History

Established in 2015.

We are three comedians who saw this amazing venue and decided it was time that this part of town had access to amazing stand up comedy.

Meet the Business Owner

Richard S.

Business Owner

Richard Sarvate is a San Francisco based comedian with an alternative sense of humor. He is Indian, though his last name was butchered during an immigration debacle. His act consists of quirky observations, impressions, and surreal one-​man sketches. This tasteful absurdity has earned him the respect of both audiences and peers. He may be described as a «comic’s comic». His jokes range from silly imaginings about a taqueria that serves fortune churros, to deep and introspective subjects like his mother’s schizophrenia. He has performed in the prestigious San Francisco Sketchfest Festival, and recently opened for Roseanne Barr.

Nearby

Near this location:
1
ft
The Basement
222 Hyde St
1
ft
222 Hyde
222 Hyde St
30
ft
Faithful Fools Copy Service
230 Hyde St
60
ft
Leslie Wolff, MD
SF Bay Area Podiatrist Group 909 Hyde St # 230
70
ft
The Midori
240 Hyde St
90
ft
Lights Down Low @ 222 Club
222 Hyde St

14 reviews of The Setup – Stand Up Comedy

No registration required
Place rating: 4
San Mateo, CA
Awesome deal. We saw an hour and a half of comedy for $ 6! No drink minimum, but that’s never a problem for us because we always get way more than 2. Haha! Speaking of drinks, their bar upstairs is really cute. A nice surprise in the middle of the TL. Their drinks are also really tasty! I would recommend getting there early so that you can score a seat. If you get there later, they will still let you in but quite a few people were standing around. I’m hoping that everyone who bought tickets ahead of time got a seat =/​. We got there about an hour early, so we scored the awesome booth seats in the back. Nice and comfy with a table for our drinks. Plus, we were in the shadows enough to not get picked on. Haha.
Hosts were awesome and also did some comedy skits. The ticket guy turned out to be the dj and a comedian as well. So cool. Only downside is that the women’s restroom was broken and they weren’t able to fix it so the whole night women were just peeing into the same, unflushable toilet. Good thing no one had to go #2…
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
$ 5 for an hour plus of quality comedy? How do you beat that deal! Answer: you don’t.
Saying that this venue is on the small side is an understatement. Definitely get there at least half an hour before the show starts to snag seats downstairs and some drinks upstairs. Otherwise, you’re going to be standing.
Love love love that they carry Duvel, so few bars and restaurants do! They also have a lot of custom craft cocktails, which unfortunately causes the service to be on the slow side. I waited a looong time for my beer, but whatever, I didn’t come for the drinks anyway.
The MC is great and the comics all ranged from pretty good to hysterical. The experience made venturing into the TL 100% worthwhile and while the bar experience was a bit lacking, I plan to return very soon for the lols.
Place rating: 5
Dallas, TX
I love getting away from Texas to California. This place is hilarious. I have been several times with my family. I can’t stop laughing
Place rating: 5
Mission, San Francisco, CA
Good quality comedians, good venue. We got in for free and had to stand up. If you buy tickets you get a seat though. Brick wall & the comedy stint. You know, the works.
Place rating: 5
Mountain View, CA
Truly a hidden gem! 90 minutes of solid stand up comedy — great way to spend a Saturday night. Be sure to arrive early (maybe around 7:30pm) since seating is limited and fills up pretty fast.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Free. Intimate. Stand-​up comedy. Bar. Happy Hour specials. I’ll be back!
FYI get there early for good seats. It also gets hot in their small basement once everyone is crowded in. Hidden gem. I’ll regret writing this review.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
The Setup is the absolute best place to see comedy in SF. Every time I go, it’s the perfect Saturday night, and I have a smile on my face the whole time. Whenever I bring friends, they love it. The comedians are all up-​and-​coming, and you’re getting to see them in a personal, cozy, comfortable venue with a cool bar. Some of the performers are clearly on the verge of breaking out to a larger audience, others probably only have a handful of shows under their belt, and that variety is all part what makes it so much fun! If you like slick, polished, and commercial, there’s lots of places you can see that (yawn). If you want to be on the cutting edge of what’s happening in comedy, The Setup is where it’s at. A guaranteed good time!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Debated writing this review because I don’t want the rest of SF to find out about this gem! Came here for the first time this Saturday and it exceeded all expectations!
The comedians (about 6 in the lineup) were funny, the ambience was cozy, and the drinks at the Basement are awesome (extensive drink menu with beer, wine, beer cocktails, and cocktails with sake and soju!).
Get there at 7, grab a drink at the bar (Happy Hour $ 2 off drinks until 8pm) and be sure to grab a seat well before the show starts bc seats definitely ran out by the time the show started.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Absolutely tremendous! We love comedy, go to a lot of comedy clubs and shows, and these were some of the funniest comedians we’ve ever seen. It was our first time at The Setup, and we can’t wait for the next show!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I only thought the TL was good for buying $ 10 Hookers… Until I discovered Comedy at the setup. Great venue despite the neighborhood with great drink selections and some of the best comedians in town. The shows (as of posting) are free but I would happily pay. The clientele consist of a mixture between abroad travelers (because they know no better when booking their accommodations) and SF privileged #theTLisprimerealestate.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
Had an awesome time here last weekend. Love the cute set-​up they have downstairs with the couches nestled around the stage; the beer selection upstairs is a plus ;) We saw about 6 comedians, most were seasoned stand-​up folks who’ve performed at Sketchfest, and all of them were hilarious! Definitely check it out, I’ll be back soon for more laughs :)
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
Whenever my wife and I visit the city, we love to stop by a random venue to get our fix of organic, local comedy, especially because of all the quirky and surprising comedians we encounter in San Francisco.
The Setup was a big surprise, and HILARIOUS beyond any of our expectations. We were lucky enough to snatch front row seats and relax with tasty drinks in our hands on the cozy couches, while we were blown away by these guys’ brilliance. My wife and I usually don’t go for repeat performances, but we are definitely planning to come back to this one soon.
It’s bascially a preview of what sort of impressive talent and innovative comedy is out there and on its way to becoming the next famous act. If you have reason to be anywhere NEAR the Tenderloin, stop by to see The Setup. It is top notch!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Been to a ton of comedy shows around SF the last few years and The Setup is one of the best I’ve seen, probably in the top 3. There were about 6 comedians, and I liked just about all of them.
This was the second time I’d been to «The Basement,» and it’s a great venue. Good drinks, good ambience. Good for dates too.
If you wanna see some of the best up-​and-​coming comedic talent in the Bay Area, definitely check out The Setup.
Place rating: 5
San Mateo, CA
This comedy show was a pleasant surprise! I wasn’t expecting too much from the venue since it was in the tenderloin. But I was happy I came when I got inside and it was a cozy bar with a really nice and intimate basement. Me and the wife got front row seats on these comfy leather couches. And with the couches and the interior brick walls, not to mention the yummy drinks, I was looking forward to seeing the show.
Now I was also not expecting too much for the show — just some dudes doing an open mic type of thing. But it was actually a great lineup of 5 or 6 people and I liked almost every one of the comedians (just one person had crappy jokes).
Anyways, great date with the wife, and would definitely go again.