C Venues

Huge, warren-​like venue centrally located, with arguably the best, and certainly the biggest, beer garden around. There’s a good assortment of shows that generally tend to be of good caliber, and the atmosphere is just great, lively and buzzing. A good place to hang out with festival actors if you’re into that sort of thing.

C Venues is arguably the best all round venue at the Fringe. Found on Chambers Street, about a 5 minute walk from Udderbelly and Spiegel Tent, it is a bar and performance area. Split onto 3 floors, the building hosts a huge amount of shows during the festival, both amateur and professional. There are not a huge amount of stand up comedians, but this is made up for with the other acts, a mix of comedy, music and theatre. There are always loads on, and late into the night so you are guaranteed to be entertained all day. They are generally pretty cheap as well (about £6-£10), and competition for places means they are generally pretty good quality.
As well as this, there is a huge beer garden down the (unbelievably difficult to find) stairs. This has a Kopparberg tent selling a few different drinks, a burger van (overpriced but perfectly greasy, and the best smelling onions around) and another food tent. There is loads of space for some chilled out afternoon drinking and it is a good place to see some off duty comics. As an added extra, if you go up the ramp they have a huge sort of terrace-​y area, with a full bar selling a good variety of drinks at the customary marked up price.
The atmosphere here is awesome, and is one of the few venues to genuinely stay open until 5. You can mingle with celebrities and they are generally all really friendly (possibly drunk but I’m a glass half full man… unlike them), or if you just want to chill out and have a late night with mates, this is one of the best places around.

Keep an eye on this set of festival venues this August. If history has taught us anything it’s that it does the cheapest, consitently funny shows that might not be listed with the big dogs, i. e the Jimmy Carr’s of this world.
No doubt, if you’re an Edinburgh resisdent, one of your pals will get a job here over summer so you’ll get all the inside information, then by law you have to tell half of this information to your friends and so the circle of rumour continues. Read every flyer your handed carefully so you don’t miss out.

The thing that really draws people to C Venues isn’t its shows (‘they have shows here?’) or its prices (‘£4 for a bottle of Magner’s?) but the fact that this is the first place to start its 5 a.m. license during the festival.
One of many venues that spring up for only one month of the year in Edinburgh, C venues is generally heaving with folk between the hours of 3 and 5 in the morning, when many of the other clubs and pubs are closing.
At least, that’s the only time I’ve ever thought that it was a good idea to come here.