Don't let the name of the Rubber Chicken put you off. After all, the South Melbourne pub is named the for the emblematic symbol of comedy, rather than what you should expect on your dinner plate. The Rubber Chicken is a bar "by comedians, for comedians", serving up guffaws alongside pints and parmas.
The comedy pub hosts professional stand-up nights every Thursday to Saturday in its upstairs Punchlines Comedy Club room. No matter what night you visit, you're probably going to run into a comic though, with many of the barstaff also working as comedians. The School of Hard Knock Knocks – Australia's very own stand-up comedy school – is also based out of the pub.
As aforementioned, the pub's name is purely for gag reasons and not an indication of the menu. Meals at the Rubber Chicken come courtesy of the pubs Jamaican restaurant, Khalu, which serves dishes such as jerk chicken, oxtail stew, rice and beans, and fried plantains alongside pub classics like burgers and parmas.
The Rubber Chicken is open Tuesday to Sunday and is easily accessed via the route 1, 12 and 58 trams.
