Facts Machine tickets start at $18.76 early bird, with standard tickets at $24.41 and door sales at $25. The show brings science comedy and trivia into Caveat’s subterranean cabaret beneath Clinton Street, alongside expert interviews, storytelling and other nerdy performances. Shows commonly begin at 7:00 PM or 9:30 PM, and current listings show doors opening 30 minutes beforehand. The entrance is easy to miss: look for the unassuming black door marked with a purple C, then follow the route downstairs. This is a 21-plus venue in the Lower East Side, best approached as an evening of curious live entertainment with snacks and drinks rather than a full dinner.
Karpo can check tonight’s listed show time, help with the route from the nearest train, and suggest a nearby pre-show option if Caveat is quiet between events.
Science comedy below Clinton Street
Caveat describes itself as a cabaret comedy theatre dedicated to smart, nerdy, informative comedy. Its programme ranges from science comedy and trivia to expert interviews, PowerPoint lectures, storytelling, sketch comedy and hybrid livestream events. Facts Machine sits neatly in that mix: it is both a performance and a quiz-shaped evening, with the subject matter doing as much work as the jokes. The setting matters, too. Caveat is located deep under Clinton Street, so the experience changes as soon as the stairwell leaves street level. The black entrance and purple C lead to a room designed for a close, informal exchange between stage and audience.
The schedule is event-led rather than built around fixed public opening hours. Caveat does not post regular public hours on its official pages, and it is quiet between performances, becoming busiest around doors and showtime. A 7:00 PM listing commonly means doors at 6:30 PM; a 9:30 PM listing commonly means doors at 9:00 PM. That half-hour is useful for finding the entrance, ordering something and settling the seating question before the room fills. Selected hybrid shows, including Facts Machine, also offer livestream tickets at $11.63, which suits an evening when reaching the Lower East Side is less practical.
What to order when the show is the main event
Caveat’s published food menu is snack-focused, so it works best as accompaniment rather than dinner. The El Jefe Empanada is the most substantial savoury choice at $7, filled with birria beef, corn, peppers, Oaxaca cheese and cilantro-lime rice. Vegan Samosas cost $8 for six mini pastries filled with seasoned potatoes, peas and herbs, making them the straightforward sharing order. Popcorn is $5 and comes with access to a popcorn bar offering more than 30 seasonings. The menu gives the room something to do between bits, but the portions and format point towards grazing around a performance rather than settling in for a long meal.
The drinks list includes two particularly Caveat-specific orders. The Laura Palmer combines Earl Grey-infused soju with lemon liqueur, yuzu hard seltzer and lime. The Big Apple Manhattan is a house-style variation made with apple mead, sweet vermouth, bourbon bitters, Angostura, Ghia and a cherry. Orders can be placed at the bar or from a table by scanning the QR code. There is no drink minimum at the listed 2026 shows. Outside food and drinks are prohibited, so bringing dinner in from elsewhere is not a workaround; eat beforehand or use the menu as a small, deliberate part of the night.
A compact room with first-come seating
Inside, a small stage faces compact tables and a standing bar, with warm amber performance light across dark flooring, chairs and scattered glasses. It feels like a cabaret room rather than a conventional theatre, and the arrangement keeps the audience close to the action. The bar is standing-room, while most in-person shows use first-come, first-served seating. A ticket does not guarantee a chair unless the event specifically lists assigned seating, so arriving during the doors window is the sensible choice for anyone who wants to sit.
The seating policy deserves attention when booking for a group. Caveat asks visitors to contact the venue in advance if someone in the party needs a reserved table, rather than assuming the ticket includes one. Event pages also carry their own age, seating and refund rules, so read the listing for the particular performance. The venue is 21-plus, and the show format can vary between a seated in-person event and a hybrid livestream. Those details are more important here than a general promise about the room: the evening depends on the individual listing, the arrival time and whether sitting is essential.
