Welsh comedy club where top stand-ups gig is hidden behind neighbourhood pub
Jason Manford, Sara Pascoe, Ardal O'Hanlon, Guz Khan, Michelle Wolf – the list of top-level comedians making their way to a pub in a Cardiff suburb is mind-blowing but Beefy's is pulling them in and the schedule is packed
"They shouldn't be here on paper. But when they're here it works."
Carl Morgan is talking about the roster of stand-up comedians he's managed to book for what can only be described as the generously-spaced beer garden of a neighbourhood local tucked down a leafy street in the Cardiff suburb of Rhiwbina.
The man behind Beefy's Comedy Club has a passion steeped in comedy from teenage years watching sitcoms like Bottom and Red Dwarf to signing up to a charity stand-up Cancer Research fundraiser in memory of his dad Keith.
Now he runs the weekly comedy club at the back of Ye Olde Butcher's Arms.
Beefy's has already brought in an impressive number of UK comedians recognisable from both hit TV shows like Taskmaster, Live at the Apollo, and Eight Out of 10 Cats do Countdown alongside the newer instantaneous mediums of TikTok and Instagram. David O'Doherty, Milton Jones, Lucy Beaumont, Bridget Christie, and Josh Pugh, to name a few, have all graced the stage.
And then there's the big hitters with decades in comedy behind them like Ricky Tomlinson, Dylan Moran, and Gary Delaney. If you know UK stand-up then Beefy's back catalogue almost reads like a Comedy Store A-Z. So what's Carl's secret?
It was that bash at a stand-up career, back in 2018, that saw Carl , as he admits himself, "die on his arse" at the first attempt.
But his second effort, down in Swansea, gave him a glimmer of hope. Away from the actual performance, though, he also made the vital discovery that the difficult bit was getting a spot on that stage first.
"I can't get a gig. What's the point? And I thought: 'Well, the way to guarantee yourself a gig is to start your own one.' So that's what I did."
He makes it sound simple. But from speaking to Carl at Ye Olde Butcher's you know he's put the elbow grease and the leg work into this. He still works a day job and does Beefy's at the weekend. The club puts on double shows every Sunday with one in the late afternoon and one in the evening.
At first, pre-Covid, the club was at the now-closed Wolf's Castle in Llanishen. Then it moved online, which Carl said was a tough gig. Then, the other side of the pandemic Carl and his friend, actor, writer, and comedian Steve Speirs, decided to relaunch Beefy's.
The Stella and Star Wars star's presence shifted the club up a notch, according to 46-year-old Carl. "Steve said: 'Why don't you start charging for tickets and then use that money to book acts that should be getting Friday night shows, rather than midweek, new material shows?'
"So we did that. And it went well. We went through a couple of different venues and then ended up here about three and half years ago."
The Butcher's venue – which you'll find out the back of the substantially-sized pub, through a passage adorned with Beefy posters of famous faces who've both already visited and yet to come – is an impressive outdoor space.
It has a retractable roof which means the winter shows are possible and the regulars still have a beer garden come the sunny Cardiff weekends in the summer. It can seat around 200 at its fullest and the energy can go from all out belly laughs to zingers from the likes of Gary Delaney, famed for his ruthless one-liner style, to hearing a pin drop as a legend like Ricky Tomlinson, The Royle Family's Jim, holds the audience in the palm of his hands, swaying from hilarious anecdotes to tear-jerking moments from his life as an actor, trade union activist, and philanthropist.
Carl, who lives with wife and two sons nearby the venue, added: "I've always loved comedy. I love the fact that we're bringing massive acts to a local pub – I love that. I've always loved those stories you read where Noel Gallagher turns up at a pub with his guitar or Paul McCartney turns up at a pub with his guitar. People being where they shouldn't be on paper. When they get here it works," said the 46-year-old.
"They can look around and, as is every comic's right, they'll all make a comment on where we are. And all those comments will be different and they're all funny. Going onto a stage for an arena gig must be a huge rush. But there the audience can be far away.
"Here the nearest person is about four metres away – you can see the whites of their eyes. And if you try a new joke you'll know instantly if it goes down well."
It's not just the buzz of the comedy either – it's the ownership the comedy-loving community of north Cardiff can take from Beefy's being on their patch. He continued: "I just love it. I love the fact it's got the community talking, definitely, and that people are really proud of associating with it.
"I Iove the fact that I can get my boys involved in it. When I started it I thought: 'It could last one week, it could last a month, it could last the year'. I never saw it running this long – never ever."
And 2026 is proving just as busy for Beefy's because as well as Rhiwbina the club is stretching its legs to perform at Depot in Curran Road. The audiences there will be bigger, with 1,000 seats, and the names get bigger as well. But there's a catch for the acts who will include Jason Manford, Michelle Wolf, Sara Pascoe, and Guz Khan.
Carl said: "With having the bigger venue it means we can obviously try and get bigger acts because they cost more. But the booking is framed as: 'We want you to come and play to a thousand people in the Depot, which is great stuff, but if you're going to play to a thousand in the Depot you have to come play to 200 in the Butcher's as well.'
"The booking agents will say: 'Why are we going to do that?' And it's simple. I tell them: 'Well this is our home, you know, this is where we have all our shows. This is were our regular audience is.'"
There have been a few sceptics of the big-name headliners though. Carl said: "Jason Manford was our first surprise headliner and when we announced it people were like: 'What? You sure? Honestly? Is it a tribute?'
"No, it's not a tribute. It's actual the actual person. I've had to tell them. I've had loads of emails where we've had acts on before: 'Can I just check? Is this a tribute act or is it the actual show?'"
The multi-generational and comedic style appeal is evident at Beefy's with mainstream headliners like Manford, Pascoe, and Seann Walsh sitting side-by-side with up-and-comers like Troy Hawke and Josh Pugh. The crowds come for events like the very successful Stella reunion show last autumn where Ruth Jones and Speirs were joined by castmates to raise money for charity.
There's also a strong turnout for proper old-school comedians who were never off the telly in the '80s – people like Bobby Davro and Stan Boardman. Tommy Cannon – one half of Cannon and Ball – will perform in August.
But the crowds trust the bookings, Carl said.
"You might have a 60-, 70-year-old man that loves Stan Bordman as much as he loves Troy Hawke. And you might also have an 18-year old girl who loves Stan Boarman as much she loves Sara Pascoe. Comedy is so broad but if you like a comedian's style and you like their personality you're going to like their stuff, generally, and we see that with a lot of people booking for names they know.
"But also I think the people that come here regularly trust us now to be booking shows that we know they're going like."
Beefy's Comedy Club has a huge list of shows in the diary but Jason Manford and Sara Pascoe are at the club in September while Michelle Wolf performs in August. For all the line-ups, dates, and to get tickets click here.