Finding the black door and the right train
Caveat is at 21A Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002, in the Lower East Side. The nearest practical subway options are the J, M or Z to Essex Street, or the F to Delancey Street, followed by a walk towards Clinton Street. At street level, the venue is identified by an unassuming black entrance with a purple C. The route then descends through a narrow stairwell towards the basement room. Because the venue is underground and does not keep fixed public hours, it is worth checking the event time before setting off rather than expecting an open door outside scheduled performances.
There is no on-site parking. The nearby Delancey and Essex municipal garage is open 24 hours and charges $16 for the first hour, $24 for up to two hours, and $20 for the overnight special. That makes public transport the simpler option for most showtimes, particularly when the room is busiest around doors. The address also leaves room for a wider Lower East Side evening. Essex Market, at 88 Essex Street, offers a broader pre-show food choice, while The Delancey at 168 Delancey Street provides a nearby live-music and nightlife option for later.
Caveat versus Essex Market and The Delancey
Caveat makes sense when the destination is the programme itself: science, trivia, storytelling and comedy in a close underground room. Essex Market is the better nearby alternative when the priority is choosing from a broader range of food before the show. It is a historic Lower East Side public market at 88 Essex Street, so it gives the evening a more flexible pre-performance meal. Caveat, by contrast, asks the audience to accept a snack-led menu and a schedule organised around individual ticketed events. The trade-off is clear. Choose Essex Market for food variety; choose Caveat for a specific piece of live entertainment.
The Delancey offers a different follow-on rather than a substitute for Caveat. At 168 Delancey Street, it is a nearby live-music and nightlife venue suited to extending a later night after the performance. Angel Orensanz Foundation, at 172 Norfolk Street, is another alternative, with a markedly different arts and events atmosphere. Caveat remains the most distinctive option of the three for a science-comedy or trivia-led evening. Its underground setting and unusual programme are the point, but the practical limits are part of the bargain: ticket by event, first-come seating in most cases, and food that stays firmly in snack territory.
Book the listing, not an assumption
Show tickets are sold through Caveat’s event pages, with listings also appearing through AXS. Buy per event because early-bird deadlines vary and are often about a week before the performance. Facts Machine provides a useful price guide at $18.76 early bird, $24.41 standard or $25 at the door, while selected hybrid shows can cost $11.63 for a livestream ticket. These figures describe the listed options rather than a universal admission rate, so the current event page should settle the final price. Caveat’s pages also set out the relevant age, refund, seating and outside-food rules for each show.
For the smoothest arrival, aim for the doors time rather than the headline start, especially when sitting matters. The 7:00 PM pattern commonly opens at 6:30 PM, and the 9:30 PM pattern at 9:00 PM. Once inside, order at the bar or scan the table QR code; there is no drink minimum at the listed 2026 shows. Skip outside food and drinks, skip treating the venue as a full dinner destination, and skip assuming a chair is guaranteed. Caveat rewards a little planning, but the planning is simple: choose the show, check its rules, and allow time to locate the purple C.
- Address: 21A Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002, Lower East Side.
- Hours pattern: No fixed public hours; Caveat operates around scheduled shows, commonly at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM, with doors 30 minutes before.
- Tickets and seating: Buy per event through Caveat or AXS; early-bird deadlines vary, and seating is generally first-come, first-served.
- Getting there: Take the J, M or Z to Essex Street, or the F to Delancey Street, then walk towards Clinton Street.
- Price band: Facts Machine is $18.76 early bird, $24.41 standard or $25 at the door; selected livestream tickets are $11.63.
Tags: #NewYorkCity #LowerEastSide #CaveatNYC #EventsNearMe #ScienceComedy #TriviaNight #LiveStorytelling #UndergroundCabaret #NYCTheatre #ElJefeEmpanada #VeganSamosas #PopcornBar #ManhattanEvents
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Ask Karpo first
Before heading to Caveat, ask Karpo to check the current show time, doors time, route, seating details or a nearby Lower East Side backup.
